CP vs HP.....

[Michele]

I just did my first 6 pound batch of HP and did it in Patchouli/GreenTea. The soap came out lovely but it ashed. I have never had an issue with ashing in the past and I used a TOG mold and had to top covered well.

I am not sure about the HP process as the soap just doesn't seem as "nice" is that makes sense? It lacks some of creamy lather and feels different - not as heavy and substantials. I may be a CP prude at this point but was curious as to what your thoughts are about CP vs HP and why you prefer one over the other.

Thanks!

[kidsngarden]

I find HP to be a little soft and rustic. There's a Hp'er at my farmers market who swears HP gets as hard as CP, but I find that when it does it doesn't look so nice. She brings logs and cuts hers to order so it's still pretty soft when she sells it.

I love CP because you can make it so pretty with swirls or inbeds or whatever. I just think it looks cleaner and nicer. Also I think it's a harder bar after the cure without compromising looks.

As far as feel, I've had some very lovely feeling HP, but still favor my CP after a 3-4 weeks of curing.

I think it's a matter of how much patience you have. And there are ways to decrease your CP cure time if you have to.

My two cents.

Bethany

[wildangel112]

I've been doing HP for years. Not knocking CP in any way, as I've never met a bar I didn't like . But I feel the reason so many think that HP is softer is because you're able to use it so soon. If given proper cure time, my HP gets every bit as hard as the CP bars I've tried. Of course, not many get that chance because I'm rarely patient enough to let them set. While I know I'll never achieve the beautiful swirled and decorative bars I drool over here on CT, I love the slightly rustic appearance of HP. I just cut a log this morning, made with a new eo blend, colored with rose hip powder and added a bit of finely ground lemongrass, peppemint, chamomile and a few other herbs. It smells yummy!

Rena

[SOAPFREAK]

I love the cp but when you make it for a customer and they are in a hurry for it, hp rules.

Hp you can cut sooner and use right away.

I think hp has better lather by far.

hp saves on fos and eos as long as you add it when it's not to hot.

I like cp for the fancier swirls but you can make some cool looking marbling with hp that shines as you use the bar.

[TexasBrat]

The only 2 differences I notice are the fact that there is a cure time and you can make cool swirls with cp. I have used many a cp and hp soap from swaps and find that the recipe makes the difference in a bar. I have tried my recipe in both cp and hp and like them very well and can't tell the difference. Like WildAngel said, it's rare an hp bar gets very hard b/c they are being used right away.

I do have a cphp bar right now that is 6 months old and is rock hard and it doesn't look any different from the day I poured it. I'm impatient and that is why I make cphp.

I have poured a few smooth cphp bars that you could not tell they were so they are not always rustic looking.