pjb31apb Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 So my CP kit should be arriving soon and I have a few questions about the best way to get started. I have been reading and surfing and watching every tutorial that I can find, and I have noticed that experienced soapers never seem to take temperatures or wait until their oils and lye water are the same temp. I get the premise of RTCP, that the hot lye will melt your oils so you don't have to measure the temps, but I was wondering as a new soaper, should I start out totally textbook and grab some thermometers or not? Is RTCP a technique that should be saved for later when I am more experienced with soaping? What method did you all use when you fist started. I am sorry to ask so many questions, but I just want to be safe AND productive. KWIM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbren Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 The first time I made soap, I took temperatures. That was the one and only time doing so. Then I started doing RT oils and hot lye.Now I do room temperature oils & room temperature lye. This is the easiest method yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinInOR Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 For the first go I would take temperatures and try to keep oils/lye around the same.Too cold/too hot and you can introduce problems. You're still learning about how things work, so why complicate matters.Lots of people eventually just 'feel' their containers to tell if they're at an OK temp. I think it's valuable to know that a certain feel is actually 180F, which might be considered too hot for some FOs.Eventually you can tell by feel when you're working in a good range, and can experiment with different techniques and can compare new results with known previous results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjb31apb Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 Thanks for the advice. I have always been a "do it text book first then create my own short cuts later" kind of gal and I think I will probably just stick to that for now. But since my kit isn't here yet, who knows what will be going through my head by the time it gets here! LOL One thing I know for sure is that I will be letting you all know how it turned out in the end! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbren Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Good luck to you. I always 'go by the book' the first time with something new also. Finding your own shortcuts is fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 I got in the habit of using the thermometer. I also got in the habit of soaping cool and now I don't use the thermometer. I just wait till the containers are cold to the touch. I should take a temp on those batches to get an idea of what it's at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crafty1_AJ Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 I agree with the others. For beginners, keep the temps LOW / cool. You'll experience far fewer potential problems this way.I just mix my lye water, melt my hard oils, and add the melted oils to my liquid ones. When everything is cool (or barely lukewarm), it's time to go. I almost never have any issues with seizing or ricing this way. If I'm using a finicky fast-moving fo/eo, I will wait until everything is room temp to start, and I use a whisk instead of a stick blender to mix. Works great.If an fo/eo is SUPER finicky, I'll make that soap using the hot process method, in which the fo is added after cooking the soap.Good luck to you on your maiden voyage into soapmaking! It's FUN! It's a marriage of art and science that I find fascinating and satisfying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsmejeffd Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 I got so sick of having to mix everything everytime I made a batch. I make 30 to 40 lbs of my base oil/butter mixture at a time and store it in an 8 gallon bucket with a spigot I got at a Home Brew supply store. I also have a couple gallons of pre-mixed lye solution. It's all at room temp and I just pour out what I need for a batch. If the recipe calls for something extra that's not in the base (like vitamin E, honey, oatmeal, etc...), I add it with the colorant and fragrance.Welcome to your new addiction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjb31apb Posted January 4, 2008 Author Share Posted January 4, 2008 I think it is interesting hearing how everyone's techniques have evolved! 30-40 pounds! Not quite there yet, but I can't wait to let you all know how my maiden batch turns out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topofmurrayhill Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 The textbooks weren't all written by people who made the same kind of soap you want to make.I've done RT since I started and it seems to me that it can be especially good for beginners as well as experienced soapers. I've also mixed fragrance into the oils before adding lye for every batch I've ever made.Essentially what RT does is slows down trace. That's often a good thing. We use ingredients like FO and certain types of fixed oils that can accelerate trace or make a batch more likely to seize up. Lower temps can avoid problems, make for a more relaxed soaping experience, and give you more time to do nice stuff like coloring and swirling. A stick blender can nudge things along if it's going too slow.In my limited experience, the downside I can think of is that you might have to devote more thought to gel. RT batches seem unpredictable that way. They might gel completely or partially or not at all, depending on your recipe, the type of mold and other conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Does anyone know if these soaps work in hard water, or is there an additive or something special you can do to get a good hard water soap? Just curious! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsmejeffd Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Does anyone know if these soaps work in hard water, or is there an additive or something special you can do to get a good hard water soap? Just curious!That's going to depend mostly on your recipe not your method of making the soap. I have very hard water at my house and get a great lather. One thing you can do to get more lather is add sugar to your water before you mix your lye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindym Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 In reference to tops post about RT, what I do to make sure my soap gels is give the mold a little heat before I pour my soap. Set it on a heating pad, then put the heating pad on top, just enough so that the mold is not stone cold. I will also put a heating pad on the cover and then cover with towels just to make sure there is some heat. It's been a winner all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 or add some tetrasodium EDTA... it seems to help with hard water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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