P&V Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Just made my first soap and I have a couple questions.Do you have to see all the stages? Mine stayed pretty much the same once I got the gel around the edge? Maybe a touch different but not too much and that was after the first stir at 15 minutes?I realize part of the process for hp is to cook the water out. If you didn't care about cure time too much, could you pour when you have no zap? I had no zap after 45 minutes but no change in the look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southern.scents Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Well, I do HP and there are multiple stages that my soap goes throught during its cooking process. I know what the stages it will go through, which ones it is going through, and which ones are left. When I soap, there is even color changes as the soap progresses through its cooking. My soap starts out at a white but as it cooks it slowly turns a more yellow-y color, then, right when it is ready for FO to be added, it gets a sort of quick change to a whiter color. I guess to answer your question, yes, I can see every stage that my soap goes through. As far as pouring after no zap, no matter what it looks like, Im not sure. I have not been doing this that long, I did my 40th batch last night, and I have never just poured it. I really can't say wether or not it will set up okay. I would however, think that you would need for the soap to get to its final stage for it not to turn out weird. I HTH and if I am wrong, I hope someone who is more experienced will chime in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 No, you don't always see all the stages. Which confused the blazes out of me at first. Once the zap is gone you are done - just be cautious in tongue testing early...ETA: adam your description of the stages is very nicely done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P&V Posted March 16, 2008 Author Share Posted March 16, 2008 I still cooked for another 10 minutes after I got no zap because I would have rather pitched it than have it be unsafe.I did have color change so that's great. I think my pot may have been too big for my 2# batch and maybe it cooked a little faster? I was looking for texture change, which I got but I wasn't sure it was a big enough difference?Something I did realize after I cut it yesterday and going over the notes - I confused my lard and cco when I wrote them down and that's in addition to running out of oo and subing some rbo!!! Now I wonder what I'll have?It should have been: 30% lard, 25% cco, 45% ooWhat I did: 25% lard, 30% cco, 26.88% oo & 18.12% rboDoes anyone have any thoughts on what it will turn out like? I used some & I love it. I've never used homemade soap before & this is so much better than store bought. I just wonder if it'll get harder now that I mixed up the percentages? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P&V Posted March 17, 2008 Author Share Posted March 17, 2008 Never mind. Today I have soap that's, well, hard as soap! I love this.Thank you both for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel91805 Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 What I did: 25% lard, 30% cco, 26.88% oo & 18.12% rboYou should still run what oils you DID use through a lye calculator and compare the lye amount to what you actually used. If you are lye heavy, it may be irritating or caustic on the skin. Better safe than sorry. Donna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P&V Posted March 19, 2008 Author Share Posted March 19, 2008 Hey Donna, yuppers I did check the calc. I've learned the calc is my friend by reading the board so that was the first thing I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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