smellywax Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 I don't make CP soap and bought some at a craft fair the other day. The soap was squishy...you could push your fingers into it...I thought it was supposed to be hard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridith Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 It can be hard or soft, depending on the recipe. If the soaper used more "soft" oils, the soap will softer. It could also be that the soap has not had time to cure. A good cure with the right recipe can give you a very hard soap. Is there an ingredient list? If so, the ingredients should be listed in the amounts largest to smallest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 But at least the person could have given a use date. I can't imagine selling freshly made soap. Well I could, but I'm not one for putting soft and pliable out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarieJeanette Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 Ditto what Meredith said.Here's a personal example of how they might be uncured soap: My sis went to Hawaii for her honeymoon 5 months ago and ran into a handmade soap company on one of the islands. She bought some for herself to use while there, and also a small stack of soap samples to bring back as a gift to me to try out. Every single bar (there were about 8) was as soft as cheese when she gave them to me. They looked and smelled lovely, and had lovely packaging, but they were all very squishy.She told me she had tried using one of the bars while she was still in Hawaii, but it wasn't a good experience. She ended up having to settle for a bar Ivory soap from a local grocery store to use instead.They (the handmade soaps) must have been freshly unmolded and cut when my sis bought them because they eventually became good and hard after I let them sit for about a month or so. You'd think that the soapmakers would have mentioned this when my sis bought them, but nope, not a word. :rolleyes2 MarieJeanette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecandlespastore Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 I wonder if the soap was from this Hawaiian Soap Company: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaylors Kreations Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 wouldn't be the first time I've heard of someone selling fresh out the mold CP soap.When we were traveling this summer, there was a lady at one of the military exchanges selling some. She spent 5 minutes trying to sell me on it, till I told her I make my own then she insulted me because I said I would never consider selling uncured soap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarieJeanette Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 I wonder if the soap was from this Hawaiian Soap Company: Nope, but thanks for that link. It was actually called Maui Soap Works. http://www.mauisoapworks.com/I just wanted to make mention that besides hardening up well, the soaps my sis brought back to me ended up being really nice after a good cure. I use them at my kitchen sink, and their recipe is such that it feels great on my skin. I don't need to use lotion after washing with them. It's just too bad that they didn't make any mention to my sis about curing them when they were bought. I wonder how many new, but potential repeat customers they might be losing over it, for they certainly lost my sister.MarieJeanette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kool12 Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 I've never had soap be so soft a finger leaves an imprint nor can I imagine selling it that way. I don't always cure mine more than 2 weeks before selling but it's usually hard when I cut it 12-24 hours after unmolding.Glad you liked the soap though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 MarieJeanette,Thanks for the link and the heads up as I'm going to Maui for Christmas. I can't believe people out there sell soap that isn't cured yet. That is ridiculous and talk about burning your skin. Glad you figured out to cure them for awhile but yes they should have said something if they were selling them that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smittenheart Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I went to a craft fair that had some CP soap the company was from NC.It was a tad soft..I think unfortunately its EVERYWHERE.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcrafter Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 One of my former soap students makes soap and (yes regularly steps on my toes and goes to the same markets as I have done for well over a decade) tells people to use her soap right away while it's soft because it's fresh. People come up to me and tell me her soap is gone in a couple of days and it hurts their skin. This woman knows better because I taught her better than that. She's doing this because, I'm thinking, she's thinking if her soaps go faster, then they'll come back and get more. No. They come back to me and buy mine again. And tell me they're sorry they ever left me! I would never sell CP soap that's less than a month old. Now, HP soap, you can sell in a week. That's a different process though.I am always highly suspect of soft soap being up for sale. It tells me that the people are either new and ignorant or unethical and greedy. Either way, neither of these types should be selling soap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridith Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 One of my former soap students makes soap and (yes regularly steps on my toes and goes to the same markets as I have done for well over a decade) tells people to use her soap right away while it's soft because it's fresh. People come up to me and tell me her soap is gone in a couple of days and it hurts their skin. This woman knows better because I taught her better than that. She's doing this because, I'm thinking, she's thinking if her soaps go faster, then they'll come back and get more. No. They come back to me and buy mine again. And tell me they're sorry they ever left me! I would never sell CP soap that's less than a month old. Now, HP soap, you can sell in a week. That's a different process though.I am always highly suspect of soft soap being up for sale. It tells me that the people are either new and ignorant or unethical and greedy. Either way, neither of these types should be selling soap.[/quote]I have to partly disagree with you. If you were to make a soap with soft oils, that soap can still be soft months later. For instance, I once made an experimental soap before using all hemp oil. That soap was soft for months and months and never got really hard. I never sold this soap just for the simple fact that it was an experiment and I was seeing how long it might take a soap made with 100% hemp oil (or any oil with a short shelf life) to get DOS or go rancid. While it was soft, it was completely safe to use and had the most wonderful lather like it had cured long enough. It never got DOS but after about 7 months, it smelled funky. So a soft soap is not always a sign of a new, ignorant, unethical or greedy soaper. It can be a sign of a soap made with more oils rather than butters. It can be a sign of a soaper that does not know how to design a soap reicpe that will yield a harder bar so that it lasts longer. Before I'd assume any of the above, I'd ask when the soap was made and what the ingredients were. Other than that, I most certainly prefer a harder soap so it will last longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcrafter Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I see your point, but stand on my statement. Why buy soap from someone who's inexperienced but already off and running with a "business" without enough trial, error, success and time under their belts to make a quality bar of soap?I don't mind you disagreeing with me. I've been making large quantities of soap consistently for 20 years, but I'm far from knowing it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridith Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I see your point, but stand on my statement. Why buy soap from someone who's inexperienced but already off and running with a "business" without enough trial, error, success and time under their belts to make a quality bar of soap?I don't mind you disagreeing with me. I've been making large quantities of soap consistently for 20 years, but I'm far from knowing it all.I'm not saying you should buy the soap but I'm saying you should not assume that the person is "new and ignorant or unethical and greedy" just because the soap is soft. Now if the person tells you they are new or you know that for a fact, than I think its a pretty safe assumption that the soap is soft because they don't know what they are doing and have not allowed enough time for a cure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck_35550 Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I make a shampoo bar that uses a high amount of castor and makes a relatively soft bar. If you have formulated the recipe correctly and all the lye has been used up in the saponification process; you shouldn't get a zap. I use the soap in my own shower before selling it to others. Curing is basically a drying out of moisture still contained in the soap (IMHO). I make mostly milk soaps and they do not go through a gel stage. Other soaps I bake in the oven to encourage and complete the gel (salt bars mostly) and those soaps are hard as bricks. I had a customer complain that her soap melted away after several months. She thought lye soap lasted 6 months. Some customers complain that their shampoo bars don't last very long but they come back for more. I mean they shampoo and then clean their bodies for pete's sake (his wife was using the bar too) what do some people expect?whew,Chuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcrafter Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I had a customer complain that her soap melted away after several months. Now, THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!Sounds like you know what you're doing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flicker Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I agree with the bulk of the posters in this thread. Chances are the soap isn't fully cured (aka the excess water evaporated from the bar..thus it is still squishy soft) or the recipe itself that is soft. For example a recipe that does not contain Palm, Palm Kernal, Lard etc tends to be softer and melt away faster than one that does.Now as for a months cure...that depends on the recipe and the amount of water used. My soaps are fully cured within two weeks. I can use them within a week but I wait just for good measure to sell them. I use a deep water discount and 60% hard oils in my standard off the shelf recipe...which honestly can make a big difference in the finished product as well. I sadly see a lot of people selling poor quality product and it frustrates me but in the end I gain their customers so good thing for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridith Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I take a 36 to 40% discount so that my soaps don't take as long to get hard and I always unmold within 24 hours. Shorter times for my salt bars. I won't sell a soap before a month long cure and longer with my castille soaps but I will use them for myself. I have a milk and castille soap on the shelf still curing that I made March 07. I don't think alot of new soapers realize that it takes time to perfect your recipe and truly understand the concept of soaping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntoniasCreations Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 I have a milk and castille soap on the shelf still curing that I made March 07. Is this right??? I dont make CP soap but does it really take 2 years to cure some? Or is this just some testing you are doing to see what the outcome is? I read somewhere that some can take 6 months and some up to a year (very few) but 2 years is crazy (to me, but again I am uneducated so I really dont know). Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Is this right??? I dont make CP soap but does it really take 2 years to cure some? Or is this just some testing you are doing to see what the outcome is? I read somewhere that some can take 6 months and some up to a year (very few) but 2 years is crazy (to me, but again I am uneducated so I really dont know). Thankswhen it comes to a castile - the longer the better. my 1 year old stuff is MUCH better than it was at 6 months. and at 6 months it was head & shoulders above 3 months. I have a milk castile curing now and at 6 months I think it could still use some more time on the shelf. It's FINE now, but it can be SO much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridith Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Is this right??? I dont make CP soap but does it really take 2 years to cure some? Or is this just some testing you are doing to see what the outcome is? I read somewhere that some can take 6 months and some up to a year (very few) but 2 years is crazy (to me, but again I am uneducated so I really dont know). ThanksActually that was a typo and should have been March 08. CB is right that castille just gets better and better the longer the cure. Some of the sliminess of the soap will tone down with a long cure too. Depending on my water discount, I cure a castille soap for no less than 3 months - but usually at least 6 months. With this batch, I'm just seeing what it will do and how long I can leave it. I like to do challenge tests and experiments. I scented this batch with Sandalwood Rose and its still strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabbledoya Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 You really need to learn the fine art of patience w/ soap making. Obviously a skill these folks haven't acquired quite yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcrafter Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 I cure my laundry soap 1 year before using or selling. Most CP soaps are cured at 4-6 weeks, but the longer they sit, the harder and longer lasting they are. Some will also lather better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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