What does it mean if a soap gels?

[Lyndsay]

Hey everyone! I have a newbie question. What does it mean if a soap gels?

[Scented]

Gel quickens the saponification process. It isn't necessary to have your soap go through the process to turn into soap. There are people here who don't always gel their soaps and some say it makes a better soap. Some use milks in their soaps and don't want their soap to heat up.

If you make a soap that doesn't gel (or keep it from heating up) then it may require sitting in the mold longer than a soap that does. That's about the only difference I've seen. The other exception is if adding milk or honey to a soap, which will cause a soap to heat up.

[topofmurrayhill]

Hey everyone! I have a newbie question. What does it mean if a soap gels?

Saponification generates heat. When the soap reaches a certain temperature it will turn translucent and look dark - in other words it gels. Notwithstanding certain unusual recipes that tend to overheat, gel is a good thing. Using a procedure that results in a thorough gel is generally the best practice. It assures complete saponification, a good consistent texture, and soap that is milder sooner.

[11th Warrior]

I'll go the other way and say, personally, I don't find any difference in my soaps whether I gel or not.

When I first stated making soap I gelled everything with varying results. I wasn't as aware of ingredients and how they affected soaps as I am now, and a couple of my beeswax soaps volcanoed (thank goodness I had a lid on it).

Now I don't gel any of them and they turn out just fine.

[Grumpy Girl]

If it were my soap it would mean I didn't do something right. I don't like my soap to gel. Just personal preference.

[IndulgentCreations]

Where I on the other hand gel all but one of my soaps which is a milk soap

[Scent Cellar]

I like my soaps to gel because I like the texture of gelled soaps better. Recently made a batch of goat milk soap and normally I don't let them gel but it did gel one me and I like it better than the goat milk ones I don't gel so I now plan to gel every batch.

[Rosies]

What do you do to keep it from geling if you don't want it to?

[Meridith]

What do you do to keep it from geling if you don't want it to?

Sometimes it is hard to keep your soap batch from gelling. But, you can do a few things to try to help avoid it:

soap with oils and lye cool

place mold in the fridge

put a fan on the mold

if its cold outside, you can stick your mold outside

Anything you can think of to keep your soap batch cool.

If your batch does start to gel, your best bet is to try to force the gel all the way through by wrapping your mold in blankets and/or a heating pad or putting it in a warm oven.

Partial gel does not hurt your soap. It's more of a cosmetic thing.

[amillion3147]

I prefer to let my soaps gel because that is what works the best with my recipe. Not letting it gel means a longer time I have to hold up my molds because the soap is too soft to unmold.