MoonShadow Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 No slab mold, but I do have some individual molds and PVC pipe. I just really like the look the log mold gives an OMH bar. What if I chilled the log mold before I poured? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 No slab mold, but I do have some individual molds and PVC pipe. I just really like the look the log mold gives an OMH bar. What if I chilled the log mold before I poured? I agree with the nice appearance of the log molded soap. Chilling the mold may help. It's worth a shot, right? If you have room in a freezer or fridge for the first hour or so, that should slow things down too. My personal preference is gelled soap, so I'd not leave it in a chiller for too long - just long enough to slow the initial, more violent chemical reactions. I've actually had gel start after a soap had been totally frozen in the freezer. It picked up where it left off as it came back to room temp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonShadow Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 I agree with the nice appearance of the log molded soap. Chilling the mold may help. It's worth a shot, right? If you have room in a freezer or fridge for the first hour or so, that should slow things down too. My personal preference is gelled soap, so I'd not leave it in a chiller for too long - just long enough to slow the initial, more violent chemical reactions. I've actually had gel start after a soap had been totally frozen in the freezer. It picked up where it left off as it came back to room temp.Yeah, that's what I'm kinda thinkin'. I like gelled soap too. I think I'm gonna try it again, only this time I'm gonna:Chill the mold, blend the lye and oils at about 90 degrees, and pop it in the freezer for the first hour or so. Thanks EVERYONE for your feedback and help!Yep...I'm goin in! Wish me luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8-GRAN-ONES Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 taltayl..has gave great advice..I have also used, fresh, powdered, and canned Gm.and have prepared mine like she has..another thing you might want to do..if you seem you can't get your lye dissolved with out it turning orange with your GMis put it in the sink with cold icy water..that might keep it from getting so hot.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonShadow Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 Well I am feeling more hopeful with this batch. It behaved a a lot when I hit it with the SB than the first batch did. It turned a very light shade of orange but nothing like the first batch. I added the lye solution at 92 degrees with oils at 90. Chilled the mold first and popped the loaf in the freezer just now. So...fingers crossed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonShadow Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 I left it in the freezer for one and a half hours, pulled it out, and it looked like this.This is a HUGE improvement from what the first try looked like in it's young life at 1.5 hours/ I checked the temp, it was 76 degrees and has risen 6 degrees in the 30 minutes its been out of the freezer. I hope that means it's going to gel it's little heart out peacefully...but I'm keeping an eye on it like a mother hen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladysj Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Sorry for the issues you experienced with the GMsoap. The color you describe leads me to believe you didn't freeze your GM prior to adding the lye. Bright orange = burning milk protein. It doesn't ruin the soap, but it may be a bit whiffy until the ammonia smell cures away.If you're up for another trial run, freeze your milk (a zip loc bag works great). You can add your lye right to the frozen block of GM in your mixing vessel, or thaw the milk to a slushy state. I've been successful adding the lye in small amounts and all at once. Just keep it moving to help dissolve the lye. The trick to lighter colored soap is to keep the lye and milk mixture from getting hot as you're adding the lye. Some people keep the lye mixing vessel in an ice water bath as an added precaution to keep the blend cool. As soon as you're confident all of the lye crystals have dissolved, add the solution to your warmed oils/butters. ( I always run the lye solution through a sieve to catch anything that may not have completely dissolved.) You should then have a much lower starting temp. I'd still elevate the mold off the counter surface and apply gentle air movement for the first hour or so - until the initial chemical reaction slows.I use raw GM and honey all the time with no overheating problems (using 40% lye solution usually). If the honey is thick or beginning to crystallize I like to mix it in some reserved water before stick blending like crazy into the soft oils. It just takes a little pre-planning to keep things cool.I always freeze my milks for soap making. I weigh out individual ziploc bags with the ounces I will need for each batch. No more orange milk soap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladysj Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 I left it in the freezer for one and a half hours, pulled it out, and it looked like this.This is a HUGE improvement from what the first try looked like in it's young life at 1.5 hours/ I checked the temp, it was 76 degrees and has risen 6 degrees in the 30 minutes its been out of the freezer. I hope that means it's going to gel it's little heart out peacefully...but I'm keeping an eye on it like a mother hen. Very nice looking soap you have there great job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8-GRAN-ONES Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 wonderful...Isn't if fun to conquer something..your soap looks great.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksranch Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 That looks great =- can't wait to see it cut!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonShadow Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 That looks great =- can't wait to see it cut!!Thanks everyone! I couldn't have done it without all your help! It leveled off heating up after about 2 .5 hours out of the freezer. It never went about a 7 degree increase. So I don't know if it gelled or not. :embarasse But it sure is purty right now! I want to cut it. If it didn't go through full gel is it ok to unmold and cut at 24 hours? Which would be now, BTW, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8-GRAN-ONES Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 it should be ready to cut..does it feel hard when you press lightly with your finger?if you unmold and cut one piece, and you don't think it is quite ready..just hold off cutting a little longer.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonShadow Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) it should be ready to cut..does it feel hard when you press lightly with your finger?if you unmold and cut one piece, and you don't think it is quite ready..just hold off cutting a little longer..It does feel hard enough to cut. Since hubby helped me yesterday as I stressed, double checking to make sure I didn't screw it up (I made a checklist from all the tips I got on this thread) I'm gonna wait till he gets home to cut it. Then I post some picks. Edited January 23, 2012 by MoonShadow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonShadow Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Ok...here it is cut. It looks WAAAAYYY better than the first batch. Two observations. The bottoms are kind of rounded, even though I know the mold lining wasn't. So I'm thinking I was so afraid it would overheat, and put it in the freezer immediately, maybe the batter hadn't settled in the bottom yet. The spot in the middle. Does that mean it only went through a partial gel?All in all I'm happy...and LEARNING so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonShadow Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Here's a comparison. Good vs Evil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eugenia Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Ok...here it is cut. It looks WAAAAYYY better than the first batch. Two observations. The spot in the middle. Does that mean it only went through a partial gel?All in all I'm happy...and LEARNING so much! Yes, that's partial gel. Cosemtic only and it may even out.e Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iansmommaya Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 that looks great. congrats on successful goatsmilk soap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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