Scented Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 (tempting to lead off with lyrics from the song ... )but seriously... if you CP with full water and average cure time is 6 weeks for most soaps, would the cure time be longer if you use full water? And if so, is there an estimate on how much longer? I was just trimming soap made, I believe, about 3 to 4 weeks ago and it's still soft where soap was trimmed away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainmadness Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 A lot of it has to do with your oils. I think that 6 weeks is a good ballpark figure.Most CP soaps will still cut like cheese even after cured because of the high amounts of glycerin in them opposed to commercial soaps with no or added glycerin.HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted May 19, 2006 Author Share Posted May 19, 2006 Yep, that helps, because I was thinking they'd get hard eventually and thought uh oh when they were so soft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magsglass Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 I'm glad you asked this question because I was wondering the same thing. Also, can anyone tell me if it's alright to wrap soaps in plastic before full cure? I'm mailing some out that are only a few weeks old for the newbie swap, and I don't want them to start growing or get funky before they arrive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridith Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 I thought cure also had to do with the water being allowed to evaporate to allow the bar to be harder and the chemical reaction to complete. So more water can mean a longer cure time. My experience has been that when I use full water, I can have a longer cure time and yes, my oils can affect that too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawaiiansun Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 I have to let my so ap cure 6 weeks before I can test them? or can I sneak and test a bar after about 4 weeks?? lol I hope I'm not testing it too early I'm still alive and I'm not scratching Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KMommy Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 If ... (tempting to lead off with lyrics from the song ... "If a picture paints a thousand words than why can't I paint you. The words will never show the you I've grown to know..."Ok, I don't have anything to add about the soap but I couldn't resist. That was the first song that was sung at my wedding. Gee, I hope that is the "If" you were refering to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magsglass Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 I have to let my so ap cure 6 weeks before I can test them? or can I sneak and test a bar after about 4 weeks?? lol I hope I'm not testing it too early I'm still alive and I'm not scratchingI don't have enough experience to give you the "correct" answer, but I've used mine right after I unmolded it. Okay, right after I stuck my tongue to it and didn't get zapped. No problems so far, in fact it's pretty nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted May 19, 2006 Author Share Posted May 19, 2006 LOL! Yep that was the song Val, if I'm not mistaken, you can use it right away just to see how it reacts, but the longer it sits the better. Hope that's the case, because I've used test cuts a day or two later to check the lather. If it's supposed to sit awhile, then that would be one explanation why I haven't liked anything I've done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 Let it sit 3-4 days to harden up a bit and completely finish saponification. I try to wait at least 1 week before I use a new soap in the shower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crafty1_AJ Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 David Gates and Bread. Boy I must be getting old.Cure time? Some soapers use soap as soon as there's no zap. Personally, I have dry skin and can't use super fresh CP. I wait at least 4 weeks; 6 is better.I find that the lathering qualities and bar hardness improve with age. So longer is better. There's no rushing a fine wine, and we will sell no CP before its time. Edited to add: Soft soap? Yes, water discount will make it harder faster. Also, upping the amount of hard oils and decreasing soft oils will make a difference. CP will most likely get harder than HP. And almost ANY soap, regardless of oils, will get rock hard over time. It just takes longer if you use more water and more soft oils. A soaper with more experience than me taught me early on that even a soap made with 100% soft oils (an all-olive castile, for example) will stay soft for quite a while but EVENTUALLY gets rock hard. That's proven true for me in my experience too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridith Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 Edited to add: Soft soap? Yes, water discount will make it harder faster. Also, upping the amount of hard oils and decreasing soft oils will make a difference. CP will most likely get harder than HP. And almost ANY soap, regardless of oils, will get rock hard over time. It just takes longer if you use more water and more soft oils. A soaper with more experience than me taught me early on that even a soap made with 100% soft oils (an all-olive castile, for example) will stay soft for quite a while but EVENTUALLY gets rock hard. That's proven true for me in my experience too.That is exaclty what I was thinking and what my experience has been too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted May 19, 2006 Author Share Posted May 19, 2006 ROFLMAO Crafty!! That's true ... CP is like Paul Masson and I can see his face butcan't put a name to the guy from the commercial.BTW ... IF is a timeless song so it doesn't pertain to age nor show it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwahlton Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 A month or so ago I made several batches in one day. All using the same recipe from my masterbacth of oils. One of them is STILL soft. Wonder why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted May 19, 2006 Author Share Posted May 19, 2006 Well now see I would think it wouldn't be soft by now, even at full water, but I have a soap almost a month old that's telling me otherwise. It's been set out to cure, rotated etc. and well ... I want it harder lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giedre11 Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 Adding some sodium lactate is great for hardening up bars more quickly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted May 20, 2006 Author Share Posted May 20, 2006 Adding some sodium lactate is great for hardening up bars more quickly!That's good to know. Now what is it? lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted May 20, 2006 Share Posted May 20, 2006 I have to let my so ap cure 6 weeks before I can test them? or can I sneak and test a bar after about 4 weeks?? lol I hope I'm not testing it too early I'm still alive and I'm not scratchingI usually always take a bar of soap into the shower as soon as that baby is cut. LOL But I also take a bar from the same batch into the shower after it's been well cured to compare the difference and mildness. What a difference time will make. So to answer your question, no you don't HAVE to wait, but like AJ said earlier, it will have a tendancy to dry your skin out if you don't wait at least a couple weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridith Posted May 20, 2006 Share Posted May 20, 2006 That's good to know. Now what is it? lol!This is from MMS:INCI: Sodium Lactate Sodium lactate is a natural humectant, moisturizer and pH regulator. For lotions replace the liquid glycerin with sodium lactate, in soaps use up to 1/2 ounce per lb of fats to harden the bar. Produced from renewable resources and completely biodegradable makes sodium lactate a better choice when moisturization is desired. Studies have shown sodium lactate to be a better short term and long term moisturizer than glycerin, our long loved friend. Try the tests for yourself. Make your favorite lotion twice, once with glycerin and once with sodium lactate. Apply the lotion to your leg or arm twice daily for 2 weeks. We are sure you will notice the difference. Sodium lactate is less sticky when compared to liquid glycerin so if you are trying to formulate to make a less sticky lotion use sodium lactate instead of glycerin. Sodium lactate 60% USP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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