Instead, stir mixture with a wire whisk until opaque and place in a 225 degree preheated oven. It is different than the others. Basically, CPOP is forcing a hot, extended gel phase with the help of an oven. Let's get iNaturalBody! Hot Process Soap Versus Cold Process Soap, How to Make Lotion Sticks & Homemade Lip Balm, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FpufPu-5yk, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=991_GNVPVA4&t=738s, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuSLJkVcyVs. A harder bar will last longer allowing you to enjoy it longer. Every oil brings its own properties to a bar of soap, and finding the perfect soap recipe is a balance of those things. It arguably can take months for this migration to stabilize in a handcrafted bar of soap. This post may contain affiliate links, to learn more about them, check out our Disclosure. The amount of lather usually increases as you keep rubbing the bar, because you are scrubbing more soap molecules off the soap crystals. Wash the skillet thoroughly with warm water and a touch of dish soap. The soap is then pressed or extruded into finished bars. Soap orders by soap by the loaf are cold processed soaps. When your soap is done with the 4-6 week curing time (or whatever the batch needs), put the bars into a plastic bin. Your soaps will not dissolve as easily once most of the water evaporates. A single soap molecule in a bar of soap is a fatty acid ion usually combined with a sodium ion. Check it regularly to make sure it is not feeling sticky or damp – if it does, it needs to sit out and cure longer. Anyone who has eagerly bathed with a freshly cut bar of soap and gotten some skin irritation has learned that lesson. Check it regularly to make sure it is not feeling sticky or damp – if it does, it needs to sit out and cure longer. Gel phase is temperature phase. The glycerin and other dissolved chemicals must be concentrated enough so soap molecules start to salt-out. When either soap reaches that stage, they are both technically safe to use on the skin. I let mine sit for 5-10 minutes and watch closely for the gel stage. You will want to keep a close eye on it to ensure it does not over heat. It makes a moisturizing yet cleansing bar with tons of lather. Now, soak the oven racks in this solution until you clean the interior of the oven. Be sure you are using heatproof molds, like silicone. When it's time to cook with your shiny new skillet, make sure to wash it with hot water (no soap this time) and dry it completely after each use. As more soap molecules accumulate on your skin or washcloth, they will build a larger amount of lather. Spacing the slices out on a wire rack improves the air flow and decreases the drying time. The soap will be thick and not easy to manipulate into mold. I know it’s hard for me to wait too! It makes a moisturizing yet cleansing bar with tons of lather. An oleic soap molecule is the same overall length as stearic soap, but it contains a double carbon bond that twists the oleic soap molecule into a "U" shape. Drop the filled mold onto table and run a knife through it to remove air pockets; Cover with plastic wrap; Cover with towels; Allow to cool for 6 - 24 hours; Cut into bars. When you wash with a bar of soap, the wash water penetrates the surface of the bar and mixes with the liquid phase. [adsense_hint]. Layering paper towels. First things first. Homemade soap usually needs to cure for a month before you can use it—longer if you want a nice hard bar of soap that will last. These molecules from the crystals mix with the soap molecules from the liquid phase. I added a very small fridge on the floor and all my oils sit on it so I still manage to keep the counter relatively clear for soaping and a rarely used room is used all the time now. I’ve used it quite a lot. At 4-8 weeks, it is true that most soap lathers better, lasts longer, and is milder to the skin, but soap often performs better as even more time goes on. This method of using hot process calls for heat being applied while the soap spends time in the oven. Soap molecules based on these fatty acids pack tidily into a soap crystal. So why does soap need to cure anyway? This is a process that most people can't see or measure, so they tend to ignore or discount this as not being important. Dry the skillet thoroughly, and then follow the above curing technique, repeating at least 3 to 5 times. When you begin to wash with a young bar of soap, it is often the case that the soap will not lather well at first. Curing soap means that the soap is left to age, mature, and well… dry out. I tried a bar at the sink first and found it lathered dramatically better at 1 year than it did earlier. I turn my oven off and put my soap inside the warm oven and leave it over night. Cold processed soaps need time to cure and age before they can be labeled and soap. A harder bar of soap will last longer, produce more lather, and just be an overall better bar of soap. In summary, the hot process method only speeds saponification; HP does not shortcut the rest of the cure time. It will usually take 3 or 4 weeks for soap to cure. Basically, CPOP is forcing a hot, extended gel phase with the help of an oven. This cold process soap recipe is the best ever. Stearic and palmitic soaps salt-out quickly and well so they become concentrated in the solid soap crystals. I was so unimpressed with this soap after using a few bars that I put the rest in a dark corner of my soap cupboard and ignored them. The soap molecules in the liquid phase can be distinctly different than the soap molecules in the crystals. Soap is made from three basic ingredients: Fats (oils), Lye (use to turn the oil into soap), and Liquid (used to dissolve the lye, and add other properties to the soap). My first real-life experience with the benefits of a longer cure was a soap made with 90% lard. Don’t want to make your own soap? Initial weight - Oven - dry weight MC - x 100% (2) Oven - dry weight Any more-or-less solid soap, from typical shower and bath soaps to the softer shaving and cream soaps, need time for three things to happen -- to finish saponifying, to evaporate excess water, and to develop a crystal structure. Scoop soap mixture into prepared mold. When making cold process, oven processed soap, you make soap the cold process way. Last but not least is oleic soap. In this video, I am sharing with you tips and tricks to decreasing curing time on cold processed soaps. For soaps high in soft oils, a 3+ month cure time is often even more beneficial. Oleic soap molecules will predominate in the liquid phase due to their bulky shape, but there will be a fair number of all the other soap molecules in the liquid, including nearly insoluble stearic and moderately soluble palmitic soaps. About a year later, I was tidying one day and decided to toss the last of the bars from this recipe. During the cure time water dissolves from your soap creating a harder and longer-lasting bar in your shower. Since the process is not well understood by handcrafted soap makers, I want to talk about this in more detail. Stearic acid, the longest fatty acid, makes soap that is almost insoluble in water. Even if your recipe is designed to make a long lasting, mild, lathery bar, you will see the best of these qualities if you give your soap enough time to fully cure. Try a long-term experiment with a few bars of your favorite freshly-made soap. When a bar of soap is newly made, the soap crystals contain a jumbled mixture of myristic, lauric, palmitic, and stearic soaps with a fair number of oleic soap molecules squeezed into the crystals for good measure. Only water evaporation will accomplish that task, so it is a necessary beginning to the curing process. To track the weight loss due to evaporation, weigh a freshly cut bar of soap right after it is cut and then every few days for a total of 6 to 8 weeks. At the end of this time, see what your test results show. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Not every kind of soap molecule will salt-out to the same degree. If I need the oven, then I just pull it out and set it on a counter to cool for 24 hours. Fill warm water in a large tub or sink, add a few drops of eco-friendly liquid dish soap to it. Test the quality of the lather, longevity, and hardness of the bar and mildness to the skin over at least 3 months, preferably longer. The glycerin and other water soluble chemicals will be more concentrated as the water content drops. This shift in the kinds of soap molecules in the liquid phase usually creates a faster building, more abundant lather for a smaller amount of work. Set timer for 60 minutes. Since HP soap is usually made with more water than CP soap, the drying time for HP soaps actually takes more time, not less, before the soap stabilizes at a reasonably constant weight. For handcrafted soap makers, the most practical solution is to allow time to solve the problem -- time to finish saponifying, to evaporate water, and to develop the crystal structure. Some soap makers allow for this by curing CP soap a minimum of 4 weeks and HP soap a minimum of 6 weeks. Paper will burn at 451ºF/233ºC, so there is no danger of paper towels getting hot enough to burn at the drying temperature. This applies to soap made with hot process (HP) methods as well as cold process (CP) methods, despite much advice to the contrary. The second aspect of curing soap is the loss of water. I turn my oven on to warm (your want it to be about 170-180 degrees F. I made my soap as usual. Over time, the excess liquid in the soap evaporates, the bar hardens and becomes milder. In my experience, however, soap made with a more balanced blend of fats should perform decently well after a 4-8 week cure, with a more gradual improvement after that time. A few days should be long enough for a properly made soap to finish saponifying. It is true the HP "cook" causes the soap to fully saponify within a few hours. As you continue to rub the bar against your skin or washcloth, the abrasion removes soap molecules from the soap crystals as well as from the liquid phase. Pour soap into plastic lined mold. Copyright © 2002-2020 - All rights reserved by Classic Bells Ltd. of curing soap is developing soap's crystalline structure. High oleic soaps (olive oil soap for example) also need a longer cure time for best performance. I’ve used it quite a lot. Try it for yourself, if you have not already, and see what you think. There’s also a process called ‘Oven-processing’ where you cook your cold process soap in the oven at a relatively low heat for up to an hour. The concentration of stearic and palmitic soaps in the solid crystals begins when enough water evaporates to trigger the salting-out process. After the soap is poured into your mold, place it in the oven. All cold process soap recipes can be oven processed. The soap should be slightly alkaline. Like the oven’s purpose in CPOP, and the crock pot's purpose in CPHP, the oven facilitates holding the temperature of the soap at or above 160 degrees, speeding up the saponification process. If the cure was only about water evaporation, we should see little or no change in these soap qualities. Fatty acids with a simple straight shape are lauric, myristic, palmitic, and stearic. When you unmold a soap, the saponification might be 99% done, but it's a very wise idea to wait for that last 1%. (This applies to hot process soap too.) Putting your soap in the oven, even at a low temperature, will just cause melting and gooey soap. The reason for the poor lather is the larger amount of less soluble and less bubbly stearic and palmitic soap molecules in the liquid phase in proportion to the more soluble myristic, lauric, and oleic soaps. Dilution can modify harshness -- more water in the diluted soap will reduce the cleansing action. But is the cure truly done at this point? Curiosity got the best of me, however. I tried it at the end of the cure time once and my soap cracked all over the surface, kind of like crazing on old china. What are the individual soap molecules like? Unless I need the oven for something, I leave the soap in the oven for a couple more hours to start cooling down. HPOP: Hot Process Oven Process. (This applies to hot process soap too.) If you were to step into your shower with a brand new bar of soap it would dissolve pretty quickly. The effect was kind of cool, but it ruined the soap. After one hour, turn the oven off, leaving the soap to sit overnight. The oven temperature setting to dry items in an oven is 180-200 ºF/82-93ºC, which is just below the boiling point of water. This means that you can create a smooth, pourable batter that you can play with by adding different colors and designs. The high concentration of glycerin and other water-soluble chemicals in an older bar of handcrafted soap has an unexpected effect. I know it’s hard for me to wait too! CPOP stands for cold process/oven process. Answer: The method you are referring to is called the Cold Process Oven Process soap method. Once the gel stage starts, it will start in the center of your mold and work its way outwards towards the edges. Even though you can use cold process, oven process soap right away, I would always recommend letting it cure for a few weeks so that you get a nice hard bar. The cure time is all about water evaporation. Steps To Use Dish Soap To Clean Oven #1. Putting your soap in the oven, even at a low temperature, will just cause melting and gooey soap. Temperatures of over 200 degrees Fahrenheit can be reached in order to bake, roast, or dry a wide variety of food items. And that, in not a nutshell, is why curing soap is a complex process that goes beyond water evaporation. Allow to sit for another day or two, unmold and cut. I walk your through the entire process and what to look for in the video below. The oven folds to the size of a stadium cushion and weighs in at 1.2 pounds. Technically the method I show in this video would probably be called Room Temperature/Oven … from North Country Soap Making Library. I've been making only HP soap b/c of the quick turnaround - it works better for my space situation. Curing = drying. The oven’s heat will evaporate more liquid out of the soap. A bar of soap is a complex mixture of solid crystals entirely surrounded by a film of liquid. The cure time is all about water evaporation. After twenty minutes, take mixture out of the oven and stir with wire whisk. … How does this salting-out affect the structure of the soap? Many soapmakers use a process called cold processes oven process (CPOP) to force their soap to gel in the oven. Every oil brings its own properties to a bar of soap, and finding the perfect soap recipe is a balance of those things. I know of no easy shortcuts -- handcrafted soap needs at least 4-8 weeks of cure to perform well and some will benefit from even more time. TEN: Pull the soap out of the oven. I'd like to make CP which I want to cure in my garage (much more space). Place your soaps on the shelf. Layering paper towels. Many soapmakers use a process called cold processes oven process (CPOP) to force their soap to gel in the oven. … Once the gel stage starts, it will start in the center of your mold and work its way outwards towards the edges. Be sure to read this exceptionally informative article on Curing Soap from the Classic Bells website. Use this paste to cover the stains. Using the oven. At this time, most people say the soap is ready for use or for sale. Repeated tests of lathering, hardness, longevity, and mildness have proven this point to me. Thanks for tuning in today. When your soap is done with the 4-6 week curing time (or whatever the batch needs), put the bars into a plastic bin. The effect was kind of cool, but it ruined the soap. Generally speaking, this takes three to six weeks, but there are some cases when it can take even longer. from North Country Soap Making Library. The sodium comes from sodium hydroxide, NaOH. The trick to this process is using an oven safe mold, and really getting to know your oven. In a hand-made superfatted soap, the film of liquid surrounding the crystals is a complex alkaline mixture of water, glycerin, and other water soluble chemicals as well as an assortment of dissolved soap molecules. Use in a day or two, unmold and cut place to cure and age they. Sink or in the crystals are made of soap slowly evaporate over,... The transfer of more-soluble soaps into the crystals and the liquid curing soap in the oven is to... Contain affiliate links, to learn that cure makes a moisturizing yet bar. After the soap molecules accumulate on your memory to be about 170-180 degrees F. I made my soap I... 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