How do I stop my soap from going to Gel?

by Miriam Fields
(Houston, TX)

I believe all my cp soap batches have gone to gel. How do I stop my soap from going through gel?


Answer:

This isn't something I've done myself so I will just relay to you what I have read.

Avoid ingredients like milk products, sugars, beer...anything that has a sugar component to it in your recipe. Sugar heats up the soap base and sends the soap to a speedy gel.

Once your soap has been poured, do not insulate it. In some cases people put their soap into the fridge or even the freezer to stop the gel process. I believe it would be helpful to have smaller batches as well since the larger the batch, the easier it seems for the soap to gel.

Good luck,
Cathy

Comments for How do I stop my soap from going to Gel?

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Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Stopping Gel
by: Anonymous

Freezing is great to thwart gel phase in milk soaps and I've had success with this method--especially in tube molds. Two days ago, I made a red/white/blue column swirl slab. Didn't want it to gel to keep the colors from darkening. After completed pour, stuck it in the freezer for over night. Pulled out the frozen soap the next morning (about 8 hours in). Decided to keep it in the mold because the soap was a bit soft after thaw and I was sure it was going to ash on all exposed surfaces if I cut it too soon. This morning I found that it was hard enough to cut but the center was generating heat SO I decided to let it do its thing and gel by wrapping it instead of putting it back in the freezer. It wants to gel and I don't want ash or a partial gel so we--the soap and I--are meeting in the middle. Didn't add any sugars to the recipe. Often we are at the mercy of the soap!
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Gel soap
by: Anonymous

I often watch YouTube Hand make in Florida,she makes very beautiful colour soap I wonder did she gel her soap ? For sure she won't tell me the true, by all meant can you tell?
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		cold soap
by: Anonymous

when do you cover soap?
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Soap will not trace
by: Anonymous

HI, im using NaOH in pearls disolved in watter, i mix it with my oils and even 15 min in i cant notice it coagulating, could this be because my NaOh is only 98% ? how long should i mix it ?

I dont know what im doing wrong, please help

Answer:

My concern is what the other 2% is in your NaOH. You should only use 100% Sodium Hydroxide.

Once you are using 100% NaOH the stirring can take anywhere from a few minutes to half of an hour (with a stick blender) depending on the oils you are using in the recipe and the amount of water/liquid.

Liquid oils take longer to saponify than solid oils due to the lower content of palmitic and stearic acids in the liquid oils. Adding more hard oils to your recipe will help shorten the trace time.

Higher amounts of water in a recipe will also cause the soap batter to take longer to saponify. I tend to use around 33 - 36% water by weight of oils in my recipes.

Using a stick blender is a good way to shorten the time it takes for the soap to thicken.

Cathy
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		I Skip Gel Because
by: Shay

I skip the Gel Phase because I've had a few batches that I let Gel and when I allowed them to Gel I could see the oils through out the soap in like a swirly sort of pattern but it was a clear crystalized sort of look that I didn't like it just didn't look as good as soap that doesn't Gel. I prefer not having that crystalized look I want my soap to show the colours and swirls the way I meant them to look. Gel Phase changes the look and feel.

Comment

Gelled soap does not usually have this appearance. The crystalized look is a result of the soap overheating. Kind of like a crackled glaze look.

Gelled soap is darker in colour and tends to harden faster than non-gelled soap.

Cathy
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Why Skip?
by: Anonymous

Why skip the gel phase? What is the affect on the finished product?
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		How I Stop My CP Soap From Gel Phase
by: Shay

This is what I do to stop my CP soap from going through the Gel Phase. I DO NOT Insulate and I DO NOT put a lid on my soap mold. I just pour my soap into the mold and let it do it's thing. I check every so often because I enjoy seeing it getting hard and ready to unmold. Not insulating and no lid stops my soap from going through the gel phase. Hope this helps and happy soaping :>)

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