Thank you very much for the info. I will give them a jingle

I am supper new to making soaps infact I am just collecting all the items to make bar soap at the moment. Currently I have everything I need except for Lye. I know this sounds wierd but I can’t find it anywhere and when I try to buy it online the shipping is way more then the cost of the Lye lol. So I know this question may not belong here but I hope ya’ll will understand. Where in the world do you get it? I had a few people tell me that you can use a certain type of draino and of course it does have the same sodium hydroxide but for some reason that doesn’t sit well with me unless I get the go ahead from an experienced soap maker. Soooooo any help for a new mommy in SLC???

“How nice that someone is still looking at that tutorial! I love HP soapmaking also!

My hubby makes all of my wooden molds for me. He made several sizes of wooden logs, 2 slab molds and a dual cutter (straight edge and crinkle
cut). I didn’t want to take a chance in selling them until I got insurance…which is my goal this year. I want to sell soap!!!

Now, IMO, I think HP is better done in a log mold because it has less exposed area. The slab has too much of an exposed area – it dries out too
quickly, then you have to cut off the parts that dried quicker than it should have. With a log, you just have to cut off the top! This is strictly aesthetics – but you want all of your soap bars to look good!

Here’s a pic of both of my slabs: HERE

Wooden Soap Mold ~ 5 # Slab with Rulers (ruler = 3.5″ x 10″ to score top of soap to make 2 logs) 10 x 7w x 3.5d (inches)
Wooden Soap Mold ~ 7 # Slab (Rulers not shown) (ruler = 3″ x 13″ to score top of soap to make 3 logs) 13 x 9w x 2.5d (inches)

We could not find the right material to make the inserts – but to be honest, those inserts are a pain to remove from the soap…and 9 times out of 10,
the soap would stick to the inserts and wouldn’t come out clean.

Hope that helped you! If you have a way to make your own slabs – you’re better off!

Thanks ;o)
Kathy”

Re: the water amount, I used 10.6 oz for my 28 oz oil. The lye calculator I use has a default number of 38 for “water as % of oils”. Should I increase that percentage, if so what would you recommend? Also, is a higher percentage in general better for HP?

My soap did fold over just before the two hour mark, next time I will watch it more carefully to see if it is ready before that. It was a pretty nice creamy texture when I glopped it into the mold, it was just the last scrapping of the pot that caused the dryness on the very top. I probably could have even poured it, if I had a third hand to scrape!

I know my 5-6 qt pot is a little big for my small batch, but it cooks at a nice low temp on low and I didn’t have to worry about it out growing the pot.

Yes, my next batch will include some color and scent.

Terry

Yes – Yes – Yes!! I’m so glad that it went so well for you! On your next batch you can try some colorant and scent ;o)

Now for the dryness ~ did you use the full amount of liquid called for? The other thing that comes to mind is 2.5 # batch in a 6 quart crockpot. Now if your crock pot is smaller, that wouldn’t have made the batch dry out like that. Or maybe it cooked too long? With a small batch, it shouldn’t cook longer than 1 to 1.5 hours. Did your batch fold over on itself at the 2 hour mark?

I’m just sooo glad my instructions/pics worked (or made sense – LOL!) for someone!! Please let us know how your next batch turns out! I’m going to try a batch with the Sodium Lactate just to see if it pours instead of glops! If it looks like it’s going to pour, then I can try a 2 color swirl!!

Thank you for letting me know it worked out for you!
Kathy

I did it! Thank you so much for the excellent pictures and instructions. I have been wanting to try hot process, but didn’t want to leave my CP comfort zone. I did not add color, scent or any additives, I just wanted to work on the technique. What I really liked was the part when you said “don’t lift the lid, don’t stir, just leave it alone”, how easy is that. It was fun comparing your pictures and watching my own pot in action. I made about a 2 1/2 pound batch so it only took about two hours to cook. I tried to glop as fast as I could, but the top was a little dry, I trimmed it and used the trim to remelt and made a couple of heart shaped soaps. Next time I would make a little more to account for the trim. All in all, it was pretty easy, I want to try it again!

Thanks for sharing, Terry