PART TWO.
HOT PROCESS.
Hot Process is basically taking s cold process recipe and cooking it. It is usually done in a crock pot which is my preferred method. Hot Processing you melt and heat up your oils and butters in a crock pot. When the temperatures of your lye solution and your oils are within 10 degrees of one another you pour your lye solution into the oils and stick blend to a medium trace (discussed in cold process). You then cover it and then on low heat you cook it until it gets to what we all refer to as the “Vaseline” stage. It becomes looking like vaseline. Now When your cooking your soap, especially for your first time you need to watch over it. It can “volcano” or erupt over the sides. When you see this happening, you quickly whisk it until it goes back down. Cooking your soap makes it go through saponification faster. This type of soap you “glop” it into the molds. These soaps usually have a more rustic look. Technically you can use the soap the next day as it already went through saponification, however, it will be soft and not last very long. Hot Process requires the same curing time as does Cold Processing to allow the evaporation of excess water and to harden and become milder. Also it is believed that because in hot processing you add your fragrance at the end before molding, its stronger smelling and the scent lasts longer. Since l don’t cold process, l cannot say whether that is true or not. But know your “flash point” of your fragrance. That is when your soap is too hot to add your fragrance because the scent will flash off.
PART THREE – CPOP SOAPING
