I had some issues with a previous batch- I didn’t work fast enough to pour the soap into the mold and I also didn’t do a good job at packing in the soap batter. This resulted in a soap loaf with some ugly cavities.
I thought it’d be a good opportunity to try the hot process method! This involves mixing the soap at an elevated temperature for about an hour. This is essentially speeding up the saponification reaction (higher heat = faster reaction rate, yay reaction kinetics). Theoretically hot processed soaps can be used once they cool down and harden. The alternative technique (cold processing) requires 4-6 weeks to cure before use. All of my other soaps have been made using the cold process technique.
I ended up heating the soap to a range of 80-90°C for approximately 1 hour. It was a little difficult finding ideal temperature ranges for this process. Most of the references I found said to put the soap on a slow cooker on the “low” setting. Because this is my first time using the hot process method, I want to let the soap cure for atleast a week before I test it on myself.
After an hour on the hot plate, I quickly poured it out into the soap mold. With a spoon, I packed it down as best as I could and sprinkled some dried camomile flowers on the top!
