# Gel



## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

I think I got gel! None of my batches over the last two weeks gelled (ha! At least I don't think so). Is gel kind of a glisteny look after the pour? Not actually separation of oils, but almost looking like that? Is that what gel looks like? It's faded now. This was a few hours ago.

This batch contained honey so was hotter than my other batches. Temp rose to about 110. My other batches were about 80 - 90.


----------



## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

When my soap is gelling it gets very dark and loses that opaque look. Starts in the middle and works its way toward the edges. Then as it cools it goes back to looking opaque. When it's in full gel you can actually feel the soap give if you push on it gently.


----------



## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Yes, I'm sure that's what happened. I'm just happy I know the difference now.


----------



## supermom (Feb 24, 2009)

Do we want gel....or not?


----------



## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

For most of my soaps there's no stopping it short of putting it in a freezer or fridge and there's just no way I am going to do that.


----------



## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

supermom said:


> Do we want gel....or not?


I still don't understand that one either, Monica.


----------



## supermom (Feb 24, 2009)

I actually had one pan do that once by accident. It was a pan to which I had added honey. I made the soap, put it in a glass casserole dish, and left it on the countertop with a dishtowel on top. I had to leave the house for a couple hours. When I got home, the center was almost black and it got lighter towards the egdes. I was afraid the countertop was scorched....but it wasn't. I thought for sure the soap was ruined, but the color lightened to a pretty brown and smelled delicious....like cooked brown sugar. My husband didn't care fo the smell, but we girls really did like it. The texture of the soap was different....seemed to dissolve/crumble just a little easier. Really wasn't a big difference, but my husband just didn't care for it. My kids want me to repeat the mistake because it smelled so good. I added some honey to a recent batch, but nothing happened. Not sure if I didn't add enough honey, or if it's because I didn't cover it, or what?


----------



## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

Crumbling is usually a lye heavy soap. It sounds like it was soaped hotter than it should have been. (Nope I never check temps, just guess). Honey will make your soap hotter and make it gel faster. The reason that I try to make sure my soaps gel by putting them in the oven, wrapping them in towels, etc. is that no matter what, the center always seems to gel, and when the outsides of the soap don't I end up with a halo in the center of the cut soaps that I don't like. I try to get the soaps as perfect as possible...(which for me is impossible), but at least I can get an even color all the way through by making sure they gel for me.


----------



## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

There are some people who prefer not to gel and go to great lengths to stop it. I honestly don't see a difference. And since mine wants to gel I let it. In winter I will wrap my molds with towels to prevent that partial gel/halo effect that Anita mentioned.


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

If you cover soaps with honey in them it doesn't just gel, it overheats. What is the flash point of your fragrance oil? If you cover Honey L`octaine and let it heat up it will ruin the scent because the first scent that always burns off is your expensive top notes. My honey l`octaine soap I line the molds with bubble wrap to make my honeycomb soap, if I covered them they would heat up so hot that it would melt the bubble wrap. The larger the volume of soap you are making the more problem you have with it. I won't be able to use the block molds with either of those soaps. My oatmeal goatmilk and honey soap has both Honey l`octaine in it and honey...if I cover them it overheats and ruins the textured tops.

Yes I want my soap to gel, I think it looks better, but you have to know your recipe and your scent because trying to force gel with anything over the top of your soap can also ruin it as it overheats.

So as I soap I stack the molds on top of each other, that way the heat of one soap helps the next gel, except my soaps with honey which heats up, or my scents with very low flash points (perfume dupes mostly).


----------

