Melt and combine your oils and mix up lye solution as you would with CP. Temperature doesn’t matter when making HP, so add the lye solution to the oils as soon as you’re sure the caustic soda crystals have completely dissolved. Stick-blend until you reach a thick trace.
There have been a few questions around about CPHP
and the stages it goes through. I've read about
Vaseline, champagne bubbles, mashed potatoes, etc,
but have never encountered any of them. I thought
I'd take a few pictures to show what happens when I
make CPHP. This tutorial takes into account that
you already have a good working knowledge of
soapmaking.
Now put the lid on, check the crock pot is on the lowest setting, and relax for about a half an hour. It’ll take at least this long for the gelling process to begin, which is essentially the point of hot process soap – ensuring gel. After about 30 minutes, the edges will begin to look translucent. This is the beginning of the gelling process.
After another ten minutes or so, you’ll see the gel is spreading inwards toward the middle of the soap
Five minutes later, The soap is completely gelled.
Now it’s time to switch off the crock pot and give the soap a stir to be sure it’s completely gelled. If it isn't, you'll find a chunk of light-coloured raw soap floating in the gel. If this happens, turn the crock pot back on and cook your soap for another 10-15 minutes until there is no light-coloured soap left. This one has completely gelled.
And now for the fun part: The Zap Test. Carefully remove a tiny bit of soap from the pot and rub it between your fingers to help it cool. It should feel waxy. If it feels at all grainy, don’t test! Once the soap has cooled, lightly tap it to your tongue. If you get a zap or a sting, you have active lye in your soap and will need to cook it some more. If not, you can move on to the next step.
When making HP, I like to put in the additives at the end of the cook. This ensures that the goodies never touch active lye, so you’ll get all of their benefits. Avocado oil or jojoba oil make great additives.
Now add your fragrance:
If you’d like to swirl in some colour, simply remove a cup or so and add your colourant to it. Stir well and then add the coloured soap back to the pot. I’ve used a lovely green here. Remember to use a light touch for an in-the-pot swirl – mix it less than you think you need to.
Put your soap into moulds.
And when the soap has completely cooled, it’s ready to go!
Remember that hot process soap needs to cure for at least one week, preferably two. It'll get harder and milder the longer you leave it.
