I am pretty sure I over cooked it. I kept waiting for the mixture to look glossy but it was only ever partial so I wound up cooking it for 3 hours before deciding to just put it in the mold anyway and the soap doesn’t hold together very well. I am leaving it in for a day but when I was pressing it into the mold it just felt like it wasn’t forming a cohesive whole.
For the cold process, sure. But that is not how the hot process works. Edit: Well I guess it depends how thick you are referring to. All the guides I have seen say to cook until it is shiny like petroleum jelly.
i started with hot process ±20 years ago and optimized my timings with every passing summer. For the first couple of years I had unpleasant experiences like yours but now i start hot and stop as soon as i can “draw on the surface”.
That is called trace from what I understand, and that is where the cold process stops. The only issue being that it must then cure for a month in order to allow the full saponification reaction to occur.
with time i ended up making cold process then 🤷
it was taking hours when i started, this (apparently cold process) takes 10’. I start using these soaps after a week or less. Maybe it’s because i start with a hot lye solution and warm oil that it doesn’t need a month to cure 🤷