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.
I've never tried hot process bar soap, but I'd expect that rather than "overcooking" you may have evaporated too much water. This could result in a clumpy mass without much cohesion.
immersion blender till it thickens up would be where you stop and pour in the mold. Cover it and wait for at least 24 hours before taking it out to dry
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".
👆 at this point, you can stop
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 🤷