Dissolving lye is small amounts of water..HELP!

[Grannyscandles]

I am making a milk soap and want to add the milk at trace, so I have reduced my water amount by 50% and dissolved the lye in it. It appears cloudy, like it is very dense with lye. Is this gonna be ok? It kinda has a scum on the top of it.

I have always used frozen milk and dissolved my lye on it but I am going for a lighter goatmilk bar.

[RobinInOR]

It may be OK. The physical limits you have to work with are that a lye solution can only go down to about 50% - ie, equal amount of liquid and lye. So 8 oz of lye, 8 oz of water, and you're about at the limit that NaOH dissolves at. Warmer water might allow more to dissolve. I usually see a bit of "scum" when I do water discounts, but I've only gone down to a 40% solution before.

[Grannyscandles]

Thanks Robin. I thought it was ok but I wasn't positive.

[Crafty1_AJ]

I do that when I make my 100% GM soap. Since the canned GM is concentrated, you have to dilute with equal parts water. Instead of diluting, I just leave the milk as is and freeze it. Then I mix my lye with half my normal amount of water. It's a bit more challenging to get that much lye dissolved into that much water, but it can be done with patience!

That way, when I'm done, my soap has 1/2 concentrated GM and 1/2 water, or basically, reconstituted GM.

[Crafty1_AJ]

P.S. Thanks for reminding me I need to get up off my butt and go make a batch of GM soap!