I went to the other side of the kitchen and..

[divayoki]

My goat milk recipe seized!!!! I never saw anything like that it scared the crap outta me. Here is the recipe I used

Olive Oil 36%

Coconut oil 28%

Palm oil 20%

Sunflower oil 8%

Castor oil 8%

used 19oz goat milk

I had not added the f/o yet, I added half the milk w/the lye mixture and it turned brown and stinky so I saved half to add at the end. I turned around to get the remaining milk and the whole batch was sitting there stiff as board! I tried to stir it and smoke came out!! What did I do wrong

[divayoki]

OK, by the time I posted this and went back to my batch it looked like a volcano has just opened up. So I figured I try to insert the spoon and stir it, it worked! The middle had turned back to a light trace stage but was smokin something crazy. I kept stirring and it was very lumpy and looked like poo. I could never get it to a smooth consistency so I added the f/o and dumped it into the mold . It ended up having the consistency of that green gooey stuff that kids like to play with. Wow, who says it doesn't take skill to make soap! I cant wait to see what happens. I posted pix, I made a batch 2 days ago that is curing with white spots on them, have a look.

[Crafty1_AJ]

Was the milk cold or frozen?

[Hibiscus]

That looks like a rebatch with a bad attitude:D and I'd like to know if the milk was frozen as well. I froze mine and haven't done it any other way since sooo what did you do?

[divayoki]

The milk was room temp since I used powdered goat milk and mixed w/room temp water. Is frozen best to use when mixing with the lye? The pix w/the dark choclate colored bar was also goat milk and this one traced quickly but did not seize. The difference with the 1st batch was that I used water and lye mix and then made goat milk separately and added at the end.

[Carriegsxr6]

I must have had someting to do with the high percentage of hard oils in your batch that caused the quick stiffness and the milk caused it to way overheat. Next time use more soft oils in your recipe or dont do the milk discount at first, just use the full milk and chill it for a few hrs before adding lye.

Also did you allow your lye mixture to cool before you added it to the oils?

[divayoki]

Hi Carrie,

the lye mixture was just under 140 degrees, this may have been too hot. I mean this stuff was smoking once I mixed it all together!!

[Michi]

WOW, this and other stories makes me afraid (very afraid) to ever try adding milk to soaps!!

That first batch looks very nice and smooth and creamy though (what are the spots on top do you know?).

I've had some soap that I had to plop in the mold that looked kinda like yours but it was just cuz I stirred too long I think, never ever wanna have an experience like yours, with the smokin' volcano!! YIKES

I hope you can save it.

[Carriegsxr6]

Hi Carrie,

the lye mixture was just under 140 degrees, this may have been too hot. I mean this stuff was smoking once I mixed it all together!!

yes that lye mixture was way too hot. I usually mix the oils and lye when both are at room temp. Maybe since you are using milk, refrigerate it and add it to the oils when its completely chilled.

[tootie04]

lye water was defiantly too hot. I mix my powdered GM and put it in the freezer till my lye water has cooled to room temp then I mix them slowly.

My first batch of soap I ever made was GM.I froze the milk in ice cube trays and then weighed out what i needed and mixed the lye into the ice cubes. I like this method the best and am going to go back to it as soon as the powder is gone.

HTH

Patricia

[divayoki]

Thanks guys, these are great ideas. I'm going to try again with the chilled milk. I'm still having fun though .

[Crafty1_AJ]

Agreed -- your lye temp was too hot. Milk soaps really aren't that difficult if you just keep in mind a few things. SOAP COOL. Easy does it. Lye water and melted oils should be around 100 degrees F. KEEP IT COOL IN THE MOLD. Don't over-insulate, if you insulate at all. Some soapers put milk soaps under a fan to prevent overheating. Milk just wants to heat everything right up, so sometimes you need to chill or even freeze your GM before using it. If you are using an fo, be sure to use one that isn't known for overheating/speeding trace. And these tips are especially important if you're also adding honey, another known "heater upper."

HTH. Happy milk soaping!

[Hibiscus]

I've never used the powdered milk. I subbed all the water with gm and froze it and my oils were room temp and when I added the lye to the gm there was a slight smell but nothing serious. When I added the gm/lye mix to the oils it turned that pumpkin brown color and behaved nicely. My first recipe had shea butter, avocado oil, coconut oil and I think oo.