Question Regarding Goat's Milk Soap

[BubbleBath]

Hi all, I'm in need of your vast knowledge....

A couple of months ago, I tried a goat's milk soap (CP) recipe and loved the way it turned out. All my testers, except one (always have to have one) loved it. I made the soap unscented without color, but like the natural color of the soap. Now, I want to try scenting and coloring the goat's milk soap. How (or does) color change in goat's milk soap? Let's say I want to color the soap blue, do I adjust for the natural color (not quite sure how to do that, but there's nothing wrong with a little research)? Or, do I just color the soap blue and hope for the best?

Does any of this make sense?????

[Meridith]

It is just something you will have to do to see what colors you get. The natural color of the soap due to the gm is also determined on how hot your soap mixture gets. My batches vary from batch to batch but stay pretty close in the color. I think its fun to always see what I can come up with and how my soaps turn out.

[BubbleBath]

Thanks for the info Meridith. I just went to the dollar store to buy some ice trays and put my Evaporated Goat's Milk in the freezer. Later, I'll mix my lye water and put that in my shop's refrigerator to cool it (which I didn't do last time).

Once again, thanks for the help.

[Scent Cellar]

I use oxides & ultramarines in my goatsmilk CP soap and the colors stay true. I soap very cool don't let them gel though.

[BubbleBath]

I normally do CPOP and my soaps gel. With this I am able to cut the next day and I test a sample in about a week. I do let it cure for 6 weeks before I give it to testers. Since I will place the soap in my little 'fridge, how long should I keep it in the mold, and how soon can I cut and test it?

[Jcandleattic]

I cut my GM soaps in 24 hours after pouring just like my others. They are a tad softer, but not so soft I can't cut. And I prevent (or try to prevent) gel in my gm soaps as well.

[Meridith]

When I make GM soaps, I soap very cool and never let it gel. I have to put my mold in the fridge to keep the gel from happening but with gm soap, you have to be careful since it can very easily overheat. I can usually unmold 24 hours after pouring then its to the soap shelf to cure.

[BubbleBath]

Here's what happened. I froze the goat's milk and refrigerated the lye mixture, barely heated the oils and then mixed the oils with the lye mixture. One I achieved thin trace, I added the milk cubes. Added the fragrance (SW Blue Sugar) and BCN's Blue Dye lightly took out about 1 cup and dyed it darker for swirls. Well the blue dye morphed to pinkish/red, no problem, it's just for testing. I refrigerate the soap and wash everything except the cup that I had the darker dye in.

This morning, that darker cup had changed to a lovely shade of purple. I thought the purple looked better than the pink/darker pink soap in the fridge, so I took it out. Well, it gelled. I just cut the soap. The inside is green and the outside is a grayish/purple color.

Just wanted to add that the blue dye I used was the B&B dye I had for melt and pour. I have the Select Shades on order, and should have received them Friday, but they are still not in and I'm impatient.

[kidsngarden]

All my soaps are GM (no added water) or GM/aloe vera juice.

Micas. That's absolutely the best to use in my experience. I love micas for just about everything. For purple I have begun to use alkanet root powder which depending on the amount I use I can get anywhere from a light lavender to almost black.

And soaping cool is very important unless you want really dark soap. And colors also will morph depending on FO too.

Bethany

[BubbleBath]

Thanks everyone!

[benthere-donethat]

I only use GM for liquid and maintain a light cream color. My GM is always frozen. I let it thaw a bit and add the lye bit by bit. I usually keep some ice cubes in the bottom of the sink around the glass measuring cup where I'm adding the lye. That keeps it cool enough that I don't have much color change. It's only when I get in a hurry or when my GM isn't frozen that I have the soap turn orange or dark tan.

I only use natural coloring--alkanet root, spirulina, etc, but have been able to get really beautiful purples since the soap stays a light color. COLD is the answer!

[Crafty1_AJ]

Thanks for the info Meridith. I just went to the dollar store to buy some ice trays and put my Evaporated Goat's Milk in the freezer. Later, I'll mix my lye water and put that in my shop's refrigerator to cool it (which I didn't do last time).

Once again, thanks for the help.

Nothing wrong with freezing the concentrated gm before use, but IMO, you're adding an extra step that isn't necessary. When soaping with the evaporated canned kind, you're supposed to mix the concentrate with an equal amount of water in order to reconstitute it to normal milk strength, right? So, all you have to do in order to make a 100% gm soap (all milk instead of water) is this.

Chill your concentrate in the fridge. Add your lye to half your normal water amount (no discounting). For example, I soap with 6 oz. of water ppo. So when I'm making GM soap with the liquid concentrate, I put my lye in 3 oz. of water ppo. I mix my cooled oils and cooled lye water and bring it all to a light trace, then add 3 oz. ppo of the chilled, concentrated, canned GM to the traced soap batter. This works every time and the milk never scorches/goes orange. Ice cubes are fine, but you really don't need that extra step when working with the concentrate, IMO. This method is easier!

hth

[Meridith]

I freeze my GM when I am using fresh to keep it from going bad. I always have more than I can use at that time so I always soap with frozen fresh GM. When using canned or powdered, I use it cold and add it in at trace.