Milk Soap Suggestions

[AkainePSP]

New recipe I came up with:

23% Lard

19% Coconut Oil

23% Olive Oil

8% Sunflower Oil

6% Sweet Almond Oil

6% Avocado Oil

4% Castor Oil

3% Apricot Kernal Oil

4% Cocoa Butter

4% Mango Butter

7.44 oz Lye mixed in

8 oz. Aloe Vera Juice

12 oz. Milk Mixture

4 oz. cotton candy fo from Just Scent

Milk Mixture: 57% Soymilk, 21% Goats Milk & 22% Coconut Milk.

I put it in the fridge and it appears it gelled almost the whole way but not completely. So it will be multicolored. I'm wondering if next time I should freeze it? This is somewhat of an experiment. I love GM soap and while at the store saw the soy and coconut and figured what the heck.

If I don't refrigerate my milk soaps will they be ok? I'm just worried it will heat to much and crack but at the same time I would prefer not to have the multi colored partial gelled soap.

Ideas or suggestions?

Kelly

[Meridith]

New recipe I came up with:

23% Lard

19% Coconut Oil

23% Olive Oil

8% Sunflower Oil

6% Sweet Almond Oil

6% Avocado Oil

4% Castor Oil

3% Apricot Kernal Oil

4% Cocoa Butter

4% Mango Butter

7.44 oz Lye mixed in

8 oz. Aloe Vera Juice

12 oz. Milk Mixture

4 oz. cotton candy fo from Just Scent

Milk Mixture: 57% Soymilk, 21% Goats Milk & 22% Coconut Milk.

I put it in the fridge and it appears it gelled almost the whole way but not completely. So it will be multicolored. I'm wondering if next time I should freeze it? This is somewhat of an experiment. I love GM soap and while at the store saw the soy and coconut and figured what the heck.

It sounds like you got partial gel. It won't hurt the performance of the soap; just the looks. I had a gm soap once gel partially and I thought it looked kind of cool with different textures.

If I don't refrigerate my milk soaps will they be ok? I'm just worried it will heat to much and crack but at the same time I would prefer not to have the multi colored partial gelled soap.

Ideas or suggestions?

Kelly

I always soap with my milks cold or frozen, oils no hotter than 100 and I stir more than I use the SB. If adding the milk directly to the lye, I use frozen milk and very slowly add the lye to it. You can also hold back part of your liquid (Milks) only adding the lye to the other part of your water or aloe juice. Then at trace, add the remaining liquid (the cold milks). Ex. recipe calls for 12 oz liquid, you'd only add the lye to a portion of that 12 oz with the remaining amount being the milks which are added at trace.

I put my soap molds in the fridge and leave them there. I try to avoid gel with my milk soaps but if it is to gel, I want a complete gel so I will keep an eye on the soap to see if it starts to gel at all. Then if does, I try to force a full gel while not letting soap overheat which can cause my oils to separate.

[Tall Blonde]

I always soap with my milks cold or frozen, oils no hotter than 100 and I stir more than I use the SB. If adding the milk directly to the lye, I use frozen milk and very slowly add the lye to it. You can also hold back part of your liquid (Milks) only adding the lye to the other part of your water or aloe juice. Then at trace, add the remaining liquid (the cold milks). Ex. recipe calls for 12 oz liquid, you'd only add the lye to a portion of that 12 oz with the remaining amount being the milks which are added at trace.

How come sometimes when I pour my lye into my cold milk it hardens into a block of lye milk? Is the milk too frozen? I've tried milk soaps several times and it just never works right.

[Meridith]

How come sometimes when I pour my lye into my cold milk it hardens into a block of lye milk? Is the milk too frozen? I've tried milk soaps several times and it just never works right.

Are you saying that your milk is frozen or just really cold? I've never had what you describe happen to me. When I'm adding lye to frozen milk, I add it very slowly, with the lye helping to melt and break apart the frozen the milk. I use my spoon to also help break apart the frozen milk while I'm stirring. Once I've added all my lye, I usually have a slushy mixture but it will eventually completely thaw from the lye.

[AkainePSP]

I have not used frozen milk as of yet. I myself just make sure its extrememly cold.

[jeanm1125]

Are you saying that your milk is frozen or just really cold? I've never had what you describe happen to me. When I'm adding lye to frozen milk, I add it very slowly, with the lye helping to melt and break apart the frozen the milk. I use my spoon to also help break apart the frozen milk while I'm stirring. Once I've added all my lye, I usually have a slushy mixture but it will eventually completely thaw from the lye.

I've been interested in trying to make a goats milk soap, and after reading different posts from different sites, it makes me more nervous then I was to actually make my first batch of regular soap. Could someone explain to me how the lye/milk thing works? Do you replace the water in the lye/water mixture with the milk? Do you use the same percentages?

[Meridith]

I've been interested in trying to make a goats milk soap, and after reading different posts from different sites, it makes me more nervous then I was to actually make my first batch of regular soap. Could someone explain to me how the lye/milk thing works? Do you replace the water in the lye/water mixture with the milk? Do you use the same percentages?

There are a couple ways you can do it. You can sub out all your liquid/water and use goats milk (or any other liquid in place of water). You can use full gm as 100% of your liquid and hold back some of it which you add the lye with and then the other part, you add at trace. Or, you can hold back part of your liquid, using water that is added to the lye and the remaining part being the milk which is added in at trace. If you sub out part of your liquid as milk, you can decide which percentage you want to sub out. For instance you can do a 50/50 split (50% water/50% milk or whatever other liquid you want). hTH

[jeanm1125]

There are a couple ways you can do it. You can sub out all your liquid/water and use goats milk (or any other liquid in place of water). You can use full gm as 100% of your liquid and hold back some of it which you add the lye with and then the other part, you add at trace. Or, you can hold back part of your liquid, using water that is added to the lye and the remaining part being the milk which is added in at trace. If you sub out part of your liquid as milk, you can decide which percentage you want to sub out. For instance you can do a 50/50 split (50% water/50% milk or whatever other liquid you want). hTH

Thanks so much for your help Meridith. That does clear up a lot of the questions in my head. Have you ever substatued something like beet juice instead of water? I'm thinking this also might a natural color. Probably no benefits as far as how the soap feels. Are there any advantages to using any particular method that you mentioned?