which is the best

[Tasha]

am thinking about making the goats milk soap. I have seen recipes for hot or cold press. Which is the best? What is the difference? and What is the degree of difficulty in making them? Is there an on-line video showing how to make them?

[mystical_angel1219]

I personally like CP better, it's creamy and has a smoother texture, IMO.

HP is good for temperamental FO's (florals, etc) and it doesn't need to be cured for weeks to be ready to use. I love milk soaps of any kind, they feel luxuriant and are very moisturizing to the skin. The whole HP/CP difference to me is preference. Plus you can't really swirl in HP soap.

What form of GM are you using? Fresh, canned or powdered?

Have you made soap before using a lye process method?

Robin has a great tutorial for soapmaking with photos in the first section of the board. It is informative and easy to follow.

http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45126

[Tasha]

No never made soaps before. My son has exzema and I got the idea from another post where I inquired about the lotion. I think it would be interesting to try for my son/personal use.

[mystical_angel1219]

I would highly suggest trying a basic CP soap recipe before going to any milk soap. I tell you this because milk soaps have even more variables than regular CP. This will give you a feel for the soapmaking process and get you more comfortable with trying new things that can be a bit challenging, IMO.

Goats milk can scorch, overheat and discolor easily without any warning.

Neem oil is said to be very good for exzema.

Here is a link explaining a bit about fixed oils and the conditions they can be used for: http://www.candleandsoapstuff.com/oils.html I will caution you to not order from her, for many reasons.

Meridith and Michelleb both are very versed on GM soaping.

I am sure one of them will chime in this thread.

[Tasha]

I just looked over the link you referred me to. Gosh It seems to be a very time consuming and complicated process. I was just looking at another site and will do more research on the melt and pour soaps. I have a 4 and 6 year old who's always interested in what I'm doing and using lye would be a bit much for me right now.

[mystical_angel1219]

Cold process soapmaking is science, IMO- but it isn't that difficult.

With small children in the house, you definitely don't want to be disturbed while soapmaking or handling lye, period. A few of the soapers I know make soap when their kids are in bed or not a home. Lye safety is numero uno for anyone making soap. I won't direct you to any horror stories, but I can tell you that one simple error can turn into a disaster when it comes to handling lye. Not trying to scare you of course, but it is always good to be fully aware of what can happen with this chemical.

They do sell MP bases with GM already in them. SFIC is the best for bases, from what I have been told. I am not an MP soaper, but I know you can add oils, butters and botanicals to the base to customize your own soap. Good luck with soaping. It is very addictive~!

[Crafty1_AJ]

I can understand your hesitation! But if/when you decide to make cold process GM soap, here are my tips for the easiest way to do it for beginners.

You need:

~ your favorite 4 lb. soap recipe*

~ 12 oz. water

~ one 12-oz. can Meyenberg goat's milk (This is concentrated and typically is reconstituted to normal strength with equal parts milk and water, but do NOT reconstitute. Leave as is.)

1. Chill can of goat's milk in fridge.

2. Stir the correct amount of lye for your recipe into twelve oz. water and dissolve.

3. Melt your hard/brittle fats and add liquid oils.

4. When lye water and fats/oils have cooled, add lye water to fats/oils and bring to light trace.

5. Add 12 oz. of chilled, concentrated goat's milk to soap batter and blend thoroughly.

6. The milk will heat the soap up in the mold, so be careful to insulate lightly, if at all.

*If you don't have a favorite recipe, you can try my simple beginner's recipe of 50% olive oil, 25% 76-degree coconut oil, and 25% lard or palm oil. For a 4 lb. batch of soap, that would mean you'd need 2 lb. olive oil, 1 lb. coconut oil, and 1 lb. lard or palm oil. If desired, substitute castor oil for up to 10% of the olive oil. Run your recipe through a reliable lye calculator such as soapcalc.com to make sure you get the correct amount of lye to use. I recommend that beginners use a 5% superfat figure, which is the default on soapcalc.

If you prefer using powdered GM, simply whisk the dry milk into your oils before adding the lye water. If you prefer to use fresh goat's milk, that is the most challenging way but I can post directions for that, too. The fresh milk is frozen before use to prevent scorching.

[Tasha]

thanks for the recipe.