Jeana Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 If I take out 1/4 of the recipe's required water to mix the lye, then add the remaining 3/4 liquid as something other than water, like milk, tea, or coffee after the lye and water have cooled?I'm planning to make some coffee, tea and possibly milk soaps, but I don't like how the heat of the lye scorches as it is mixing, I think it throws off the intended scent or look. Does anyone else do this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridith Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I do this with my milk soaps with no problemos. ETA that I take out only like 1/2 out that I replace with GM that is added at trace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WendyByTheBay Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Shoot, I have replaced all my water with beer. Beer makes great soap:)! You really don't need water just liquid of some sort. Just run recipe though cacl., then replace water with your desired liquid.Used coffee for my liquid a few times..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I make sure to mix the lye and water at least equal parts. I've read that it takes equal parts to dissolve completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridith Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 I've totally replaced my liquid with different types of milk, coffee, tea, and aloe vera juice before and added the lye directly to it. If you are worried about scorching your milk, you can use powdered milks and make a slurry that you add at light trace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeana Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 I recently made a beer soap where I didn't use water at all, only beer. When I added the lye it was instant boiling beer. It smelled like burnt beer, not a nice smell. The end product didn't smell bad, but I am curious if I could avoid the burned liquid phase. So that is why I started thinking about just doing enough water to disolve the lye and then add whatever other liquid I'll be using.Doing equal parts lye to water makes sense. Merideth, so you usually use 1/2 your liquid as milk when doing a milk soap? Which is the best milk to use? GM?Do you use all the liquid Aloe, I wan't to try this too. What are the benefits of adding Aloe to soap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WendyByTheBay Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 If you are using ONLY beer for your liquid, make sure your beer is completely flat. Leave it in an open container for a few days. When adding lye, do so very, very, very slowly. If you don't do that you could end up with the mixture foaming up and out of your container leaving you with a dangerous mess to clean. I always put my lye container in another container (like a larger plastic shoebox) and then in the sink. It sure is stinky but makes some awesome soap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridith Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 I recently made a beer soap where I didn't use water at all, only beer. When I added the lye it was instant boiling beer. It smelled like burnt beer, not a nice smell. The end product didn't smell bad, but I am curious if I could avoid the burned liquid phase. So that is why I started thinking about just doing enough water to disolve the lye and then add whatever other liquid I'll be using.Doing equal parts lye to water makes sense. Merideth, so you usually use 1/2 your liquid as milk when doing a milk soap? Which is the best milk to use? GM?Do you use all the liquid Aloe, I wan't to try this too. What are the benefits of adding Aloe to soap?I do it several ways depending on my mood and the type and amount of milk I have. I personally love to use a combo of milks but just plain GM is wonderful too and produces a very creamy lather. You can use 1/2 of your liquid as milk if you want but as was mentioned before, you must make sure you get all the lye dissolved. You can use full GM too, freezing it before hand to help prevent scorching. Add the lye to the frozen GM very slowly. I have used full Aloe Vera Juice as my liquid and I've used it as part that I added at trace. Honestly I don't know what it adds to the soap other than lable appeal. I can tell you that the batches I made with it had some wonderful creamy lather like I get with milk soaps. Of course we all know that many of the benefits of an ingredient can be destroyed by the lye but it is still fun to experiment. When soaping any alcohol, always make sure that it is flat. I've never soaped with alcohol but I thought I also read somewhere once that you should boil the alcohol out? Does anyone know if this is true or am I having a senior moment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carriegsxr6 Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 yes, that is the correct way to do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridith Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Thanks Carrie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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