Adding milk at trace?

[PurpleHippie]

I am feeling a bit adventurous and want to try making some coconut milk soap for the first time. Most of the recipes I have read use frozen or partially frozen milk as either a portion or total for the water. Recently I came across one recipe that added the milk at trace. No reason was given for this. I am assuming it helped keep the milk from scalding like it can when mixed with lye. Has anyone made soap adding milk at trace?

[DONNAMAC]

I add mine to the lye water, after it has cooled down. Coconut milk is quite a bit different than other milks. I find it doesn't get all that hot and you don't have to be as careful as you do with animal milk. I love coconut milk in soap.

[MarieJeanette]

I add milks with my oils instead of with my lye because it's less fuss and muss for me. The method of freezing the milk and adding the lye slowly in the hopes it won't scald, etc...was just too much of a stress inducing hassle for me. Once I saw how much easier adding the milk to the oils was and how it still gave me excellent results, as well as light, creamy colored milk soaps, I've never looked back.

First, I mix my lye with the minimum amount of water required for the lye to properly dissolve, and then I add the rest of my liquid amount as goat milk or coconut milk directly to my oils, stickblending the milk in either before adding my lye water to the oils, or just after when things are emulsified but not to trace yet. Doing it this way is easy peasy and so much less stressful for me.

MarieJeanette

Edited to add that when I want to make a 100% milk soap, I add enough goat milk powder or coconut milk powder to my milk portion in order to bring the milk concentration up to 100% for my entire liquid amount.

Edited September 25, 2009 by MarieJeanette

[rcrafty]

For coconut milk do you use the refrigerated kind or the canned? Which is better or are they the same?

[MarieJeanette]

I use canned coconut milk (Grace brand), or the kind you can find on the grocery shelves in cartons, but not refrigerated (Aroyo brand). Both act the same in soap. I can't recall ever seeing refigerated cartons of coconut milk, though. I can buy refrigerated Goat Milk in cartons, but not coconut milk.

MarieJeanette

[DONNAMAC]

I have used the can, and the powder. I don't think I have ever seen it refridgerated. I can't tell a difference in can or powder.

[rcrafty]

Is it better to not gel or does it matter with coconut milk?

[DONNAMAC]

I am not sure if it is better, I don't gel, but then again I don't ever gel.

[Fire and Ice]

If you do not want to gel milk soaps, put them in the freezer overnight.

I've done both gel and non gel on milk soaps and I just gel it now.

[crystal80]

I add milks with my oils instead of with my lye because it's less fuss and muss for me. The method of freezing the milk and adding the lye slowly in the hopes it won't scald, etc...was just too much of a stress inducing hassle for me. Once I saw how much easier adding the milk to the oils was and how it still gave me excellent results, as well as light, creamy colored milk soaps, I've never looked back.

First, I mix my lye with the minimum amount of water required for the lye to properly dissolve, and then I add the rest of my liquid amount as goat milk or coconut milk directly to my oils, stickblending the milk in either before adding my lye water to the oils, or just after when things are emulsified but not to trace yet. Doing it this way is easy peasy and so much less stressful for me.

MarieJeanette

Edited to add that when I want to make a 100% milk soap, I add enough goat milk powder or coconut milk powder to my milk portion in order to bring the milk concentration up to 100% for my entire liquid amount.

Hello, I am new to soap making.

MarieJeanette you said:

[First, I mix my lye with the minimum amount of water required for the lye to properly dissolve]

Now, do you discount the ounces from the milk to give to the lye water? or you just use the right amount of milk, and just add additional water to the lye?

Do you understand what I am asking?

Thank you

[kidsngarden]

Let's say your recipe required 40 ounces of liquid and 10 ounces of lye. I would take 10 ounces of water to mix with 10 oz of lye, then make up the balance of the liquid (30 oz) with milk. I don't wait for trace to add it, I add it when the lye mixture and the oils are emulsified.