Yogurt Soap?

[JanetsCandles]

Today has had me outside in the very warm New Mexico sun, building a new storage shed alongside my DH. I'm usually the family vampire (no, not really, but I worked night shift for too many years and it stuck with me) and so my normally very pale skin looks rather lobsterish tonight. So after my shower, I'm smearing on my normal yogurt/aloe combo and it crossed my mind... I assume yogurt can be used in soap, we use so many other things, and it's a dairy product. So I figured I'd ask some opinions. Have any of you done it? Anything to know? Is it worth the trial?

[ProudMarineMom]

I have used yogurt in several of my soaps and I really like it. Found a Greek style from Cabot that is not low-fat or no-fat. The top of the container says 10% milkfat. I have made batches using two different methods.

The first I mixed the yogurt about 50:50 with water and froze. I used a silicone muffin pan to freeze and probably should have tried to chunk them up before putting in my lye pot. I put the frozen yogurt in my lye pot and then poured the lye over them. The heat from the lye melts the yogurt and stir to dissolve the lye. Since the yogurt is white it's hard to tell if all the lye crystals are dissolved. So, I did what I read somewhere, stir until you think they are dissolved then stir some more. It behaved pretty good for me when I mixed with the oils.

The second method I like better. Think I read about the method on the Soap Queen blog. And, probably wouldn't work if you use a high lye concentration (but I could be wrong ). I've been soaping these at 30% lye concentration so I have enough water to dissolve the lye. Instead of freezing the yogurt it is added after the lye is added to the oils. The method basically splits the water content of your batch in half. Half of the water is used to dissolve the lye and the other half is made up of yogurt combined with enough water to make it smooth and pourable. I use a bit more than half the water for the lye portion because I'm still new to lye and I want to be darn sure it dissolves. So, you make your lye solution like you normally do then add the yogurt solution after you incorporate the lye into the oils.

I know that the lye is going to do it's thing to the fats in the yogurt no matter when you add it. But, I like begin able to see if my water is clear and no lye crystals. Plus, I use silk and I'm comfortable adding that when I can see how it's doing in the lye water as well. I also do RTCP and both my lye and oils are at room temp. So, I'm not putting the yogurt through that initial heat when the lye is dissolving. I also put the soap in the fridge for at least 24 and usually up to 48 hours to prevent gel. Has worked pretty good for me so far.

So, the short answer is yes, you can use yogurt!

[TallTayl]

Yogurt is very nice. I prefer it as an additive versus the main liquid source for the lye solution. In a recent lather swap Yogurt was a sample used at nearly 100% of the formula. THe lather was diminished significantly. Scores for that sample were near the bottom of the entire 25.

Used as 1 oz or so per lb of oils added to the liquid oils it really lends something to the blend.

[ProudMarineMom]

ooooh, going to have to give that a try. I do like the feel of the yogurt but have been trying to coax more bubbles and lather out of the bars.

[LovelyLathers]

I use it in a lot of my soaps at 1 oz ppo also at trace. I love it! I make a oatmeal, yogurt & shea soap and can not keep it in stock. It has become on of my top 5 repeat sellers. No problem with lather at all.

[Kitn]

Give it a try, it is fabulous in soap.

[lsg]

I just had to try my homemade plain yogurt in a soap recipe. I used the top which was cream, so I hope to have a creamy soap. I substituted yogurt for part of the liquid. I added my yogurt to the soap at thin trace. It is in the mold now. I can hardly wait to unmold it.

Edited May 3, 2012 by lsg

[ProudMarineMom]

How did your homemade yogurt do in the soap? How does the cost of making your own yogurt compare to just buying a tub? I understand there are probably many more benefits than cost, just like making our own soap. I'm curious as to how expensive it is to make your own.

Edited May 26, 2012 by ProudMarineMom

[Loolee]

what qualities does yogurt bring to the soap making party?

[lsg]

How did your homemade yogurt do in the soap? How does the cost of making your own yogurt compare to just buying a tub? I understand there are probably many more benefits than cost, just like making our own soap. I'm curious as to how expensive it is to make your own.

The soap turned out fine. We have our own milk cow so making yogurt is relatively inexpensive for me. I just get a good starter and keep it going. If my starter plays out, I can go to the store and buy a plain yogurt with active culture. I think the yogurt is like milk in that it adds that extra creaminess and lather to a bar of soap.

Edited May 29, 2012 by lsg

[ProudMarineMom]

Thanks lsg for the info. If we lived in WI near SIL dairy farm I could get free milk. But, bit of a commute from Georgia. I'll probably just keep buying the yogurt from the store. I really don't need another hobby right now.

I agree, yogurt is very nice in soap. Very creamy. One batch I also added rose clay for color and that one was extremely popular with my testers.

[Candybee]

Yogurt sounds yummy in soap. I'm glad this thread was started otherwise when it comes time to try it I would have subbed half my lye water for yogurt.