Goat’s milk soap

[wbocrafter]

I purchased some goat milk to make soap and from what I’ve read I should freeze it in ice cube trays. When I go to make a batch of soap how do I know how many cubes to use! Do I weigh them like I do everything else?

 

[Yooper]

Yes you weigh it just as you would weigh water or oils. I use frozen milk instead of water and slowly add the lye into it to keep the milk from burning.

 

[wbocrafter]

Yes you weigh it just as you would weigh water or oils. I use frozen milk instead of water and slowly add the lye into it to keep the milk from burning.

Thank you. I didn’t know if the ice added additional weight or not.

 

[lesliesears]

I make soap w goat milk. I do full water replacement, so whatever amount of water the recipe calls for is the milk amount. Because the lye-liquid mixture heats up and milk will scorch, use frozen milk and an ice bath to keep the temperature down. I have 2 large identical plastic mixing bowls. I put ice water in one and stack the other on top. Into the top one you place your weighed frozen milk cubes and slowly add your weighed lye. You can break up a cube or add a teeny amount of unfrozen milk to get you to the right weight. Freezing the milk does not change it's weight. Good luck!

 

[wbocrafter]

I just made a batch of goat milk where I colored it with cocoa. when I cut it there is a darker chocolate circle in the middle of the soap. What did I do wrong?

 

[Yooper]

I just made a batch of goat milk where I colored it with cocoa. when I cut it there is a darker chocolate circle in the middle of the soap. What did I do wrong?

That sounds like it got a partial gel. It isn't a problem, but it has a different color appearance where it didn't gel in the middle. It's only aesthetic. Goat's milk soap is a bit tricky like all milk soaps where you don't want it to overheat, so sometimes will get a partial gel unless you put the poured soap batter into the freezer right away.

 

[wbocrafter]

the temp of my goat milk & lye was around 66 & my oils were around 88. I usually put it in the refrigerator. Should I put it in the freezer? Thanks so much for your help.

 

[Yooper]

It sounds like it still heated up enough to give you a partial gel. I’d either go ahead and force gel (which may turn the soap more tan) or stick it in the freezer right after pouring.

 

[wbocrafter]

So should I always put it into the freezer instead of the refrigerator? What should be my ideal temps of my milk & my oils?

 

[Yooper]

That’s a hard question to answer- you don’t want to get a false trace either during soaping and it depends on the oils and their melting point. It’s also how hot the batter gets- I’ve actually done soaping with milk in the bowl in another bowl of ice under it to keep it from heating up so much. You want it hot enough to make the chemical reaction but not hot enough to burn. And even then, I gel all my goat milk soaps.

 

[wbocrafter]

I just made another batch of the cocoa soap. My lye/goat milk temp was 82 degrees & my oils were 93 degrees. After mixing I immediately put it in the freezer overnight & the same thing happened. I did notice my other batch where I had the circle in the middle is slowly going away. I just want to know what to do to avoid it in the future. Should I keep it in the freezer longer? Thanks for any assistance you can offer.

 

[wbocrafter]

I forgot to add I put my lye/goat milk mixture on ice while I’m adding the lye to melt the goat milk cubes And I still got the darker circle in the center of my soap. I’m wondering if it’s anything to do with the cocoa or the espresso fragrance oil. I also made a batch of goat milk soap with Rosewater jasmine/baby powder fragrance & I didn’t get the darker circle in the middle of the bar.

 

[Yooper]

I forgot to add I put my lye/goat milk mixture on ice while I’m adding the lye to melt the goat milk cubes And I still got the darker circle in the center of my soap. I’m wondering if it’s anything to do with the cocoa or the espresso fragrance oil. I also made a batch of goat milk soap with Rosewater jasmine/baby powder fragrance & I didn’t get the darker circle in the middle of the bar.

That partial gel is due to heat- the mixture warms as the chemical reaction happens.

The fragrance oil could definitely increase the temperature and the acceleration of the gel, and then sticking then in the freezer stopped further action for the most part but it was still hotter in the center.

 

[wbocrafter]

Should I make my temperatures cooler?

 

[Yooper]

Should I make my temperatures cooler?

It depends on your oils as things like tallow or shea butter (which have higher melting points) could give you a false trace. Oils that are liquid at room temperature are not an issue, or coconut oil which melts at 72 degrees.

 

[user1689297905]

Hello I have found out if you put it in the refrigerator after you pour it help with the gel or use 100% alcohols