Soap Making 101

[glenolam]

Farmfresh - that's a great list!

I don't use any water in my soaps - just goat milk, but that's my "eye catcher" if you will.

I also don't insulate my molds. I don't really like the gel stage for my soaps but that's because they're milk soaps. To me, milk soaps shouldn't be gel-y looking, they should be milky looking. Depending on how hot the soap feels when it's in the mold I'll even put it in the fridge to cool the soap down faster and avoid gel or partial gel.

All my soaping supplies were stolen from my kitchen and are never used for food anymore. They're stored separately and everyone knows not to touch them.

I buy a lot of my stuff from Wholesalesuppliesplus.com. I've heard good and bad things about Brambleberry. The good was their customer service and product quality, but the bad was how long it took to get everything and their prices.

If you get way into soap making and want to buy in bulk, Columbus Foods sells coconut oil and palm oil in 50# containers. It's costly but the per oz price comes down considerably.

 

[savingdogs]

I agree Brambleberry takes a long time to process orders.

I did not insulate my last batch because it was a lot hotter with the goats milk added.

I substituted PART of the water for goats milk. I wonder if I can substitute 100 percent of the water for goats milk next time without changing the recipe? My last batch came out so perfect I was thinking of duplicating it but now that you say you use 100 percent goat milk for your liquid it gets me to thinking.

 

[glenolam]

You can absolutely switch it out 100%.

BUT keep in mind that if you do so you might want to freeze the milk ahead of time in pre-weighed bags . If you use either cold milk or straight from the goat you'll end up scalding the milk and turning the lye/milk mix bright orange. There's nothing wrong with that mixture, mind you, it just means your soap won't be that 'off-white' color, it'll be darker and more orange.

Most of my recipes call for 16-32 oz of milk so I usually freeze my milk in 16oz zip-lock freezer bags. I take the milk out when I'm in the process of melting the oils...if I happen to get side tracked I will stick the milk back in the fridge or freezer to avoid it getting slushy. When I'm ready to do the milk/lye mix I break the milk up into chunks (what I really need to do is determine how much liquid my ice trays hold and just freeze the milk into cubes) and put it in my lye pot which is sitting in a sink full of ice. Then I weigh out my lye and pour it onto the frozen milk, stirring as I pour. Eventually all the milk thaws and I get a nice, white liquid and then I pour that mix into the oils. This method does take a while (probably 5-10 minutes of stirring) but it works for me.

I've only burned the milk once and that was when I took out the milk way ahead of time. Still made a nice bar, just darker than I'd like.

 

[savingdogs]

I did freeze the goats milk last time....and I added it really slowly. My bars came out pretty much the same color so I was fairly proud of myself.

My house was very cold that day and I did not insulate them.

 

[glenolam]

Did you add the milk at trace or to the water then added the lye to the water/milk combo?

Some people discount the water by the amount of milk they want to add, then do the lye/water mix as is with the discounted water, then add the milk at trace. In that case the milk is either room temp or fridge cold. I've heard that way doesn't scorch the milk, but since I don't use any water I've never tried.

 

[Farmfresh]

I have never made any milk soaps, so I always insulate my soaps. I think it makes a milder bar the slower that kind of soap cools.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

ok obviously i need to start reading this from the beginning...

but here is a question that has probably been answered (sorry!)

where and on what do you cure the soap? it has to set for 4 - 6 weeks, right?

given that i have The Insane Cat Posse...

*turns and looks at cats being particularly insane today*

what do i do with the bars?

can they just sit on a shelf somewhere? on plastic wrap in a tray? NOT on a metal surface? in a cupboard?


as far as cocoa soap goes.. hee hee hee i dated an imbecile for a while. and i got a cocoa soap cleverly wrapped at Lush once... and he tried to eat it. he brought the half eaten bar of soap to me and said it was the worst chocolate he'd ever had. he didnt last long if you know what i mean. he was purdy but not to bright. sheesh!

 

[savingdogs]

ok obviously i need to start reading this from the beginning...

but here is a question that has probably been answered (sorry!)

where and on what do you cure the soap? it has to set for 4 - 6 weeks, right?

given that i have The Insane Cat Posse...

*turns and looks at cats being particularly insane today*

what do i do with the bars?

can they just sit on a shelf somewhere? on plastic wrap in a tray? NOT on a metal surface? in a cupboard?


as far as cocoa soap goes.. hee hee hee i dated an imbecile for a while. and i got a cocoa soap cleverly wrapped at Lush once... and he tried to eat it. he brought the half eaten bar of soap to me and said it was the worst chocolate he'd ever had. he didnt last long if you know what i mean. he was purdy but not to bright. sheesh!

Too funny, good thing you traded him in for TBM.

I have three cats and while they are not an insane posse, they get into mischief. I cure my bars on an old wood cutting board on a shelf in my bedroom closet. I cured some in a bathroom because I thought they looked pretty and that was a mistake, it has to be in a cool dry place. Where do you cure your cheese? Probably same type of thing. You can't use a metal rack though, or foil. I cured some on a plastic cutting board too and those came out fine. There are fancy arrangements but it isn't required.

The amount of time it has to cure depends on a lot of factors, but it does take a while. The recipe you use and the method can make a difference.

I have a soapmaking book on my kindle which recommends HEATING the soap in a cold oven over night to cure it and that this method will result in soap ready to use the next day. I have never tried this method however but would like to try it.

 

[Farmfresh]

I set up some of those plastic coated wire shelves inside of an old wooden cabinet in the basement to cure the soap bars on. I usually cut my soaps within 24 hours of making them, before the bars get too hard. I use a plastic coated jewelry wire with sticks for handles as a soap cutter. Works better than a knife.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

Too funny, good thing you traded him in for TBM.

truer words have never been spoken, friend.

ah-haaaaaa... say i think i have one of those plastic coated shelf doohickies... i think i use it as a divider for the hen house. i might have to go and reclaim it. and then really really clean it. gotcha.

i cure/age my cheese in a wine fridge - so not sure that would work. plus it has metal shelves. but i could mount the plastic/wire shelfy thing alone on a wall, unreachable for cats unless they actually are able how to build and operate a trebuchet.