# sweetened condensed milk in soap?



## federalist (Nov 4, 2015)

Hi, has anyone tried adding sweetened condensed milk to soap?  I am thinking that this would give the soap a dose of both lather-boosting sugar and skin-conditioning milk.  The bf loves Vietnamese coffee, and we have just enough of the condensed milk left over for one soap experiment


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## Arimara (Nov 4, 2015)

That has a lot of sugar in unspecified amounts. I can make cajeta in about 30 minutes or so with that. It's probably better to use milk and add sugar separately. That way, you probably won't risk having burnt sugar in your soap.


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## kumudini (Nov 4, 2015)

Depends on how much you want to use. Can't sub for full water or even 50% as that will be too much sugar. The max rate of sugar usage for a soap I read is about an ounce ppo, anything over would give you a very soft soap. So, if you can do the math and stay within that limit, I say why not try it. If I'm using it though, I would not try to mix it into the lye water, I would just add it to the oils and mix thoroughly before adding the lye solution.


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## BrewerGeorge (Nov 4, 2015)

A cup of sweetened condensed milk has roughly *30* teaspoons of added sugar.  That's above and beyond the natural milk sugars, too.  It has about 2/3 the amount of sugar as the same amount of honey.  If I were going to try to use it in soap, I'd treat it like honey, not like water or milk.


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## Susie (Nov 4, 2015)

^Exactly what BrewerGeorge said!  Treat it like honey, not milk.


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## IrishLass (Nov 4, 2015)

I concur with BewerGeorge ans Susie^^^^. I'd treat it like you were adding honey and not milk.

As an aside- I tried Vietnamese coffee over the summer for the first time and quite fell in love with it. Yummy stuff!


IrishLass


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## federalist (Nov 4, 2015)

I have never made soap with honey before.  How much do people typically use ppo?  Should I mix it with the water before adding lye or at trace?  Thanks for your help!  Really appreciate it!


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## lsg (Nov 4, 2015)

I wouldn't go over 1 tablespoon honey ppo.


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## IrishLass (Nov 4, 2015)

Speaking only for myself, I like to use 5% honey (by weight) ppo, which roughly works out to being about 1 tablespoon ppo.

There's more than one way to add honey.....

Some add it at trace, some mix it into a little of their batch water and stickblend it into the oils, etc.,...... and some are like me, who add it to a little bit of the batch water to dissolve before adding it to their pre-made, completely cooled-off lye solution. I like adding it this way because it plays nice in my soap (i.e., no overheating of my batter or honey-seepage out of my finished soap). Yes- it does heat up my lye solution and cause it to turn a dark orange/black-ish color, but my finished bars cure out to a light-to-medium tan with a lovely Bit 'o Honey candy smell (at least temporarily anyway before curing out).


IrishLass


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## mymy (Nov 5, 2015)

Condensed milk, what a good idea. How come I have never think of this earlier. Might skip of adding sugar if there's condense milk as it has tremendous amount of sugar itself.


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## Susie (Nov 6, 2015)

I am using wildflower honey, and mine stays orange no matter what I do.  I just roll with that and add dried orange peel for exfoliation and lemongrass and litsea EOs for a yummy citrus scent. (See, I meant to do that, LOL.)


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## janzo (Nov 6, 2015)

BrewerGeorge said:


> A cup of sweetened condensed milk has roughly *30* teaspoons of added sugar.  That's above and beyond the natural milk sugars, too.  It has about 2/3 the amount of sugar as the same amount of honey.  If I were going to try to use it in soap, I'd treat it like honey, not like water or milk.




^ and that is why I love the stuff.  I have such a sweet tooth, but don't take sugar in tea etc!  But don't put cakes, desserts near me, 6 minutes on the lips, 6 months (or more) on the hips!!!,


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## gigisiguenza (Nov 6, 2015)

Susie said:


> I am using wildflower honey, and mine stays orange no matter what I do.  I just roll with that and add dried orange peel for exfoliation and lemongrass and litsea EOs for a yummy citrus scent. (See, I meant to do that, LOL.)



Susie I buy local wildflower honey for my own use and love it. The flavor is awesome and potent, and it's very very dark amber. I wonder if it would yield that lovely orange you described. How do you incorporate yours into your batter?


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## fuzz-juzz (Nov 6, 2015)

Nooo! It's a waste. 

I have better recipe:
- can of condensed milk
- spoon
- open the can
- eat it with a spoon


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## lsg (Nov 6, 2015)

I have an even better recipe.  See the recipe section.


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## janzo (Nov 6, 2015)

fuzz-juzz said:


> Nooo! It's a waste.
> 
> I have better recipe:
> - can of condensed milk
> ...



Fuzz juzz you are talking my language!!!


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## penelopejane (Nov 6, 2015)

gigisiguenza said:


> Susie I buy local wildflower honey for my own use and love it. The flavor is awesome and potent, and it's very very dark amber. I wonder if it would yield that lovely orange you described. How do you incorporate yours into your batter?




Gigi, not Susie but I use Manuka honey which is quite dark (darker than normal honey) and I add it just after emulsification, well before trace. It needs to be mixed in well. It does speed trace a tiny bit and it does speed cure. I use 27g per 1000 g of oil but some people use 27g (1 tbs) per Pound of oil.


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## gigisiguenza (Nov 6, 2015)

penelopejane said:


> Gigi, not Susie but I use Manuka honey which is quite dark (darker than normal honey) and I add it just after emulsification, well before trace. It needs to be mixed in well. It does speed trace a tiny bit and it does speed cure. I use 27g per 1000 g of oil but some people use 27g (1 tbs) per Pound of oil.



Cool TY. I've been wanting to try the honey but have been chicken because of overheating issues. Might have to risk it and give it a try


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## federalist (Nov 10, 2015)

Update: I made a bar of this last week.  My condensed milk and lye were refrigerated before use, and I had no problems with scorching.  However, the smell was something else!  This batch was demoted from curing in the house to curing outside in the backyard.

fuzz-juzz, don't encourage me!


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## Susie (Nov 10, 2015)

I mix my honey with my oils, then proceed as usual.  It is a heater, so monitor gelling closely.


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## Arimara (Nov 10, 2015)

(Sweetened Condensed Milk + Spoon) + Me= :sick:

That's way over my sweet threshold. I can barely eat a slice of crack pie (momofuko recipe).

I like it with coffee as it keeps my sugar consumption down.


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