This is how I usually roll, it's just room temp soaping.
My usual formula is coconut oil (solid), shea butter, lard, grapeseed oil,and castor oil. I measure out the hard oils first and put them in a bucket. I always have a dishpan with hot soapy vinegar water nearby when I start the process. I put the bucket in the hot water and let it warm up the hard oils while I measure everything out.
When all of the oils are measured, I let it hang out in the hot water while I mix up my colors and fragrances. Then finally I do the lye mixture. This is assuming I’m using distilled water for my liquid – I mix it up, then pour it over the oils when ready. The lye mixture will melt the oils until only a few small lumps are left (if I left it, it would melt them completely, but I am an impatient gal). A couple of slurshes with the stick blender takes care of those. And then I move right on to pouring into the mold, swirling, etc.
If I’m using goat’s milk, it’s frozen in ice cubes and I’ve been letting those hang out in the hot water too to let them get a little slushy. I pour the lye a little at a time over the goat’s milk cubes to melt them. Obviously then the lye mixture is a lot less hot when I pour it over the oils, so it doesn’t melt them as much. It usually takes more work with the stick blender, but the GM makes it nice and thick and creamy without being too thick to swirl.
