Any one done cream/milk soap ???

[Diana B]

OK, I have the cream/milk in the freezer ready to go, what should I do: keep it all cold or insulate after I pour it into its mould ? I will be using half oil and half rendered tallow, the cream/milk replaces all the water, will not be using any scent in this soap, as I want it to be a mild soap and I dont want too much discolouring. Thanks in advance for help with this question, cheers Diana

 

[Hazel]

Since the cream is the liquid, I'd suggest you add a little lye at a time and stir thoroughly before adding more lye. You want to keep the cream as cool as possible while adding lye to minimize discoloration. The lye will gradually cause the cream to melt so it will be liquid again by the time you add it to the oils. Don't insulate the mold and place it in your frig until saponification is complete if possible. I leave mine in the frig for several days until it's zap free. I know other people have commented that you don't have to leave it in that long. But I want to make sure the soap doesn't heat up at all because I don't want partial gel and I don't want discoloration.

I know it's time consuming to slowly add the lye and to try to keep the cream cool. This is why I switched to using enough water to dissolve the lye and then use cream for the rest of the liquid. :wink:

 

[newbie]

Cream soaps can get quite hot; you may not be able to prevent gel altogether. You could soap as cool as you can with the tallow and put it in the freezer for 1-2 days then the fridge for a couple, but I would do this only if you won't be upset if you get a partial gel. I've had cream soaps that I unmold out of the freezer and cut as soon as it's thawed enough, and the individual bars will still try to gel! If you go with gelling it, I would only lightly insulate, if at all, and watch it closely. Once it's clearly gelling, remove all insulation or if it appears to be going too fast, pop it in the fridge to prevent any separation. There are plenty of people here who use all goat milk or other milk products so hopefully they will pop on soon. I personally have found it's hard to prevent some heating of the soap in the mold with a lot of cream. Others may have better tricks than I.

 

[Hazel]

I personally have found it's hard to prevent some heating of the soap in the mold with a lot of cream. Others may have better tricks than I.

That's why I like using enough water for the lye. :wink:

 

[Smee]

Simple recipe and it's my fav: Goat milk with olive oil & lye.

Since OO is liquid at room temp, I can start with it fairly cool, around 60 degrees
if stored in the basement. Partially frozen milk, which I set in a bowl of ice
as I SSSLLLOOOWWWWLLLYYYY add the lye. I've even put the OO in the bowl
of ice while adding the lye milk if it looks to be heating up. Keep it in the fridge
or freezer for a day, and be sure to let it warm to room temp at least 24 hours
after unmolding before you cut it. Took me too long to realize cold soap crumbles.

Or, do what Hazel does!

 

[Diana B]

Thanks, will definately be putting this one in the freezer and warming for at least 24 hrs before cutting. Do I do the same with all milk soaps, as I have yogurt/milk in the freezer also for soaping. My preferred oils/fats are plain vegetable, tallow and lard, nothing fancy ! I like tallow for its hardness in soap, lard for the big bubbles and vege oil to prevent trace from happening too fast ! Anyone used "madder root" for colouring as I've ordered some for making rose scented soap and want the colour to be natural.

 

[newbie]

I do the same as you, Hazel! I dissolve the lye in water and add the cream to my oils. I still have a hard time preventing gel sometimes. Depends somewhat on the scent and the oils. With some oils, you can't soap RT or they are solidifying or it cools down while you're soaping and gives you false trace if you try to cut the edge on temps. I like the cream though, enough to keep using it.

 

[christinak]

I personally like to gel all my soaps. It's purely personal preference though...you can do either! I don't like how ungelled soap takes FOREVER to get out of the mold and how it tends to crumble.

 

[Nevada]

Made several 6 lb loaves using Full Fat (33%) Cow Cream comprising 7% fat of total oils, and never had it heat up. Zero Carbs. Makes for a creamy bar obviously
Roy

 

[Hazel]

I still have a hard time preventing gel sometimes. Depends somewhat on the scent and the oils. With some oils, you can't soap RT or they are solidifying or it cools down while you're soaping and gives you false trace if you try to cut the edge on temps. I like the cream though, enough to keep using it.

I'm glad you mentioned this about the scent and oils. I didn't think to mention how some FOs get hot or false trace. I had a problem with a Gardenia FO that partially gelled even though I did leave it in the frig. Oh well...it did smell nice.

 

[Diana B]

Done and in the freezer, it came up to trace fairly fast, all the extra fat in the form of cream and full fat milk possibly helped trace. Can I expect it to crumble because its ungelled ?

 

[Ruthie]

I never gell and don't have a problem with crumbling. Just make sure when it comes out of the freezer that you let it sit a full 24 hours before you try to cut it, so it can fully warm to room temp.

 

[Diana B]

Thanks Ruthie, will do