Chilled Temp Water Cold Process Soapmaking

[Aquamarine56]

Hello. I'm a newbie here because this looks like a friendly community that I'd like to be part of. I also of course, enjoy soap making. I have been making soap now for about 8 years, trying lots of different recipes, but have settled on my palm oil-free goat milk one now. (Happy to share recipe - everyone loves!)

So in making only goat milk soaps it's a pity that lately I have noticed some colours don't always work well. These are called Brites, and what comes out of the mould as a perfect soft lime green or pretty pastel pink turn darker and dusky after a day. I soap at no more than 80F and pop the mould straight into the freezer for half a day then the fridge for half a day - then room temperature for a few hours so I can cut it. So I can only put it down to the milk.

Which is a circuitous way of getting to my point. If I were to make the same milk, using the same method, with water - would it work? I'm about to try anyway, but thought I'd post it here for opinions and feedback if you would.

Has anyone done this before? Made soap with water as you would with any milk, by keeping it cool and freezing?

Thanks and I'm happy to be here.

 

[earlene]

Colors are intensified with gel, but since you don't gel your soaps, the colors are muted. Give it a try without milk and allow the soap to gel and watch for the difference in color. If you want to test that against non-gelled soap, split the batter in half and put half in the freezer as usual and insulate the other half or even CPOP to encourage gel. Then you will know for sure how gel affects color.

Here is a link about how to obtain vibrant colors in soap: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/how-to-get-vibrant-colors-in-soap/

 

[SoapAddict415]

Hi Aquamarine & welcome to the forum! Since water doesn't contain the natural sugars that milks have, I don't think you'd need to put your soap in the freezer to prevent overheating. The fridge should be fine if you just want to prevent it from gelling.

 

[Aquamarine56]

Thanks ladies - I'll take your advice and for one, not freeze, just keep cool. I understand that gelling results in more vivid colour but I don't mind, in fact rather like the pastel tones in soap. Tomorrow I will try using a mixture of coconut milk and water, using my cold process method and put the mould in the refrigerator. It will be interesting to see how it comes out.

 

[shunt2011]

I make mostly milk soaps and I always gel. Mostly because I love the colors and I love being able to get them out of the mold in 12-18 hours. I generally use Coconut Milk but sometimes buttermilk or goat's milk

 

[penelopejane]

Like shunt I always gel my soaps including milk soaps.
If you mix your milk with lye it does discolour. If you use the split method it won't discolour the soap so your colours will be more true. If you gel your colours will be brighter still.