Does milk accelerate trace in CP soap?

[missbipbip]

I have been using goat milk in almost all of my soap recently. I have used the goat milk lye solution method so that I can substitute all of the water for milk. I have definitely found that it makes a creamy lux bar that I am nuts about. I know that a lot of soap makers use water to dissolve the lye and add the goat milk to the oils. My batter accelerates often. I know that fragrance oils, TD, and micas can lead to an accelerated trace, but does the goat milk accelerate as well? Maybe some of the more experienced soapers here could help me with that question. When I "google" it, I get all kinds of articles explaining trace and talking about different ways to incorporate milk into soap, but I can seem to find the answer I am looking for. Thank you

 

[KiwiMoose]

I've not used goat milk, but I've used coconut milk, oat milk, and breast milk and have not noticed any acceleration of trace.

 

[Relle]

I use full GM replacement for water and make a non scented or coloured soap and have never had it accelerate. I do from time to time add a lemongrass/ginger FO to it and still no acceleration.

 

[AliOop]

It has never caused acceleration for me, either. Stickblending too much, soaping too warm, and naughty FOs would be my top three guesses for anyone struggling with that.

 

[missbipbip]

It has never caused acceleration for me, either. Stickblending too much, soaping too warm, and naughty FOs would be my top three guesses for anyone struggling with that.

It has probably been the FOs. I am the worst for loving accelerating FOs and using them anyway. LOL
Sometimes they smell so good, I am determined to make it work.

 

[AliOop]

It has probably been the FOs. I am the worst for loving accelerating FOs and using them anyway. LOL
Sometimes they smell so good, I am determined to make it work.

Two words: HOT PROCESS. lol

Actually, there is another thread somewhere around here about how to warm your FO in some of your batch oils, to prevent acceleration even in CP. Apparently that works really well for some folks.

 

[lucycat]

My goat milk soaps do not accelerate. However, because I am soaping with cooler temps and the goatmilk/lye solution isn't as thin as water/lye I find that my goat milk soap batter is thicker and designs that work best in a thinner batter aren't the best in my goat milk soaps.

Since overheating is my worst enemy in my goat milk soaps I tend to use fragrances that I know won't get too hot, and those are usually non-accelerating ones.

 

[missbipbip]

Two words: HOT PROCESS. lol

Actually, there is another thread somewhere around here about how to warm your FO in some of your batch oils, to prevent acceleration even in CP. Apparently that works really well for some folks.

Thank you. I will check that out. I haven't heard of that before.

My goat milk soaps do not accelerate. However, because I am soaping with cooler temps and the goatmilk/lye solution isn't as thin as water/lye I find that my goat milk soap batter is thicker and designs that work best in a thinner batter aren't the best in my goat milk soaps.

Since overheating is my worst enemy in my goat milk soaps I tend to use fragrances that I know won't get too hot, and those are usually non-accelerating ones.

I have come to the same conclusion about the goat milk lye solution. It is thicker from the beginning, and I need to choose designs that work better with a thicker batter. I believe most of the culprit has been my nose, which tends to love accelerating fragrances...lol...and expensive ones as well.

 

[lucycat]

If you love fragrances that accelerate then my best tip is to make that same soap a lot of times and keep notes. You can never make an accelerating fragrance not accelerate but you can make it one that you can handle. Temps can make a difference but I don't think it is a hard rule and I have a different idea of temps on each fragrance. Sometimes on goat milk soaps I want my oil temp to be closer to 100 because the milk/lye mixture is usually 75-80. The warmer oil temps helps keep my batter a little thinner which I like. In water soaps I find that having my lye-water at room temp will help regardless of my oil temps.

I have a few scents that I love that tend to rice and separate. I add about 3-4 tablespoons of my base oils to the fragrance oil to warm and to thin the fragrance oil concentration. When I add the fragrance at either emulsion or trace I pour very slowly in a small stream while constantly whisking. I use as big a whisk as the pot can handle. If the whisk is large enough to move all the batter then I can usually get a smooth batter. I may still not have a ton of time to work with a design but no ricing/separation.

 

[AliOop]

@lucycat yes! that is the technique I was remembering. Thank you for sharing the details. I have one accelerating FO that I adore, and I keep meaning to try this with that FO to see if it can be used in CP instead of having to HP.

 

[lucycat]

@lucycat yes! that is the technique I was remembering. Thank you for sharing the details. I have one accelerating FO that I adore, and I keep meaning to try this with that FO to see if it can be used in CP instead of having to HP.

I thought it was my technique you were commenting. It isn't perfect but it does help; whisking in a fragrance helps so much it is my norm when using a new fragrance.

 

[TheGecko]

I do a full goat milk soap and have never had an issue with acceleration. But I should mention that I soap at a lower temp when I use GM because I don't want to chance scorching the milk. My GM Lye Solution is usually between 65F-70F, my Oils/Butters are around 100F. I don't use colorants, just scent which I had to the oils. I then add my Lye Solution...use several 10 to 15 second bursts and stirring for a couple of minutes to get to the light side of a medium trace and then pour, cover and pop into the frig.

I've also done full coconut milk soap and it's been the same result.