Goat's milk soap making and no gel.

[Bean13]

We tried making goats milk soap for the first time tonight and I'm not sure its gonna work out. We used 100% goats milk, froze it to slush and then added the lye slowly. But the milk lye mixture turned caramel looking and the smell was nasty.
Once the oils and lye milk mixture were both between 110 F and 118 F we mixed them together with very little stick blending. Seperated into two small pails, added FO and colour. Still light trace we poured into mold. Now the soap is sitting in the freezer because I wanted to try not to gel. Thats new to me as well. I have always gelled but this is only my or our 10th batch.
So how long should it be in the freezer and will the soap be ok with the brown orange discolouring and the nasty smell?

 

[BakingNana]

I can't comment much on the no-gelling thing, because I always gel my GM, but I know that sometimes after you take it out of the freezer it goes through gel anyway. That icky smell and caramel color are normal. The smell goes away in a couple of days. Good luck! Goat's milk is the best.

 

[soapbuddy]

I prefer not to gel. I leave my soaps in the freezer; up to overnight. Once you get the soap out, you might get some condensation drops on it. Those just wipe away with a paper towel. Let the soap come to room temp before cutting. The smell should go away as the soap cures.

 

[Traceyann]

what are the benefits or differences between gelling a soap and not gelling a soap ??

 

[nattynoo]

For me its visual.
I just hate a partial gel & can't stop my soap from gelling no matter how hard i try so I just go with it now & force a full gel.

 

[c.a.p.]

I only use GM as my liquid and it almost never gels. I do not insulate nor do I freeze. My mold is silicon so maybe that is the difference. My GM is completely frozen so I CP at low temps.

My soaps are also a cream color if I don't use colorants. How fast did you stir when you added the lye? I stir, stir, stir. I've also found that the color lightens up quite a lot as it cures.

 

[Bean13]

Ok.......The soap had been sitting in the freezer for 9 hours. Hope thats not too long of too short of time.

We coloured with a black mica and a neon blue mica. The blue turned a puke green while mixing but looks very very light now and I'm liking it.

My soaps are also a cream color if I don't use colorants. How fast did you stir when you added the lye? I stir, stir, stir. I've also found that the color lightens up quite a lot as it cures.

c.a.p. - My boyfriend does the lye so I can't be certain but he said he stirred more then usual and he poured the lye in slowly. However when he took the temp shortly there after it was up to 150 F. Maybe the GM shoulda been frozen all the way not just a slush.

BTW that was an 8.5 pound batch of soap....hope it works. I know I shoulda did a small test batch first but boyfriend running out of his favorite scent soap so had to soap with his scent. He runs out quickly because it's the only male scent we make and I keep giving it away.
My 17 year old daughter did the swirls.

 

[Bean13]

I just scrapped some soap outta the pot and its not really soap. Still oily and creamy. No lather at all. Not one bubble. I have fear. REALLY BIG FEAR!!!

 

[Half Caper Farm]

The swirls look very nice!

I freeze my goat's milk solid now. I used to just freeze to slush and the milk/lye mixture would go a lovely shade of yellow - I put my container in the sink, filled with cold water and some ice packs, so it doesn't get too hot. I usually end up soaping with the lye around 90, and the oils around 100.

 

[judymoody]

How nice that you have your whole family involved in making soap!

 

[c.a.p.]

From the pics it doesn't look burnt or nasty at all. Nice creamy colored soap (the non-colored part).

Regarding the slime/oil, maybe you reached a false trace?

 

[Bean13]

From the pics it doesn't look burnt or nasty at all. Nice creamy colored soap (the non-colored part).

Regarding the slime/oil, maybe you reached a false trace?

The non coloured part is actually a neon blue that turned green and lightened alot. LOL

And the possible false trace.... (taking a deep breath) could of happened I guess.
We hand stirred mostly in the beginning until it looked like all oils were blended. Then SB about 1 min then poured into two small pails and added colour. Hand stirred for about 10 mins and then SB about 1 min each. Added FO and SB till it thickened just a bit more and then poured.

So if false trace how will I know for sure and whats the cure?

 

[cwarren]

i have found you must account for GM and color ..
yellow and blue make green .. it's a trial and error thing .. ( I'm still erroring )

 

[Bean13]

Oh No No No

Look at the corners. Soap feels oily. Maybe thats just on the outside. LOL.
I'm waiting for it to get to room temp to cut. Been out of freezer for 5 hours now.........tic tic tic.......hope its not a big puddle of oil all over my counter when its at room temp.....Geeze Louise!!!

 

[soapbuddy]

I would give it at least 3 days before you check it. I find that with my ungelled soaps, they can zap, up to 3 days later. After that they are fine.

 

[KD]

GM soap and gelling

I always gel my GM soaps. If I know that a particular fragrance is one that is going to heat my soap up, I watch it carefully and usually remove the insulation once gel starts. As for adding lye to goat's milk - I have used frozen milk, slushy milk, cold milk, .... I have found that adding lye slowly and stirring like crazy with frozen, broken-into-chunks milk works best. That way it stays light and creamy. Re: colour - Always make sure that your colorant is stable in CP soap. I have recently made the decision to use the TKB micas in my soap almost exclusively. I love them because there are no unhappy surprises. I only ever color my swirls and leave the background natural. The yucky ammonia smell fades. When you are first making GM soap, I agree that it can be a bit alarming!

 

[Bean13]

So impatient I know.

6 hours out of freezer I cut. Crumble crumble grumble. Think I will put it away till tonight or tomorrow and try to cut again. Who am I kidding probably won't make it till tonight before I try again.

 

[Half Caper Farm]

I always leave my soap in the mold for 24 hours after I pour.

 

[Bean13]

I want to thank everyone for their advice and input here. I've learned to freeze the milk all the way into ice cube trays and stir the living bajeebers out of it for a long time while insulated with Ice water in sink.
I also learned the colour and smell are normal and that I should stick blend more to get a REAL trace.
I even learned to be more patient..........but I can't.

 

[Bean13]

So I rebatched it. Holy Macaroni! First time rebatching. Don't think I care for it that much.