Have I made a mess? Pictures added

[Bama]

I tried a new recipe today. I tried to run it through the soapcalc but I couldn't figure out how. I used it one time before and did okay.
I found a recipe that someone said was the first Lard Soap they ever made and it turned out good.
I used 16 oz of Lard, 9.6 oz of OO. 6.4 oz of CO. The recipe called for 4.5 oz of lye and 12 oz of water. I decided to use goat milk which was canned for the water and at trace I added 1 oz of shea butter. I mixed at 100 degrees and it took quite a while to trace. I poured up and am hoping for the best. All the left over i washed up felt a bit oily. That seemed like enough lye though for that amt of oil.
What do you think. can someone run it through the soap calc for me and tell me what it says. Thanks Julie
this is a tray with the Lard GM soap on it.I put some peach coloring in it and it looks sort of like clay. This could just be the milk. I will see after curing if I like it. I used a mulberry/sandlewood scent mix.

I also have some Chamomile soap and used a neroli FO in it. I made some Oil soap and the white you see I did not gell and the other on a tray by itself gelled. I like the look of the ungelle so If it turn out i will try again.

 

[soapbuddy]

There is no need to add your shea butter at trace. Lye is still quite active at this point and it will take whatever it wants. There is no guarantee that your shea will end up as your superfat.

Here is your recipe with the shea added up front
Coconut Oil 6.4
Olive Oil 9.6
Shea Butter 1
Lard 16
Total Weight 33
For a 7% superfat you would need 4.5 ozs. of lye and 8 to 12 ozs. of liquid.

Without the shea
Coconut Oil 6.4
Olive Oil 9.6
Lard 16
Total Weight 32
For a 7% superfat you would need 4.4 ozs. of lye and 8 to 12 ozs. of liquid

So if you didn't add the shea up front, you soap will be more superfatted and might be softer.

 

[GreenScene]

I still have a hard time with SoapCalc sometimes, despite all the soap I've made. Me and numbers? We do not get along. I'm the one who still can't figure out how to do percentages on a freaking calculator. All that's just to say that while SoapCalc is great and wonderful, in situations where SoapCalc just isn't making sense to you, you might want to use a simpler lye calculator, just to be sure you aren't going to wind up with soap that's lye-heavy or superfatted at 20% instead of the 5% (or whatever) you were shooting for. There are lots out there. You could try the one on Bramble Berry's website, for starters. It's very simple and user friendly.

http://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Lye-Calculator.aspx

 

[danny p]

The one at WWW.thesage.com/calcs/lyecalc2.php is easy for me .

 

[Bama]

Thanks both of you.
I tried the Brambleberry calc and it says I needed a bit more lye.
I will let it set about 48hr before I try to cut. Do you think it will lather alright with my CO and Lard.
Boy I am still new at this. I was really branching out using lard and goats milk for the first time.
This stuff is way to addicting.
I want to order some Mica for color but have been way to busy to read up on it yet. I am in the middle of a bathroom remodel and I have my new Cast Iron clawfoot tub sitting in my dining room.

 

[kellyincville]

ohhh....a clawfoot tub? jealous!

 

[JackiK]

ohhh....a clawfoot tub? jealous!

Me too!!

 

[Bama]

I had to peak and check on it and good news it is hardened up and actually could be cut alreadyl. I will wait a few more hours. It is a funky color and the lye did turn the milk orange. I wil work on that technique. It was very cold out of the freezer but maybe I will use half water next time and add that first and let it cool off. Do you think that would work to keep millk white. I decided to add peach coloring to keep in line with the Orange color. LOL

 

[ToniD]

If you plan to use water anyway, I just use as much water as lye to dissolve the lye and then add my remaining liquid as milk--but I don't put it in my lye water. I just put it in my oils before adding the lye water. It helps to keep it from getting orange.

You can also prevent gel to keep it lighter.

 

[Bama]

Thanks Toni, I will try that next time. Does Goat milk naturally color the soap? I know dumb question but just don't know.

 

[ToniD]

Not a dumb question....

I went to the curing shelves and compared uncolored soaps. I would say that, no, milk does not make soap significantly darker for an ungelled soap. But note that I compared a buttermilk castile with a 30% CO 70% OO made with distilled water. I did not have the same recipes with milk and without milk to compare.

On the other hand, I used a cinnamon and sugar scent in a milk soap a while ago and left it ungelled--it came out a nice creamy light brown. Just the shade of a nicely done piece of toast. (we all liked it with the scent) But I made it again and it gelled, and in fact overheated a bit, and it came out dark dark ugly dark brown. The scent and the milk combo gelled really changed the color.

As you can see "it depends" on if milk will change the color of soap, or at least that is my experience.

HTH

 

[carebear]

Soaping with milk mixed direvtly with the lye typically does result in darker soap, tho there are some talented soapers who manage to avoid it. Not gelling can help keep it to a minimum, but I've not managed to have a milk soap not gel.

Adding the milk separately (to the oils or at trace) can minimize it but sometimes you get darker anyway.

 

[Bama]

On the bottom soap I don't know what I was thinking and added my color to my shea butter that I add at trace rather than some of the soap. It did not mix and just left little dots of color. Hopefully it won't mess up the utility of the soap. I am going to get good at this with enough practice.

 

[shawnee1]

The one at WWW.thesage.com/calcs/lyecalc2.php is easy for me .

I like this one 2