Lumpy coconut milk soap

[navigator9]

I made coconut milk soap today. I haven't made it in a long time, and now I remember why...the lumps. I used one can, and the rest water, it was about half and half. The lye, water, coconut milk mixture got really thick, so I thought I'd put it through a sieve, to get out the lumps. Well, it was so thick, it wouldn't go through! Some liquid dripped through, but the rest was like pudding, so I just dumped it all in and hoped the stick blender would smooth out the lumps. No such luck. Now I remember that last time I explained the lumps as "flecks of creamy coconut milk". Rats! What am I doing wrong?

 

[AKjulz]

I've only worked with coconut milk once, but I added it in at light trace instead of mixing it with the lye water. Worked out beautifully. Sorry to hear this batch was a fail for you, that's so frustrating! I just had to re-batch today, forgot how sensitive this particular FO is to over heating...it was a hot mess.

 

[cmzaha]

When I use coconut cream in the can I soap with 50/50 lye solution and add in the coconut cream with the oils then slowly add in the lye

 

[IrishLass]

When I use coconut cream in the can I soap with 50/50 lye solution and add in the coconut cream with the oils then slowly add in the lye

This is basically what I do- the split method- because anytime I add milk in with the lye I get a thick, lumpy mess, too. The lumps are caused by the lye saponifying the fats in the milk.


IrishLass

 

[navigator9]

Ahhh....thanks guys, I'll try that next time. And AKjulz, the batch wasn't a fail, thankfully, it just has some white flecks of unblended coconut milk in it. Hope your rebatch turned out well.

 

[welsh black]

I wish I'd read this thread last week!! I too put the milk into the lye and the soap has flecks of coconut milk going through it! Next time I'll add the milk to the oil first! Thanks guys!!

 

[Candybee]

I prefer the canned coconut milk in my soap. Don't ask me why but my soaps just feel really creamy. Before I use it I pour the whole can, lumps and all, into my blender, and blend on medium high until the milk has creamed and the lumps are gone. Works for me. I also split my liquid; half water, and half coconut milk that I add into the soap batter. Then I use my SB to emulsify the coconut milk and soap batter together very nicely. Never had any lumps doing it this way.

 

[Seawolfe]

I did my first all coconut milk batch a couple weeks ago. It definitely turned to pudding when I added the lye, but I don't see any white flecks in the soap. But the soap is a salt bar so maybe that hides it or did something to the lumps.

 

[Jeanea]

I'm so glad I saw this. I just bought canned coconut milk to try out. You guys are awesome.

 

[Carty812]

I make loads of coconut milk soaps as it is my favorite liquid. What I do is either soap at room temp and add the coconut milk in right after lye and water. Or blend coconut milk and water together and blend up supper well with blender and then freeze the mixture before adding lye. Both methods work ok for me but I prefer the first as it will still get thicker with the second but it doesn't seem to be quiet as bad.

 

[Sprag]

I add mine at trace, you can always run it through a strainer first.

 

[onesickfreak]

so, would if i needed, lets pretend 10g of lye to 10ml of liquid, id use 10 g of lye in 5 of h20, then add the milk, right? the amount of lye would stay constant...?

thanks

 

[Sprag]

I made 100% coconut and replaced half the water with coconut milk and added it at trace. This recipe was also superfatted to 20% since pure coconut soap would be too hard on the skin.

 

[Sprag]

I asked the same question and what I was told was you need to dissolve the lye lets say 10 grams in at least 10 grams of water and the rest of your water allowance could be coconut milk, but I'm pretty sure you could use all coconut milk for your water but you'd have to freeze it and add the lye to it. I'm sure someone else will chime in if I'm wrong...

 

[Sprag]

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=46424

 

[kitterz]

I have a recipe that calls for 25/75 water and coconut milk respectively. I freeze the two and then place the container in an ice bath before I add the lye.

Have used the recipe multiple times now. The coconut milk does curdle and discolor a bit but once I add it to the oils and mix it all up, it comes out beautifully

 

[navigator9]

Here's what happened. I did dissolve the lye in half the amount of water, planning to use the coconut milk for the rest of the liquid, but the lye water never got completely clear and that made me nervous, so I changed my plan and decided to add the coconut milk to the lye mixture, hoping that more liquid would help the rest of the lye to dissolve completely. But.....I got instant pudding. I tried putting it through a sieve, but it was just too thick! Some liquid seeped out, but the rest just got thicker in the sieve, I don't even know if I could have pushed it through with a spoon! So I just glopped the whole thing into the oils and hoped that the stick blender would take care of the lumps. It worked for the most part, but there are still some white specks. I think it adds a little "texture", yeah, I meant that to happen! lol Anyway, you can see below.

So my question is this, is the lye water OK to use even if it's cloudy? That tells me that the lye isn't completely dissolved, and that just made me nervous. Apparently it did dissolve, because there's no zappage, but I like to see that lye water crystal clear.

Here's "Green Tea with Coconut Flecks"
green tea coconut.jpg

 

[Sprag]

I like the soap !
My lye water is always clear when I add it to the oils. I probably would have done the lye solution over again.

 

[IrishLass]

I asked the same question and what I was told was you need to dissolve the lye lets say 10 grams in at least 10 grams of water and the rest of your water allowance could be coconut milk, but I'm pretty sure you could use all coconut milk for your water but you'd have to freeze it and add the lye to it. I'm sure someone else will chime in if I'm wrong...

If you're like me and passionately hate to dissolve lye in anything but water, you can do "all coconut milk' without having to dissolve a single spec of lye in the milk.

What I do is split my liquid amount for the batch into 50% water and 50% fresh (i.e., not frozen) coconut milk. The lye gets dissolved into the water, and the coconut milk portion gets mixed with enough of it's powdered form to bring the total milk concentration up to a 100% level for the total liquid amount of my batch. Then I add the milk concentrate to my oils either before or just after adding in my lye solution (works both ways for me).

Or, you could use all powder for the milk portion if you don't have any fresh on hand. Just mix your lye with at least 50% of your water amount, and then use the rest of the water amount to make a thick milk slurry out of the milk powder that would be equal to a 100% concentration for the total liquid amount for your batch. Then stickblend the milk slurry into your oils either before or just after adding in your lye solution.

IrishLass

 

[hdicreations]

I also make tons of coconut milk soaps and I must say the ingredient adds a creamy element to the soap. I usually add canned lite organic coconut milk right after I add the lye to the oils, before trace. It helps the soap to trace faster and adds a lighter color to the soap.