Mixing goats milk & lye help please

[Aponi]

We've always made goatmilk soap the same way...........my husband (Bill) gets all the oils/fats ready and I mix the milk/lye and colours if needed - this works well but I'd like to try a different method of mixing milk/lye - I've read ways of doing this but do you think I can find what I've read before (???) no way, so would appreciate your help please............
I freeze in measured batches the goatsmilk needed for every batch we make, when getting ready to make soap I take several batches out of the freezer and put them in bowls to get a slushy as possible then slowly add the lye....stiring....stiring....stiring till all disolved - I get colours from pale lemon (I like this colour) to dark orange (when my mind wanders) so what I read was how someone sub'd a small portion of milk with distilled water, disolved the lye and let the mix cool down overnight then next day mix in the bulk of the goats milk and mix ready to mould, I also remember readying that this makes a lighter colour goatsmilk soap but my question/s are:

Next morning what about the temp of the lye mix (?) to the oils (?) how would you trace (?) if you add the goats milk next morning does this bring up the temp of the lye mix (?)..........I'm trying to save some time mixing and thinking perhaps if I could "pre" disolve the lye I'd save some time - can anyone help me please???

 

[CaliChan]

I remember reading something like that as well.
They put.it in a glass jar and marked it as lye and stuck it in the fridge before mixing it in the next day
I thought it was really odd and a long way to go about things so when I did it I didn't wait over night I simply mixed the lye with just enough water for it to dissolve completely
Then waited for it to cool down and added it to the oils and added cool goats milk at trace (not frozen. But it was in the fridge over night)
This might not be exactly what you were looking for but I hope it helps

 

[Aponi]

Thanks CaliChan, I'd like to try that as it may help with the colour of our soaps, they are ok as it is but I'd like then to be a tad lighter - it's the whole reason I'm looking for an "how to" we've been making soaps the same way for nearly 6 years now but.......... always something to learn eh!!!

 

[MaitriBB]

Does anyone here soap with goat's milk AND tussah silk? I haven't had any success so far as I use frozen goat's milk and then let it slush out while I'm mixing my oils, then I add my lye to finish melting the GM. I tried adding the silk to the melting GM but it didn't work (although that may have been that I burned the GM :blush)

 

[nebetmiw]

Master batching is what you are also talking about. You can make up your lye solution the night before with a small amount of water and then let it cool. You will need to get your oils melted and let cool to same or close temp. You would add the Milk to the oils not the lye to keep color real light. Doing that might just get you whit soap. We call the Room Temp soaping, over night soaping ect.

 

[gouldie]

Hello Aponi :wave:

I am nowhere near as experienced as a lot of people on this forum, however I have made many batches of goats milk soap, and reckon I've found the trick with keeping the milk/lye as close to white as possible.

Yes, I freeze the fresh goats milk (from our goats) - but in ziplock bags laid flat in approx 300gm (10.6oz) lots. This way they also stack better in the freezer. I believe some people also freeze in ice cube trays, but this way, I don't have to keep emptying the trays and refilling.

Then when I go to use the milk, I don't thaw it to the slushy stage but use it still frozen, just break up the thin slabs of frozen milk to the required weight - then whilst still frozen, start sprinking the lye on top of the frozen milk. Stirring gently, the ice will start to melt - continue to sprinkle a bit then stir perhaps taking about 5 minutes to combine all the lye with the frozen milk. By the time all of the lye is combined, there might still be bits of frozen milk, but they do melt.

Each time I've used this method, the milk/lye solution remains pretty close to white, and the resulting soaps are very very light - like a light cream colour.

Give this a try, and I'm sure you'll notice the difference both in the milk/lye mixture, as well as the colour of the finished and cured soaps.

 

[Aponi]

Gouldie - that is exactly the way I mix lye with the goats milk and have done for 6 years!!!! Have a look at these photo's and see if the colour of the soaps are near the colour you get - I'm thinking my idea of "white" isn't like others!!!! I've just "attached" some files so I hope they make it!!!!

I've become a bit paranoid I guess with a few people selling goatmilk soaps up here where I am that are "angel wings white" oh I do so mean white "white king white" and they all say it's totally natural with no titianium dioxide used and I can't see how that could be - using lard perhaps (?)......anyway would appreciate your thoughts on my "goatmilk white"!!!!!

The soap with the stamp on it looks deeper than the others I'm thinking because the pic is taken on a wooden table (?) Nubian Goat Head (I had the mould made in China) I call him Nippy Norm is a good colour but I put Emu Oil in that recipe, the other round soaps are baby powder (pink & blue) and Charcoal & Dead Sea Salt - the babies are the same recipe as Nippy Norm.....thanks

 

[Aponi]

Master batching is what you are also talking about. You can make up your lye solution the night before with a small amount of water and then let it cool. You will need to get your oils melted and let cool to same or close temp. You would add the Milk to the oils not the lye to keep color real light. Doing that might just get you whit soap. We call the Room Temp soaping, over night soaping ect.

Thanks so much for putting me on the right track - now I understand. I've always been going....going....going !!!!! to try the Room Temp method - question please nebetmiw, when do you add the milk.....before you add the lye mix (?) after trace (?) and about what temps should both be please???

 

[Aponi]

Does anyone here soap with goat's milk AND tussah silk? I haven't had any success so far as I use frozen goat's milk and then let it slush out while I'm mixing my oils, then I add my lye to finish melting the GM. I tried adding the silk to the melting GM but it didn't work (although that may have been that I burned the GM :blush)

I love this soap we make - I call it "Silky Goat Soap" and it sells like hotcakes - almost as good as our Goatmilk & Seaweed. I add a teaspoon of really hot - not boiling - water to the silk and let it stand until we get to a light trace the stir in - "touch wood"!!!! haven't had any problems to date.

 

[marghewitt]

Hello Aponi :wave:


Then when I go to use the milk, I don't thaw it to the slushy stage but use it still frozen, just break up the thin slabs of frozen milk to the required weight - then whilst still frozen, start sprinking the lye on top of the frozen milk. Stirring gently, the ice will start to melt - continue to sprinkle a bit then stir perhaps taking about 5 minutes to combine all the lye with the frozen milk. By the time all of the lye is combined, there might still be bits of frozen milk, but they do melt.

Each time I've used this method, the milk/lye solution remains pretty close to white, and the resulting soaps are very very light - like a light cream colour.

Give this a try, and I'm sure you'll notice the difference both in the milk/lye mixture, as well as the colour of the finished and cured soaps.

That is also how I now do it. I have made goat's milk soap that is very, very light in color. As far as silk, I do that a little bit different from most soapers..... I buy an 1/8 of a yard of 100% pure un-dyed silk from the fabric store, cut it into small squares and pull it apart into threads. I dissolve the threads in my lye water as soon as the lye is dissolved. It takes a little while but by the time the lye water is cool enough to mix with the oils the silk has dissolved. Works beautifully!

 

[CaliChan]

How do you make the babies?!?! :d

 

[Aponi]

I bought 6 molds from GBhouse http://gbcraft.com/shop/silicone-mold online - I bought 3 to start with but now have a set of six - they are a two part mold, I've only used 3D molds before and was a but nervous at first but they are easier to get the babies out of than other molds as with this mold you pull the mold apart (top from bottom) - Bill had to make a press (like a flower press) to hold the two part mould together "just in case" (!!!!), you pour the soap mix through a hole which is at the back of the babies, when you pull the molds apart you need to do a bit of sculpting on the babies backs plus small other parts but they are very easy and gosh they sell well - this afternoon we got an order for the set of 6 babies, we package them in organza bags with a white facecloth and nappy pin, then tie the organza bag off with a teddy charm. The Organza bags I get in bulk from China, they cost 0.07cents per bag incl. postage, the teddy charms I get from China also and they cost wholesale bulk 0.01 cent each, nappy pins 50cents for 6 and the facecloths just 50cents each, babies cost around say.....$2.30 to make bagged labelled with charm - I sell them wholesale for $9.80 each in turn they sell retail in a shopping mall I have them in for $18.95.