Omg! Gmoh!

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

So, today I made my first GMOH soap. Froze the milk ages ago in to little pots, took one out, melted the edges in warm water to get in to my lye solution pot, topped up to my water amount and put it in the freezer for a wee bit.

Ground my oats in a mortar and pestle and put them and the honey in my mixing bucket.

Oils on the stove to melt down (lard, oo and co) and the lye mixed slowly in to the cold water milk. Let it all cool down a while, added the oils to the mixing bucket with the Honey FO.

After a while, got it all together and mixed. It's a rather orange colour, which I was hoping to avoid, but it's now in the freezer for a few hours just to try and prevent too much heating up.

Hope the colour fades, or grows on me!

 

[Obsidian]

It should fade, my animal milk soap usually turn orange when first mixed but end up a creamy tannish color.

 

[karenbeth]

I got the shock of my life when I added honey and it turned orange. Now I use it on purpose to colour soap naturally, but if I don't want orange I soap very cool.

 

[Ruthie]

How much water to GM did you use?

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

It was about 50/50 water to GM

 

[lsg]

EGent, I usually freeze my milk or cream in flat plastic bags so I can break it up or in ice cube trays. I add a little lye at a time to the frozen milk, stirring constantly. You can also set the lye solution container in an ice water bath. This keeps the milk from over heating and scorching, making it turn orange.

 

[JusDin]

What lsg said. That is exactly what I do. It is a slow and painstaking process, I'm using 100% GM and adding the lye in little tiny bits at a time over an ice water bath. I'm keeping the temperature under 80 the entire time and the end result is a creamy white lye mixture. But I think an orange color in a honey/oat soap might be quite nice!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Very good ideas. I think I did add it too fast, sans ice bath. Lessons for next time

 

[Obsidian]

How is it looking? Still orange?

 

[Mellifera]

When the lye hits the honey, it turns orange. It fades away, though.

 

[green soap]

I dissolve the honey in the goat milk, then freeze it.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I will post cut pics tonight

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

A little bit later than tonight, but here we go. The one on the right I have quickly lathered up, the one of the left is in it's partial gel/ash glory.

 

[lsg]

Your soap looks good and the ash is harmless.

 

[reinbeau]

Please, do not add your honey to your lye, add it at trace.

Below is my 100% goat's milk mixed with lye - no orange, never got above 74°. I add the lye slowly to the frozen goat's milk, I keep it in cubes.

The second picture is the finished product, comparing no gel to gel. I prefer the gelled.

 

[coffeetime]

I add my honey to my lye after it has cooled. I get the same tan colour eventually that others are describing. Works great. I don't use goats milk though.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Please, do not add your honey to your lye, add it at trace.................

I added my honey in to the mixing bucket with the oats and oils. I then added the cooled lye solution in there. I think my orange came from adding the lye to the milk too fast

 

[Mellifera]

All my soaps use honey (and/or beeswax), and I know that orange effect well. I didn't have time to post the picture before, but here's one. I add the honey to the oils, then pour in the lye and voila. Orange. The color goes away and doesn't (as far as I can tell ) affect any colorants I use (alkanet, clays, oxides, etc) but it is pretty startling when it happens.

I wonder if it's the mineral content (honey has trace minerals), because I get a similar color when I add Dead Sea Salt to lye.

 

[judymoody]

Looks great, EG!

If you're using 50% goat's milk, I would just mix the water with the lye (it will be super concentrated) and then after I mix lye and oils, then add the milk. Easier than freezing the milk, IME.

I also add my honey directly to my lye solution (after it has cooled).

 

[shunt2011]

Effy, that turned out pretty good! I use 50% milk and as judymoody stated I add my lye to water, honey to cooled lye mixture (if using) and then add my milk to my oils and then add my lye water mixture. I end up with beautifully creamy looking soaps if I don't color them.