Slow moving goat milk cp soap recipe

[Luv2Soap]

Hey all! Every time I make goat milk soaps I find the batter really accelerates quickly and I'm not able to do all the fancy swirls I want to. I am using 25% goat milk and 75% water. Does anyone have any suggestions to slow trace enough? What oils / butters should I avoid? Any tips and tricks? Thanks

 

[KiwiMoose]

Are there any additives in your goats milk? I use mine at 100% water content with no issue.
Just to check - when you use the goat milk, is there anything else you do different to usual? I'm assuming the recipe is the same as the one you use when you do your swirls normally. And the fragrance is the same? The temperature? If all other things are equal, I would look at the goat milk and see if you could try a different brand (assuming it's not straight from the goat).

 

[ackosel]

My goat milk recipe with goat tallow accelerated. I use milk only instead of water. I replaced the goat tallow with lard and it traces much more slowly and stays fluid much longer. I have a freezer full of beef tallow that needs rendering, and then I'll try it to see if beef tallow behaves differently than goat tallow. It requires a different amount of lye, so maybe it will trace more slowly. Also, I most likely WAY overblended the goat tallow batches I made. Itchy trigger finger...

The goat milk itself doesn't appear to affect trace.

Edited to add that my goat milk comes straight from the goats.

 

[Luv2Soap]

LOL - I guess it would be a good idea to give you the recipe

60% Lard
20% Sweet Almond Oil
15% Coconut Oil
5% Castor Oil
38% water - superfat 5%

I tried to keep the water high to avoid any issues with the goat milk (it's evaporated goat milk btw)

I think you're on to something. I wonder if it's the evaporated milk -vs- the straight from the goat milk. Sadly I don't have goats but I'm sure I can find someone local to give it a try. Hey - our grocery store sells whole goat milk. I wonder if this could work better?

 

[Luv2Soap]

Ackosel - thanks ! I wish we could have goats where I live cause' I'd be all over that It must be something I'm doing.

 

[Kari Howie]

My intuition suspects the evaporated milk. Maybe try whole, liquid goat milk instead in a small test batch and see what happens.

 

[Luv2Soap]

My intuition suspects the evaporated milk. Maybe try whole, liquid goat milk instead in a small test batch and see what happens.

We're on the same page. I'll give it a try Thanks!!

 

[AliOop]

I agree, if you are using evaporated milk, the concentrated sugars are causing the batter to heat up, which can cause faster trace. Besides whole goat milk, you can also buy powdered goat milk, which is easier to use and causes no overheating if you blend it straight into the oils.

Also, when you say that you use 38% water, remember that this setting will not give you a consistent amount of water as you change batch sizes. Consider switching to lye concentration, and start at 33%. That's a good amount of water for most CP recipes, but if you find it's not enough, lower the lye concentration to 30 or 31%, which will give you more water.

 

[dmcgee5034]

I agree, it’s the evap milk. The evaporated milk makes soap batter behave very differently than regular concentrate liquid and GMP mixed with water or even AVJ, as I use. The one time I used the evap GM, my batter also accelerated quickly, and my soap got super hot in the mold and cracked.
I personally love GMP for the convenience and ease of use.

 

[Servant4Christ]

I agree, if you are using evaporated milk, the concentrated sugars are causing the batter to heat up, which can cause faster trace. Besides whole goat milk, you can also buy powdered goat milk, which is easier to use and causes no overheating if you blend it straight into the oils.

Also, when you say that you use 38% water, remember that this setting will not give you a consistent amount of water as you change batch sizes. Consider switching to lye concentration, and start at 33%. That's a good amount of water for most CP recipes, but if you find it's not enough, lower the lye concentration to 30 or 31%, which will give you more water.

Use more water in goat milk soap? I thought that would heat up the soap more and encourage gel phase, which I do not want in my goat milk soap. I used 40% lye concentration. Maybe this is why mine traced so fast last night. I still managed to pour off a third of the soap batter and color with a little paprika infused olive oil and make a quick spatula swirl before running the loaf to the big freezer. No idea what it's gonna look like, but it smells good.

 

[AliOop]

Use more water in goat milk soap? I thought that would heat up the soap more and encourage gel phase, which I do not want in my goat milk soap. I used 40% lye concentration. Maybe this is why mine traced so fast last night. I still managed to pour off a third of the soap batter and color with a little paprika infused olive oil and make a quick spatula swirl before running the loaf to the big freezer. No idea what it's gonna look like, but it smells good.

Thanks for pointing that out since that is an important factor for a lot of folks who make goat milk. More water may slow down the trace a bit, but you are correct, more water means it will gel at a lower temp. It is definitely a trade-off.

Were there any other reasons that your trace might have sped up, e.g., age of oils (maybe oxidized), amount of stickblending, additives, EOs, etc.?

 

[Servant4Christ]

Thanks for pointing that out since that is an important factor for a lot of folks who make goat milk. More water may slow down the trace a bit, but you are correct, more water means it will gel at a lower temp. It is definitely a trade-off.

Were there any other reasons that your trace might have sped up, e.g., age of oils (maybe oxidized), amount of stickblending, additives, EOs, etc.?

I added colloidal oats to the FO and added this to the oils once they cooled. Added my gm powder to the warm oils, as well. Then added the lye water. Everything was just under 100°F. I was super light-handed with the stickblender so I'm thinking it likely just traced faster because it was my first time and I played with it rather than running it straight to the freezer.
Maybe I should try 33% lye concentration since I've read that at 40, gel happens sooner but doesn't last as long. Whereas, at 33, gel lasts longer but doesn't start as soon. Theoretically, this would give me a little more time to get the soap into the freezer, but it will need to remain in the freezer longer to prevent gel.
I pulled the soap out and let it thaw. It's not up to room temp yet, but I was able to cut a sliver off the end and see the dreaded ring of doom.

 

[AliOop]

I added colloidal oats to the FO and added this to the oils once they cooled. Added my gm powder to the warm oils, as well. Then added the lye water. Everything was just under 100°F. I was super light-handed with the stickblender so I'm thinking it likely just traced faster because it was my first time and I played with it rather than running it straight to the freezer.
Maybe I should try 33% lye concentration since I've read that at 40, gel happens sooner but doesn't last as long. Whereas, at 33, gel lasts longer but doesn't start as soon. Theoretically, this would give me a little more time to get the soap into the freezer, but it will need to remain in the freezer longer to prevent gel.
I pulled the soap out and let it thaw. It's not up to room temp yet, but I was able to cut a sliver off the end and see the dreaded ring of doom.

What FO did you use?

 

[Servant4Christ]

What FO did you use?

Neroli Nirvana from Lone Star Candle Supply. I assumed it wouldn't accelerate because I've used it once before, but looking through my notes, I see that was in a high lard soap. Oops!

 

[AliOop]

Neroli Nirvana from Lone Star Candle Supply. I assumed it wouldn't accelerate because I've used it once before, but looking through my notes, I see that was in a high lard soap. Oops!

So cool looking! But if you don't like the gel ring, you can put it in the oven or on a heating pad.

Yeah, neroli, like all florals, are almost always going to accelerate. That is the more likely culprit than your lye concentration.

 

[2lilboots]

I think that soap is beautiful.

 

[Servant4Christ]

So cool looking! But if you don't like the gel ring, you can put it in the oven or on a heating pad.

Now? It's been almost 24hrs. Are you saying I can still force the bars to gel completely even though they are already cut?

 

[AliOop]

I've done it 24 hours later but it's really recipe dependent. Doesn't hurt to try!

 

[GracieRose]

Beautiful soap!