Soap of the Phantom Funk!

[boyago]

Okay so I made am unscented soap OO 48oz CO 12.8oz SWA 3.2 with half the H20 replaced with plain whole fat yogurt and 2oz of honey no scents. It came out fine, soaps up and performs well but I have noticed it has a phantom smell to it. Kind of a cross between chocolate cake and baby pooh. Less than desirable. When you smell the soap directly though it doesn't smell like that. I can only notice it after I handle or wash with the soap and it's faint enough to where it took me a while to figure out what was going on. It doesn't smell any more intense when the soap is wet. I figure it's something from the yogurt. Anybody have anything like this happen?

 

[CaraCara]

LOL now the title makes sense. Probably to do with the yoghurt and honey mixed.

 

[Hazel]

I've noticed an unpleasant scent when I use a large percentage of heavy whipping cream for the liquid in soap. It was explained to me that I was smelling butyric acid. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butyric_acid The person who told me about it made a comment that generally people who think jasmine and honeysuckle stink are the ones who can smell butyric acid. (I do think those two scents smell bad.) I've never used yogurt so I don't know if it would be considered comparable to whipping cream.

I'm not saying this is what you're actually smelling. I'm just mentioning it as a possibility. I switched to using cream at 25% to 33% of the liquid amount and learned not to use citrus type scents. This is because for some reason it smelled even worse when I used citrus.

 

[Lin]

huh, I commented that my goats milk soap smelled weird, kinda bad, and my boyfriend said all he smelled in it was the cocoa I used to color it and that it was almost chocolately. I just clicked your link and its high in goat milk. I used full goats milk for my liquid. It was condensed/canned goats milk and I used it frozen with some plain ice cubes.

 

[Hazel]

People have mentioned previously that goat milk has an ammonia type scent but it fades through the cure.

 

[Lin]

Maybe thats it, I did notice when I was cutting it the smell wasn't as strong. I've never made it before!

 

[boyago]

The person who told me about it made a comment that generally people who think jasmine and honeysuckle stink are the ones who can smell butyric acid. (I do think those two scents smell bad.) I've never used yogurt so I don't know if it would be considered comparable to whipping cream.

I love those scents too but I think you may be right. Maybe it has something to do with the brand or fat content as I have used other yogurts with out the sneeky stink.

 

[Hazel]

Hopefully, the scent will fade. When did you make the batch?

 

[boyago]

Hopefully, the scent will fade. When did you make the batch?

The end of September.

 

[Hazel]

@ boyago -

JMO but if it's lasted this long then I don't think it's the "ammonia" scent which some soapers have mentioned they've experienced when using GM. People always mentioned it faded in a few days or stated it faded during the curing time which I would consider a few weeks. But I can't state this from experience since I've only used powdered goat milk.

I think you may be right about it being the brand of yogurt. I know some brands of yogurt add extra butterfat so it could be butyric acid but I'm just guessing. I could smell an odor in my cream soap for several months but I don't know any further since there isn't any left. I'm sorry I couldn't help you with answering your question. Maybe someone else will have an answer.

@ Lin -

Is your batch a recent one?

 

[Lin]

Yes, mine is under a week old. I noticed it pretty strong at 24 hours, when I unmolded at 48 it didn't seem as strong. I haven't done anything else with the soap yet but still need to square up my edges (slab mold) so I'll probably do that soon and check again on the smell. One concern I had about the smell was having burned the milk. I used frozen cubes and dumped in a small amount of lye at a time, mixing outdoors in the cold... But it was SO cold outside I think I went a little faster because I wanted to get back indoors! It never smelled bad, the color looked right, it never felt hot but when I was done it did feel a little warm. I'm probably just being paranoid though, and would have known for sure if I'd burned the milk. I've burned milk before on the stove or microwave!

 

[boyago]

Hazel I think your right. After that batch I mad another that doesn't have that particular quality. The Trader Joes Honey flavored Greek yogurt did not do this (bu did heat up allot) FYI.

 

[Hazel]

@ Lin -

If it was only a little warm, then you didn't burn it. I've never burnt a milk product but I have had them turn orange from being too hot. This is why I switched to using enough water for the lye and the rest of the liquid is buttermilk. When I use heavy whipping cream, I only use it for 25%-33% of the liquid portion. People have mentioned in the past that it's obvious if you burn the milk. I think one person said it turns brown and stinks.

@ boyago -

Good to know especially if I ever decide to make yogurt soap. I have bought yogurt intending to use it in a batch...but then I eat it. I'm so weak willed.

That doesn't surprise me yogurt with honey would heat up since people have mentioned honey gets hot. I've never had a problem with a batch with honey getting hot except one time. But I used an EO blend which had cinnamon and clove in it and I made the assumption it was because of the blend. Also, another reason I haven't had overheating is it's possible I don't add as much honey as other people.

 

[boyago]

STOP THE PRESSES!!

Sorry folks, my soap markers got mixed up in my drying box. This was not a Yogurt soap it was Buttermilk and honey. Hazel your comments make even more sense now.

For those interested the recipe was
OO 589.67g, CO 226.796g, Castor 90.718g
Lye 129.093g, the entire water weight was replaced with frozen buttermilk @ 344.5g and 28.35g of honey was mixed after oils and lye were blended.

Sorry if that threw anyone off.

 

[Hazel]

Not a problem. That's odd that you're smelling an odor scent with the buttermilk. You must have an excellent olfactory sense. I haven't noticed a funky smell with buttermilk but it may be because it has a lower fat content and/or the fragrances I used in the batches covered the scent.

BTW, buttermilk and honey soap sounds wonderful. :grin: