Soy wax soap and frozen goat milk

[Basil]

This is the final product of the goat milk soap made with soy wax. I used 15% of soy wax since I wanted to make sure I could control the temperature along with the goat milk. Very little stearic spots, but it was a bit of a challenge to get the goat milk hot enough without scorching bad and keep the soy wax high enough to stay melted but not turn lumpy. The temp was hovering at 120. I covered, and looks like it did a partial gel. Didn't crack though!! Most of my goat milk soaps don't gel as they're pretty cool. It still stayed fairly creamy in appearance though, not too brown so I guess I'll see in time. It may be too laboring for me to continue with soy and might stay with butters.... we'll see...BUT I'm anxious to try it!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Well done! I am so used to seeing brown or tan GM soaps that it's nice to see a pretty white one. Congratulations on quite an achievement!

 

[Basil]

View attachment 53483
Well done! I am so used to seeing brown or tan GM soaps that it's nice to see a pretty white one. Congratulations on quite an achievement!

Awww thank you @Zany_in_CO

 

[TheGecko]

It can be difficult in find that sweet spot when dealing with ingredients with different temperature requirements. I use fresh goat milk and find that if I keep my temperature around 70F when mixing and for about 15 minutes afterward, then I can take it out of the ice batch and let it sit up and warm up to about 90F without any discoloration. I then melt my Palm and Coconut Oils until clear (110F-120F) and then melt the Shea Butter in the residual heat. Once the Shea is melted, I quickly add my Olive and Castor Oils, FO and GM Lye Solution, SB to a light trace and pour into my mold. Even though the melting point of Palm Oil is 95F, I know that the temperature is going to drop once I start adding everything else in, but I also know that the process of saponification is going to raise the temperature back up, even if I don't 'gel'. So as long as my batter does drop below 90F when I go to pour, I have every confidence that I won't end up with Stearic Spots.

 

[Lynnz]

Gorgeous creamy soap <3

 

[Zany_in_CO]

@TheGecko Quick question... would you still use the same temps with soy wax in the batch of oils?

@Basil When making GM soap for my wholesale customer I would make the lye solution the night before and keep it in the fridge until the next morning. I would warm the oils slightly and add the lye straight from the fridge. I'm wondering if this would work with soy wax in the batch. Hmmm.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I use soy wax at 20% and the coolest I've soaped is 38 degrees celsius.

 

[TheGecko]

Quick question... would you still use the same temps with soy wax in the batch of oils?

My temps or @Basil's? I'm really pushing the limits with my temps as it is...I wouldn't use Soy Wax (or Beeswax) with Goat Milk or Shea Butter least I damage either in the process. It took me a year to find that 'sweet spot' with my recipe and it's the only time I use my digital thermometer and part of the reason why I don't color my GMS (the other is that I simply like the look of uncolored GMS). As we all know, GM will scorch if it gets to hot...it starts turning brown and it will smell and no amount of FO/EO will cover that burnt smell. If PO isn't properly melted, you end up with stearic spots...not dangerous, but no one wants spotty soap and having to explain stearic spots to customers. And if you overheat Shea Butter, you run the risk of it turning grainy and your soap will look grainy too.

Now if I was using Soy Wax in my Regular Soap...it would be a different story because I would most likely use it in place of Shea Butter and then could soap at a high temperature.

 

[Basil]

@Basil When making GM soap for my wholesale customer I would make the lye solution the night before and keep it in the fridge until the next morning. I would warm the oils slightly and add the lye straight from the fridge. I'm wondering if this would work with soy wax in the batch. Hmmm.

I don't know ..I have done that with making it up ahead and refrigerating to keep cooler to add EOs that made it hotter (per your suggestion last year! and it works!) It would be worth trying to see..and much easier.I'll try that and let you know.

I use soy wax at 20% and the coolest I've soaped is 38 degrees celsius.

That's a little over 100 F I think? I had trouble with the soy wax staying melted at that temp. I had to get the temp up more. I had little spots of wax floating around and was trying to smash them like bugs LOL but gave up and upped the temp..maybe your soy wax has a lower melting temp and might work...i could look at that too.

@Basil's? I'm really pushing the limits with my temps as it is...I wouldn't use Soy Wax (or Beeswax) with Goat Milk or Shea Butter least I damage either in the process.
It took me a year to find that 'sweet spot' with my recipe and it's the only time I use my digital thermometer and part of the reason why I don't color my GMS (the other is that I simply like the look of uncolored GMS).

Hi Gecko, thanks for your thoughts. I understand what you mean about pushing the temperature lol. I've never used anything but goats milk as I have quite a herd LOL. Started goats over 5 years ago and soaping now probably around 3-4 years ( thought it was less, but figured it out recently time flies)... but more seriously this last last year as I was put on hold at work from covid. Where do you get your goat milk? Do you have a farm,friend or buy it? Would you mind telling me what you pay if you buy it? I think it's about $5 a quart here, but I'm not sure.
I can soap comfortably at 85-100 for butters, but they turn a little darker higher the temp of course. If I want it white and stay that way, it takes more time. It kinda depends on my mood. I really like plain no colored soap(white and tan), but when I started seeing people on this forum use colorants, I thought, well..why not try with natural colors because it seems to fit...I've had fun with it but am still learning. Mostly first tried for my mother as she like lavender soap and scented lavender .
I'm attaching pictures of soap I think I've posted before but to connect will add here.. The flowers were for Christmas and I used @Zany_in_CO no slime..the none ash soap one is with the solution frozen cubes (goat milk and salts) and the ashy flower was me forgetting to freeze it that way, so added the baking soda and salt after the milk cubes were melted from the lye. I actually liked the look with ash so left it that way and told my family it was snow on the flowers! They loved it LOL. The bar soap is a little tanner, but not bad..I tried two butters at 10% . Since then I've gradually bumped it up to 20% each butter but it's costly as I used Kokum butter both times with cocoa. I haven't used shea ..yet.. but ordered to try...since DH has had problems with that, I'm cautious.

I appreciate all you comments and input

 

[KiwiMoose]

The soap looks lovely! The soy was I use is GW415 - it seems to be the lowest melt point of all that is available.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

@TheGecko Well said. That's what I think too. Thank you.

 

[TheGecko]

Hi Gecko, thanks for your thoughts. I understand what you mean about pushing the temperature lol. I've never used anything but goats milk as I have quite a herd LOL. Started goats over 5 years ago and soaping now probably around 3-4 years ( thought it was less, but figured it out recently time flies)... but more seriously this last last year as I was put on hold at work from covid. Where do you get your goat milk? Do you have a farm,friend or buy it? Would you mind telling me what you pay if you buy it? I think it's about $5 a quart here, but I'm not sure.

Local farm, $5.00 a gallon. I freeze it into blocks and cubes and double bag it.

I can soap comfortably at 85-100 for butters, but they turn a little darker higher the temp of course. If I want it white and stay that way, it takes more time. It kinda depends on my mood. I really like plain no colored soap (white and tan), but when I started seeing people on this forum use colorants, I thought, well..why not try with natural colors because it seems to fit...I've had fun with it but am still learning. Mostly first tried for my mother as she like lavender soap and scented lavender .
I'm attaching pictures of soap I think I've posted before but to connect will add here.. The flowers were for Christmas and I used @Zany_in_CO no slime..the none ash soap one is with the solution frozen cubes (goat milk and salts) and the ashy flower was me forgetting to freeze it that way, so added the baking soda and salt after the milk cubes were melted from the lye. I actually liked the look with ash so left it that way and told my family it was snow on the flowers! They loved it LOL. The bar soap is a little tanner, but not bad..I tried two butters at 10% . Since then I've gradually bumped it up to 20% each butter but it's costly as I used Kokum butter both times with cocoa. I haven't used shea ..yet.. but ordered to try...since DH has had problems with that, I'm cautious.

Ellen Ruth Soap on You Tube...she makes GMS with all sorts of colorants; I like her.

When I first started making GMS I used my Regular recipe (Olive, Coconut, Palm and Castor Oils, and Cocoa and Shea Butters) and replaced the water with Evaporated Goat Milk. My first batch was...really bad...it overheated. It was a dark tan, had separated, badly pockmarked and it smelled. I was advised to leave it for a few days and the oil might reabsorb...it did...sort of. As soap as I cut into the soap, little beads of oil popped out. I tossed it.

Second batch was much, much better...I still have a bar. By the fourth or fifth batch, I modified my recipe...I got rid of the Cocoa Butter, upped my Shea Butter and no more colorants. I hadn’t yet found my ‘sweet spot’ and so colorants came out a little rough looking.

When I make up my ice bath, I add water and a tablespoons of salt, and then I let the container sit in the ice bath for a good 5 or 10 minutes so it gets thoroughly chilled before I add my lye. In doing that, I am able to add larger amounts of lye at a time and still keep it to about 70F-72F. One I’m sure all my lye is dissolved and the temperature starts dropping, I take it out of the ice batch and let the lye start to do its thing and come up to room temp.

I’ve been thinking of experimenting with a little bit of color...keeping the soap a natural color, but adding little wisps of color. We’ll see.

 

[Basil]

Local farm, $5.00 a gallon. I freeze it into blocks and cubes and double bag it.

I’ve been thinking of experimenting with a little bit of color...keeping the soap a natural color, but adding little wisps of color. We’ll see.

Unbelievable! $5.00 a gallon?? A friend, who was my goat mentor sold hers for 5 a quart. Your person must have a lot of goats, or the larger dairy goats in order to sell it for that. My friend just moved to Oregon with her goats. I know of a woman who has a well known diary farm in Oregon, but can't remember the town at the moment. But I'm sure there's many others. You're getting a great price. I bought an upright freezer to store the milk cubes in. It works perfect as I can milk all spring, summer and through fall and freeze for the winter to continue making soap. I don't have to milk that way in the winter and it gives the goats a break too. Works with milk as well since it doesn't last long in the refrigerator and not as good after it's frozen EXCEPT for soap!! VOILA!

Ellen Ruth Soap?I think I've watched her, but does she do other soap besides goat milk? I don't think it was her then if only goat milk. I haven't watched too many specific to goat milk . There's a woman on this forum, recently joined, @Cheeky Goat whose videos are fun to watch!

When I first was learning, I used a lot of natural colorants like ground rosemary, lavender, etc. then started using clay, ground spices, and tried carrot juice with the goat milk, etc. from recipes out of books. Now I tend to leave the choppy stuff off the top, etc. I hope I live long enough and stay healthy enough to try lots of things. SO much to learn and so little time!!! Have fun wisping! I've enjoyed it.

 

[Basil]

Here I am again, Basil not the bloke, after making another batch of goat milk soap with soy wax, acting on @Zany_in_CO ponderings and putting the goat milk lye solution In the refrigerator overnight. The next day I melted the oils and soy wax slowly using hot water to see what the melting temp was, using American soy wax. It completely melted at 130 F. I added it to the other oils which included coconut oil and Kokum butter. I let it naturally cool and took the lye out to warm . The oils stayed melted with the soy wax at 86 F! The lye cooled to 65 . I blended without problem but again, comes to trace pretty quick but not terrible. The process was “chill” . I’m showing a pic of it in the mold along with the soy wax soap I made in Jan. . It has turned a little tanner with time, but not as noticeable standing alone. Another picture of three different ones together. The snowflake made in November with @Zany_in_CO no slime Castile recipe using goat milk instead of water and adding peppermint essential oil, the ‘tanner’ soy wax goat milk soap from last month and the whiter one I made yesterday. I’ll let you know if it stays the whiter color after a month . I ordered soy wax 415 as well to see what happens. The lighting is not the best.. but pretty close . All in all I’m pretty happy with the outcome!