Totally confused

[Marilyn Norgart]

i made a GM soap today using the gm ice cubes with the lye--it went really smooth and I threw it in the freezer at 80 degrees--just cut it and it did a partial gel.
13 oz lard
8.5 coconut oil
9.5 safflower oil
4.5 lye
10.2 ice cubes
ylang ylang which was supposed to accelerate but it didnt
what the heck did I do wrong??? once I get the ice melted with the lye can I go ahead and gel it with out scorching the milk.
and the temp never seemed to go above 100 degrees

 

[Nanette]

Did you use a loaf mold or cavity molds..I made gm soap in a loaf mold, put in fridge for about an hour or less...and when I cut it the next day it had partially gelled. I did it with cavity molds and left it overnight in fridge...no gelling tho as the soap cured it went from very white to a cream color. I had my frozen gm in an ice bath container as I dissolved the lye.. Perhaps a loaf mold needs to stay overnight in the fridge? A lot of heat is generated during the saponification process especially in a loaf mold which holds more heat.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

yes I used a loaf mold. I wanted it to be as white as possible. I have been reading the past posts. I think I am seeing that if its gelled it will lighten up once it cools--am I reading that right? I really want to figure this out cuz I don't want to do HP every time I do a milk soap

 

[Nanette]

My loaf did lighten up but you can still see the faint bulls eye of gelling...I believe I didnt leave in in the fridge nearly long enough...should have been overnight..which is what I will try next.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

I could tell mine had started to gel in the freezer--my gun said it was only 100 degrees though. I guess if it doesn't carmalize it I might as well let it gel--I hate partial gel. hopefully it will disappear somewhat as it cures. I think the last time I just left it on the counter it still only partially gelled to

 

[TheGecko]

i made a GM soap today using the gm ice cubes with the lye--it went really smooth and I threw it in the freezer at 80 degrees--just cut it and it did a partial gel.
13 oz lard
8.5 coconut oil
9.5 safflower oil
4.5 lye
10.2 ice cubes
ylang ylang which was supposed to accelerate but it didnt
what the heck did I do wrong??? once I get the ice melted with the lye can I go ahead and gel it with out scorching the milk.
and the temp never seemed to go above 100 degrees

I use frozen GM, in an ice bath with salt and slowly add the lye and continue to stir until the lye starts to react with the fat in the GM and then I add Sodium Lactate. I let it stay in the ice while I prepare my recipe of Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Olive Oil, and Castor Oil; I give it a good whisk and add Kaolin Clay. Once the Clay sinks to the bottom and my oils are cool but not cloudy, I give it a couple of 2 second pulses to distribute the clay and then add my lye solution and give it a good whisk, then a few 2-3 second pulses, pour in my mold and popped it in the frig overnight. Unmold and let come to room temp before cutting.

Soap goes in the frig around 70-75F, doesn’t get warm. doesn’t gel and comes out a creamy color.

 

[Spice]

My loaf did lighten up but you can still see the faint bulls eye of gelling...I believe I didnt leave in in the fridge nearly long enough...should have been overnight..which is what I will try next.

That happen to me too, I didn't leave it long enough, the other thing too is that I was using a wood mold, I think wood hold in heat longer. I saw this mold in etsy that looks like it would be cooler on my GM soaps. https://www.etsy.com/listing/241798752/3-7-lbs-large-soap-mold-classic-with?ref=related-4&frs=1

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

wood hold in heat longer.

I used this type of mold also and it didn't help

 

[snofields]

I make a lot of milk soaps using wood molds. I can avoid gel by placing my mold in the freezer for an hour before soaping and then putting it back in the fridge for about 8 hours, usually overnight for this sleepyhead. I have tried other molds, the Essential depot seems the best for holding shape and not retaining heat, it sill needs refrigeration.

 

[lsg]

Milk contains a lot of natural sugars. It is hard not to get a partial gel with milk soap, especially using loaf molds. You might try using cavity molds next time and keep the soap in the freezer for 48 hours.

 

[shunt2011]

I make mostly milk soaps. I always gel and have never had it scorch. I do keep an eye on it as it does get warm and I don't want it to crack. If you want to avoid gel I would use individual molds.

 

[amd]

Putting the soap in the fridge probably didn't cool it off at a fast enough rate to prevent gel at the very inner portion. I made two batches of breastmilk soap last weekend, the only difference was one had FO and the other didn't. Both went into the freezer for 24 hours. The unscented one has a small gel circle in the middle. Soap is gonna do what it's gonna do.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

If you want to avoid gel I would use individual molds.

I don't do too many milk and have been doing HP but wanted to start doing more and using CP. would like them to gel but the ones I have made before (50-50 water lye and adding the remained to the oils) have all scorched. so am trying using GM ice cubes. do you just leave yours on the counter uncovered or covered? I am going to try again and just leave on the counter to gel thanks!!!

The unscented one has a small gel circle in the middle

I could tell mine was gelling as it was still sitting in the freezer--I set it on some slushy ice packs and am wondering if they melted and then held the heat at the mold. I will try again today--How hot were your oils when you put the GM lye in them? I don't think the gelled part looks scorched its just darker

 

[lucycat]

I make a lot of milk soaps as well. I find that there isn't as much that is uniform with milk soaps. Each fragrance behaves differently and what temp and conditions you use for one fragrance may cause overheating in another fragrance. I let them gel because I like gel but I also think it is very difficult to prevent gel in GM soaps if you are using a wooden log mold.

I find that soaps that I think are going to be really white in GM still slowly discolor to the ivory/tan. I do think keeping the GM/lye below 90 degrees helps with keeping a whiter soap but I have never been able to get a white soap with fresh goat milk.

Did you use canned/fresh/ raw goatmilk? I find canned results in a darker color, grocery store pasteurized GM is ok (and what I use), and unpasteurized milk the whitest.

 

[amd]

How hot were your oils when you put the GM lye in them?

I don't take temps, but it was warmish in the soap dungeon so my MB oils were liquid but slightly thick. If I had to guess I would say 70-ish. I added the cold milk to the oils (it had been frozen and I defrosted in the fridge), and used fresh lye mixed up slightly more than 1:1 ratio (I had 20g more water than lye just to make sure I had enough water to properly dissolve the lye).

Thinking a bit more... the scented one was in a silicone mold sitting in a wooden box. The unscented (partial gel) was in a wooden mold, but the mold was too big for the batch so I sectioned it off with a piece of cardboard, so one end of the soap was open (as far as not being directly insulated by wood).

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

Did you use canned/fresh/ raw goatmilk?

I used dried that I mixed up and then froze. I use my hard white plastic mold when I make GM soaps. maybe I should put it in my wooden/silicone mold and leave on the counter to get full gel. I guess I wouldn't mind if it turned light tan, I just don't want the dk caramel color I get

thanks for all your input, I have some things to try now

 

[amd]

I guess I wouldn't mind if it turned light tan, I just don't want the dk caramel color I get

Dark caramel could be scorching.

A few things I would try:
Lower the CO amount. CO tends to heat during saponification, so it may be increasing your soap temp. I didn't do the math to figure out what % you're using, but only assume that because it's close to the other oil qty that it's fairly high.

I would use the split method to add the milk. That way you can control the temp of the milk better than if you add lye to it. No, your soap won't be 100% GM, but it won't scorch either. I only do one batch of GM every year (for personal use), and I have to be very careful to make sure it doesn't scorch. Same with the breastmilk soaps I do, both types go into the freezer, and I soap as cool as I can.

 

[shunt2011]

I use the split method myself. I mix my lye with water and add canned milk enhanced with some powdered and add that right to my oils before the lye. I soap fairly cool. I do insulate my soaps with a wood lid. But I also keep an eye on them.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

Lower the CO amount.

will try this too--I am going to make unscented, uncolored until I get this down (with the understanding things may change once I add scent back in) my son likes my GM and I am sure I can pawn some off on friends

 

[IrishLass]

I use the split method whenever making goat milk soap. I always fully gel and it never scorches.....and my soaps never discolor to tan, provided I use a non-discoloring FO, that is...... they come out an off-white/ivory color. If I use TD, they look a pretty nice shade of white.

I would use the split method to add the milk. That way you can control the temp of the milk better than if you add lye to it. No, your soap won't be 100% GM, but it won't scorch either.

You can make a 100% goat milk soap when using the split method. That's what I do when making goat milk soap. I just fortify my fresh goat milk (Meyenberg fresh/refrigerated in a carton, i.e., not the canned stuff*) with enough powdered goat milk to bring the overall total concentration of goat milk up to 100%. I add the slurry to my oils before adding in my lye solution, oftentimes even warming it along with my oils before adding the lye.

*I used to use Meyenberg canned goat milk back when I first started making goat milk soap, but they always came out dark tan. Not so with the fresh/refrigerated Meyenberg.


IrishLass