Trying out a new recipe

[biscuitbuns29]

I am new to making soap, and I want to make sure that my recipe is okay! I was thinking of doing 15% Sweet Almond Oil, 14% Coconut Oil, 32% Olive Oil, and 39% Beef Tallow. When I ran it through the calculator it told me to use 9.87oz of Liquid and 3.86 Lye. Would it be okay to use 10oz of goats milk for the liquid?

 

[Kcryss]

If you've never made soap before, I would caution against using goats milk with your first batch. It is a hard ingredient to work with and can cause several issues. You may want to do some searches on the forum for goats milk in soap to get a better idea on the best ways to use it as a liquid replacement.

Most people start with a small batch, generally, 1 lb of oils to get started.

 

[AliOop]

I like your recipe, and would also agree with @Kcryss to try making it first without goat milk as your liquid. There is so much going on with making soap that it's best to focus first on the basics of mixing olis + lye solution, getting that into the mold, and unmolding/cutting.

After that, you can move to additives such as goat milk, or for an easier first attempt, goat milk powder.

 

[biscuitbuns29]

I like your recipe, and would also agree with @Kcryss to try making it first without goat milk as your liquid. There is so much going on with making soap that it's best to focus first on the basics of mixing olis + lye solution, getting that into the mold, and unmolding/cutting.

After that, you can move to additives such as goat milk, or for an easier first attempt, goat milk powder.

Thank you!

 

[DeeAnna]

I'd be willing to make this recipe. My only quibble based purely on my preference is to use lard rather than tallow -- or use about half lard and half tallow. But, again, that's purely my preference.

Be aware that soap with a high % of tallow can get really hard a lot faster than you might expect. Test the soap starting about 4 hours after pouring it into the mold. Cut the soap when it has the right texture to be cut. You want to cut soap when it doesn't dent like cream cheese, but still yields to a gentle finger press. The ideal firmness will feel something like refrigerator cold mild cheddar cheese.

If you have to cut when the soap is still warm and saponifying, be sure to wear gloves to protect your hands. Soap that young is likely to not be safe for skin.

Sweet almond and olive are both high-oleic fats, so they will provide similar results in soap. The tallow and the coconut oil are good choices to balance the properties of these high oleic fats.

 

[Susie]

That's a lot of Coconut Oil.

 

[KiwiMoose]

That's a lot of Coconut Oil.

Just 14% Susie

 

[lsg]

You can divide the liquid into half water, (to dissolve the lye), and the other half milk, (added to your oils). When we had a milk cow, I regularly used half water and half cows cream for this method.