I used to make soap and have been itching on and off for years to start up again. So I got my, er, stuff together, and made a new mold since I have no idea where my old ones are, and today! I made my first batch of the rest of my soaping life. So exciting!
I used to use milk in almost every soap I made. I distinctly remember using half-and-half and getting wonderful creamy hard soaps. So I looked in the fridge, found I have heavy cream and not milk, and thought that would be even better.
I did take the milkfat into consideration when calculating my lye, but this was to be a high-superfat batch anyway (very high % of coconut oil), so I thought "all the better!"
If you, too, like milk soaps and if you, like me, think the "heavier" the better -- don't do it! I think the milkfat started to saponify when I added lye to the cream; it heated up more than I expected from very cold liquid, and it looked like grainy soap at heavy trace by the time the lye was dissolved. Since I'd already measured and heated my oils I figured I'd barge ahead, which was okay (but awkward and scary, because the "lye water" was so gloopy it was harder to incorporate)... until it hit heavy trace and started to set, way sooner than memory predicted for the oils I was using.
I think that if I'd just left it in the pail I was mixing in, it would have been all right, for all that it would be in an unusual "bottom of a soaping pail" shape.
For some reason, I insisted on pouring... no, spooning, it no longer poured by the time I made the decision.... into my lined mold.
Maybe it will soften and become smoother during gel phase, which I encourage and which it should be doing even now. I don't have a lot of hope for it though!
Lessons I Learned Today: milk and half-and-half are good for soaping, 100% cream is not! And also: things don't always go according to plan, so be more willing to change the plan when things go squidgy!
I used to use milk in almost every soap I made. I distinctly remember using half-and-half and getting wonderful creamy hard soaps. So I looked in the fridge, found I have heavy cream and not milk, and thought that would be even better.
I did take the milkfat into consideration when calculating my lye, but this was to be a high-superfat batch anyway (very high % of coconut oil), so I thought "all the better!"
If you, too, like milk soaps and if you, like me, think the "heavier" the better -- don't do it! I think the milkfat started to saponify when I added lye to the cream; it heated up more than I expected from very cold liquid, and it looked like grainy soap at heavy trace by the time the lye was dissolved. Since I'd already measured and heated my oils I figured I'd barge ahead, which was okay (but awkward and scary, because the "lye water" was so gloopy it was harder to incorporate)... until it hit heavy trace and started to set, way sooner than memory predicted for the oils I was using.
I think that if I'd just left it in the pail I was mixing in, it would have been all right, for all that it would be in an unusual "bottom of a soaping pail" shape.
For some reason, I insisted on pouring... no, spooning, it no longer poured by the time I made the decision.... into my lined mold.
Maybe it will soften and become smoother during gel phase, which I encourage and which it should be doing even now. I don't have a lot of hope for it though!
Lessons I Learned Today: milk and half-and-half are good for soaping, 100% cream is not! And also: things don't always go according to plan, so be more willing to change the plan when things go squidgy!
