White spots in goat milk soap

[EJSoap]

What are these white spots in my goats milk soap?

 

[Ford]

Hi, welcome. not much info to go on. Could be a number of things...... recipe, process, storage, related. give us more info to go on. Stearic spots? Air?
Wire bumps? Lye!? Unmelted fats?

 

[EJSoap]

Here’s my recipe. I’ve been mixing the lye into frozen goat’s milk and trying to keep temperature in 90’s or lower. And then adding my fats at same temp as lye/milk mixture.

Olive Oil - 427g
Palm Oil - 492g
Coconut Oil - 389g
Goat's Milk - 378g
Lye (Sodium Hydroxide) - 188.92g
Essential Oils - 10g

Oh, and I have tried pouring soap through a sieve when filling my mold. I am also using a wire cutter to cut my bars.

 

[dmcgee5034]

What temperature are you bringing your palm oil to when you melt it? I’m thinking it’s stearic spots from not heating your palm oil hot enough…..

 

[EJSoap]

Palm oil temp I believe was around 120.

 

[ScentimentallyYours]

Are you using a stick blender? They look like air bubbles to me, accented by the wire cutter. Other than that cosmetic issue, the soap looks very good!

Edit to add: You may be able to steam those bubbles off the surface.

 

[2lilboots]

I use my planer and skim the air bubbles off the surface. Wire cutters are great, but do leave air bubbles.

 

[EJSoap]

Are you using a stick blender? They look like air bubbles to me, accented by the wire cutter. Other than that cosmetic issue, the soap looks very good!

Edit to add: You may be able to steam those bubbles off the surface.

Thanks for your input, I’ll try experimenting with these suggestions and see what happens!

 

[EJSoap]

I use my planer and skim the air bubbles off the surface. Wire cutters are great, but do leave air bubbles.

Thanks, for the input. I’ll try cutting the next batch with something other than the wire cutter and see if that helps.

 

[dmcgee5034]

Palm oil temp I believe was around 120.

Try heating your palm oil to 160 and stir it really well before you add it to your other oils and then let things cool off together. That’s helped me

 

[Tammyfarms]

Try heating your palm oil to 160 and stir it really well before you add it to your other oils and then let things cool off together. That’s helped me

@EJSoap I second this suggestion. I was getting the same type of spots and began heating my hard butters to 170. No more spots.

 

[lucycat]

I agree that I think the soap looks fine with small wire cutter bubbles. I don't hear others discuss it but I find that my goatmilk soaps have a different soap surface look and feel; not as smooth as my soaps with water, a more rustic look and a softer feel. I just consider it a result of using frozen goatmilk rather than powder. I don't mind and if asked I think it is a selling point that it is clear I take the time to use fresh goatmilk.

You can have spots from "soap within the soap". The fat in the goatmilk can saponify with the lye and cause the lye/milk mixture to include some soap bits leaving white spots. When I first started making soap I prepared the lye/milk and then set up molds, pulled colors, finished getting oils ready. All too much time and the fat in the goatmilk would start to saponify. Changing so that I add the lye/milk mixture to the oils immediately after I have the lye incorporated and the milk has melted eliminated the spots.