WINTER SOLSTICE- rtcp whipped milk soap

[heartsong]

i would like to share my favorite recipe (so far!), with you all and kind of walk you thru how i process. everyone does theirs a little different. this seems to work for me the best. i usually work 3 batches in the morning and 3 in the evening. i make 5# batches. i use 18-bar wooden molds, and my bars are just a hair under 2 x 3 x 1-3/8.

this was formulated for winter's dry itchy skin, and it lathers beatutifully in hard water-almost like shampoo. my sensitive skin is soft and smooth after bathing.

i have never gotten dos. (knock on wood) and the bars get very hard.

i use a 3 quart plastic mixing bowl with a handle and pour spout (walmart-$5).

i dont make a stiff batter, mine is "looser" and pourable. i get a soap that floats, but has a smooth top finish. one time i wasn't paying attention and whipped too long and it made a stiffer batter-no worries-it's up to the individual. you can reduce the water for a thicker batter.

what i like most about rtcp is it gives you more TIME! to fool arountd with colors and swirls, and more time for tempermental f/o's that like to seize.

soap calc sez:

hardness 45
cleansing 22
conditioning 50
bubbly 36
creamy 36
ins 155

it is actually a gentler soap than shown. i use a 8% lye discount and add extra glycerine, plus a lot of milk. this bar is anything but harsh!

melt and blend the night before:

3 avacado 5%
8 castor oil 15%
11 palm 20%
11 palm kernel 20%
11 olive oil 20%
9 coconut oil 15%
3 steric acid 5%

this is when i add my pigment. i usually add more later if i am going to two-tone swirl or dapple.

mix the night before and let cool:

220 grms lye (8%)
9 oz water or aloe vera (28%)- YOU CAN DISCOUNT-your batch will be thicker.

blend thoroughly and set aside:

9 oz goatsmilk-canned condensed-double strength.
1 oz vegetable glycerine
1 oz honey

2.5 oz f/o @ .7 ppo

i use a hand mixer because i belive it blends more easily and evenly and gets lots of air in the soap. they're only $6 at walmart and usually last about 6 months. no big financial committment!

blend up your oils a bit, add your f/oils and then gradually add your goatsmilk and honey mix. you dont need to spend a whole lot of time doing this-i usually just pour it all in two shots.

now be careful about flinging this lye about, so on lowest setting pour in lye mixture. i blend a bit-stop-then scrape the sides a bottom with a spatula-then blend some more. about 3 minutes at the most.

pour batter into mold, thump on the counter and it should level itself and smooth out. drop in the 18 bar grid, cover with plastic and then the lid. i also put a towel or blanket on top.

FYI: this heats up in round soap tubes. you can stick this in the fridge for a few hours to stop gel.

my soap doesn't g thru a hard gel (a good thing) but it does warm up a bit in the mold-which tells me it's chugging along nicely. check it ever so often. if it gets hot, then remove the lid-this is usually a f/oil. coconut and a couple others (i forget) have gotten HOT on me before. you can stick in fridge, also.

i usually wait 12 hrs and unmold. a really great website for better coloring instructions and AWESOME pics, visit:

http://nizzymoulds.com/whipped/index.html

hope this helps some, after using this method, i just cant bring myself to go back to ofcp! (old fashion cold procees)

i'd love to hear from anyone who tries this.

i wish we had spell-check!

 

[Deda]

What a great explanation! I would love to see pictures!

Couple questions? You use a plastic mixing bowl and a hand mixer - don't you get plastic shards in your soap when the mixer hits the side of the bowl? I tried that once - thankfully I used a black plasitc mixing bowl, probably the same kind, had a little pouring lip. There were tiny slivers of black all through my soap. Nizzy would not have been proud of that batch!

I've never used Stearic Acid in CP, 5% seems like a lot, how did you determine that amount? Trial and error or a recipe.

Always looking to learn new things!

Don't forget the pics!

 

[heartsong]

soap

the mixing bowl is a soft, flexible plastic like tupperware. i love it because it is deep with a round bottom which makes mixing a snap! they are kind of a white/translucent plastic. like HDPE bottles, and are VERY sturdy. i also use the hard plastic ones too, and after all this time have had absoloutely no problems. if they were made for food prep then they are fine for soaping too.

the steric acid started years ago when i was working with almost pure olive oil. it decreased the trace time-along with a small addition of coconut oil. i have found that is is marvelous to use when you are using a lot of "soft" oils. it increases the hardness of the bars and increases "creamy-ness" (is that a word?)

general rule of thumb 5% works best for most of my recipes, with a guideline of 3-6% range. i usually increase the steric acid if i go over 10% castor oil or like i said using a higher percentage of "soft" oils.

i get steric acid CHEAP at peak candle-it's made from soy.

another thing i noticed is i leave them on racks until i use them or sell them, and about the 6-8th week they really improve! they seem like they get harder and creamier and just better the longer they sit!

 

[heartsong]

soap

almost forgot: i have the most mickey-mouse net there is. i cant download anything-all i can do is email and surf. hopefully this will change here in the near future. just had to pop for a new laptop and printer. WOW! $$$!

i'm sitting here at a truckstop in greensboro nc, waiting on a load so i can get back home and make some soap!

my new sales rep has sold most of my soap and i need to restock her and make some more!

 

[Deda]

I can't wait to try a little in my next batch. I have a few pounds I use in lotions, you're so right about the creaminess. It does great things for lotions and scrubs, I'm excited to see what it does for CP soap. I used it to increase hardness in MP just last week when I was making crayons, but I didn't bathe with them - only drew on the walls!

 

[heartsong]

soap

i forgot to mention about the mixing bowl-it fits in my microwave perfectly!!!

one thing to keep in mind is steric acid has a very high melting point, and that you need to make absoloutely sure its all melted without smoking your oils. i usually melt it in my olive oil first, then add my other oils in-nuking when necessary.

 

[heartsong]

soap

deleted-duplicate message sent.

 

[Deda]

I master batch 48 lbs of oil at a time, then separate out into 12 - 64 oz ready to go containers that I just scrape and pour into my soap bucket. I'll just melt it in with the Palm oil when I mix the next batch. Because it's also an emulsifier it should be ok melted then mixed and allowed to cool.

 

[Laurie]

Heartsong...thanks for the recipe. I would like to try it. Just wondering

if beeswax is an okay sub for stearic. I would have to mail order to get

the stearic but I have all the other ingred.

Thanks again, Laurie

 

[heartsong]

soap

this soap recipe is not carved in stone. although i've never used beeswax in this recipe, i don't see why not. there will be slight changes is the different properties of the soap, but i don't think anything critical, but it will change your lye amount.

i would suggest running it thru www.soapcalc.com. without the steric acid and see what you think. i would probably add the beeswax at .5 oz per pound of oil and add it when you melt your oils.

most cities have a hobby lobby or michael's or joann's or some form of craft store where you can go into the candle making section and get steric acid.

there may be a local candle maker who might sell you some steric acid or maybe trade you for a couple bars of your soap!

 

[Guest]

I've been reading about cold whipped soap all morning, then I stumble on your recipe. Wow, heartsong! You are so generous with your knowledge! My first batch will be your recipe (crossing fingers). Thank you for posting!

 

[heartsong]

x

happy to share!

if you are wanting a very white bar, then omit the honey and milk. just use all water. you can add 1/4 tsp ppo white mica for a little brighter white.

also be careful of the f/o's as some may discolor.

good luck, and i'd love to hear your comments.

perhaps you might find a way to make this even better.

all my recipes are a work in progress!

 

[Guest]

Yes, good suggestions -- I do want a white bar. Don't think I'll experiment until I find out what this basic soap is like (why tamper with perfection? LOL). I ordered the vanilla scent that doesn't change color just for this....later, maybe silk additive and mineral oil? ...beer....who knows. I do know I'm grateful. Thanks.

 

[Guest]

I just noticed the water in this is VERY low (goat milk included). I haven't made whipped soap before and was thinking of doing a 1 lb batch for practice. Wondering now if I shouldn't increase the water for 1#?

 

[heartsong]

x

i'm using even less water now-33% (lye x 2= water-all liquids) with equally good results.

when i posted this recipe i used lye x 2.5= water (all liquids)

nothing is carved in stone-do what you feel comfortable with.

i believe that adding more water would just increase your curing time and possibly make a softer soap.

hey, check your messages!

 

[heartsong]

x

i got to thinking about your water question. i learned from the older soapmaking books and they used a larger amount of water.

when i first came to this forum, all i ever heard was water discounts. it took me a while to find my way thru this snarl of confusing info.

over time i began reducing my water (discounting) and i believe that it gives you a denser, harder bar and it speeds up drying, as there is less water to evaporate. i think that there comes a point where too much of a discount will inhibit saponification, but i have yet to find it.

on most of my soaps, warm soaping or whipped soaps, the 33% works extremely well for me. but when dealing with touchy f/o's i think it's best to increase the water.

here's a great automatic water calculator, something is wrong with the link to post it, but "google" RIVER CITY SOAPS, click on the TEXAS LINKS-at the bottom, it will take you to the dcwp calculator.

(could someone plz post this link correctly for me? all efforts here are zero!)

i also found this on another forum which is most helpful if you wish to do it yourself:

WATER RATIO FOR LYE

lye x water = soloution ratio

lye x 1 = 50% discount
lye x 1.5 = 40%
lye x 2 = 33%
lye x 2.5 = 28%
lye x 3 = 25%

hope this helps to clear up any confusion.

corrected, as per carebear.

 

[Guest]

I too just stumbled on this , thank you Monet , you are the best . I haven't tried this yet but your recipe will be the one I try .

Thank You

Kitn

 

[Milla]

Here's the link for the DWCP Water Calculator.

http://rivercitysoaps.com/dwcp/watercalc.php

Thanks for all of your info Heartsong!

 

[dubnica]

did anyone try this recipe?