I made my first batch of goat milk soap the other night. I figured after 11 years of soap making I cold handle it . I froze my goats milk into a slush and then added the lye slowly. I got a great creamy color, not orange or burned. I thought, success! I did it. I couldn't wait to run down the stairs the next morning and find out how awesome my soap had turned out. Much to my surprise I was not greeted with beautiful creamy hard soap logs. I was instead staring at a log of soap that had a great tan color but was covered in a thick film of oil. The last thing a soap maker wants to see is a puddle of oil on top of the soap they so lovingly put to bed the night before. It could have been many things, it might have taken too long to trace and lost too much heat (when I went to mix my lye and oil I discovered that my stick blender had quit working) sometimes hand stirring will do that, especially with olive oil. It could have been my scale (it is really really old and may not be working so well). The soap could have gotten too hot, or maybe not hot enough while in the mold. It is so hard to figure out sometimes. So I decided to rebatch, if i have to do this I would much rather do it with "young" soap. So I got out the crock pot and unmolded the spongy oily mess into it. I reran my recipe and decided to add .25 oz of lye, so I mixed the lye with a little cold water. Using a potato masher I mashed the soap with the lye. It is heating now. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I will let you know how it turns out and post pictures tomorrow.
The Complete Guide to Creating Oils, Soaps, Creams, and Herbal Gels for Your Mind and Body: 101 Natural Body Care Recipes (Back-To-Basics)
Food Grade Sodium Hydroxide Lye Micro Beads, 2 Lbs. (Buy 5 get $15 off)
Soaper's Delight Organic Coconut Oil, 2 Gallon
The Essential Guide To Soap Making For Beginners
Genco Pomace Olive Oil - 1 Gallon
Making Natural Liquid Soaps: Herbal Shower Gels / Conditioning Shampoos / Moisturizing Hand Soaps
ok so I never posted my goat's milk pictures. It eventually hardened, but turned a dark caramel color and smelled a bit like caramel also. Going to give it another try. I'll let you know how it goes.
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