First goat milk soap!

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annalee2003

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And a minty one at that.

I went a little overboard with this batch. There’s a lot going on in these.
Goat milk, ground oats, crushed mint and parsley leaves, colored with sage powder, and scented with lemongrass and eucalyptus EOs.

I didn’t have any issues with it though! Besides a very small amount of cracking on the top, the whole thing was hard enough to cut after only 7 hours! I was so surprised.
I did add some salt to my milky lye mixture though, because the last batch that I made (apple cider soap) was pretty soft. So I didn’t want this batch to be as soft.

I wasn’t too fond of the smell when I cut the bars. It wasn’t a rancid milk smell, just a warm milk smell. Reminded me of the smell of breastmilk, actually.
Again, not a bad smell ... Just, different I guess.

Anyways. I like them.
I now have a good amount of leftover goat milk to use up.
 
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And a minty one at that.

I went a little overboard with this batch. There’s a lot going on in these.
Goat milk, ground oats, crushed mint and parsley leaves, colored with sage powder, and scented with lemongrass and eucalyptus EOs.

I didn’t have any issues with it though! Besides a very small amount of cracking on the top, the whole thing was hard enough to cut after only 7 hours! I was so surprised.
I did add some salt to my milky lye mixture though, because the last batch that I made (apple cider soap) was pretty soft. So I didn’t want this batch to be as soft.

I wasn’t too fond of the smell when I cut the bars. It wasn’t a rancid milk smell, just a warm milk smell. Reminded me of the smell of breastmilk, actually.
Again, not a bad smell ... Just, different I guess.

Anyways. I like them.
I now have a good amount of leftover goat milk to use up.
They look nice and the milk smell when go away during cure. As for your soft vinegar soap, did you add in the extra lye to neutralize the vinegar? If not all you accomplished was upping your superfat. My vinegar soaps are like a rock they are so hard. In fact, if I wait after cure to bevel them they do not bevel well
 
They look nice and the milk smell when go away during cure. As for your soft vinegar soap, did you add in the extra lye to neutralize the vinegar? If not all you accomplished was upping your superfat. My vinegar soaps are like a rock they are so hard. In fact, if I wait after cure to bevel them they do not bevel well



It wasn’t apple cider vinegar. Just plain apple cider (literally apple juice, cloves and cinnamon that I simmered together on the stove). Maybe I should be calling it apple spice instead?
... Though now I’m curious to try a vinegar soap!
 
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I did add some salt to my milky lye mixture though, because the last batch that I made (apple cider soap) was pretty soft. So I didn’t want this batch to be as soft.

cmzaha said:
As for your soft vinegar soap, did you add in the extra lye to neutralize the vinegar? If not all you accomplished was upping your superfat.

annalee2003 said:
It wasn’t apple cider vinegar. Just plain apple cider

Depending on the apples used, Sweet Cider can contain a lot of acid. As a result, you're going to run into some of the same issues as using vinegar without added lye. Cider won't raise your SF as far, but if you started with a high SF to begin with, you may have inadvertently crossed the line into the "too much" territory.

Also consider that Sweet Cider has a decent amount of sugar (in my experience, an average of about 10% w/w). While many people add small amounts of sugar for lather, too much can make your soap soft.
 
Depending on the apples used, Sweet Cider can contain a lot of acid. As a result, you're going to run into some of the same issues as using vinegar without added lye. Cider won't raise your SF as far, but if you started with a high SF to begin with, you may have inadvertently crossed the line into the "too much" territory.



Also consider that Sweet Cider has a decent amount of sugar (in my experience, an average of about 10% w/w). While many people add small amounts of sugar for lather, too much can make your soap soft.



I leave my SF at 5% on all my recipes so far. Maybe I should play around with that number a bit.
And yes, I figured the same thing as far as too much sugar, would happen in this goat milk soap. So I added a bit of salt. Worked out perfectly!
If I make an apple cider soap again, I’ll be sure to add a bit of salt to harden it up some (been a week now and the bars are still a bit soft to the touch).
 
Your soap looks great. Let us know how it lathers.:)



The lather is great!
I was a bit worried about lack of bubbles (I know bubbles don’t mean cleanliness exactly, but it’s fun to see giant bubbles appear from your soap), but they were pretty significant! My hands feel really smooth and soft too.
 
Mmm...looks very creamy, and sounds like whole lot goodness overboard!!!
Are ground oat, crushed mint and parsley leaves or sage powder scratchy? (I have never tried the last three )
 
Mmm...looks very creamy, and sounds like whole lot goodness overboard!!!
Are ground oat, crushed mint and parsley leaves or sage powder scratchy? (I have never tried the last three )



I don’t think sage powder would be scratchy. It’s pretty fine. I’ve never tried it up until now.
The crushed mint and parsley leaves will most likely be scratchy a bit. I expected that though.
 
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