making milk soap recipe from regular CP recipe

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kelleyaynn

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Is there anything special I have to do to convert a recipe from using just water to using a milk (specifically I'm thinking coconut milk, goat milk or cream)? I have Anne Watson's Milk Soapmaking, and I've made a nice goat milk soap from it, but have a recipe I'd like to try to make as a milk soap. I couldn't find any information in the book about converting recipes to using milks. Can I just substitute the same amount of milk? Do I need to account for the fat somehow?

Thanks!
 
I just sub the milk for some or all of the water my recipe calls for, have never made any adjustments for the fat in the milk.
 
Yes, you just make the substitution. No accounting for milk fat. I suggest you freeze the milk before adding the lye. It helps to keep the milk sugars from burning. And know that you will not get a really white soap. It will be some shade of beige, but if you mix the lye into the frozen milk cubes really slowly, and stir-stir-stir, you can get a really nice ivory color.
 
TessV said:
I just sub the milk for some or all of the water my recipe calls for, have never made any adjustments for the fat in the milk.

i sub out about a third of the water for whatever kind of milk i'm using, and add the milk at trace. so, for example, use two thirds water in the lye solution, and add your one third milk at a thin trace. i don't account for milkfat, and have never had problems. this way your milk won't discolor, either. good luck with it!!!
 
I made up a recipe using soapcalc for a facial soap, and decided to make two trial bars - one with water and one with heavy cream. Made them both today. I just used the same amount of cream and froze it. They both seemed to work out fine. After a few weeks when it's cured, I'm going to try both bars to see which one I like better. If I really like the recipe, I'll post it online. I'm expecting it should be pretty good - the numbers say it has really good cleaning qualities (good for getting off makeup at night), yet is really conditioning and has very good lather. I did a lye discount of 7% as well. It is softer than the soap I usually make, but since I'm only going to wash my face with it, and it won't sit in the shower, I'm not too concerned. Can't wait to try it!
 

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