Dried milk replacement?

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Chai

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Location
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Hi, beautiful people! I wanted to try out a soap made with honey, oatmeal and dried milk powder, but I could only find coffee creamer (Nestle Coffee Mate). I live in a rural village, so some items are hard to come by. Will the coffee creamer do the trick or should I wait until I get my hands on «real» dried milk?
 
Hi, beautiful people! I wanted to try out a soap made with honey, oatmeal and dried milk powder, but I could only find coffee creamer (Nestle Coffee Mate). I live in a rural village, so some items are hard to come by. Will the coffee creamer do the trick or should I wait until I get my hands on «real» dried milk?

Hello and welcome! I don't think I would use the coffee creamer, though it may work. However, you can use real milk if you can't get powdered milk. I mix my lye with the same amount of water then and the liquid difference in milk to my melted oils.

Also, since you're new, pop on over to the introduction forum and tell us a little about yourself. :)
 
What are the ingredients of the coffee creamer? It might be a fun experiment. You can use dried buttermilk or canned milk (read the container to make sure it doesn't have added sugar. I like to use evaporated milk, but not sweetened condensed milk). You could also use milk, cream, half-and-half, or yogurt. What dairy products do you normally use?
 
I’ve never tried dairy products in soap before, but I saw a recipe online that I wanted to try out.

Coffee Mate is coffee creamer.

Some people said that if you’re going to use real milk, you have to freeze it first. I just started making soaps, so I’m quite fresh :p
 
I’ve never tried dairy products in soap before, but I saw a recipe online that I wanted to try out.

Coffee Mate is coffee creamer.

Some people said that if you’re going to use real milk, you have to freeze it first. I just started making soaps, so I’m quite fresh :p

Some do, I choose not to. I mix my lye with water 1:1 and add the difference in milk to my oils before adding my cooled lye mixture. I'm lazy and don't have much room in my freezer. :)
 
Not Shari (shunt2011) but we do it the same way so I can help explain.

Mix equal amount lye and water = 1:1. The remainder of the liquid needed goes into the oils as milk. Example: Recipe calls for 50g lye and 100g liquid. Mix 50g lye + 50g water. Add 50g milk to oils. (This example is 2:1 ratio, or 33% lye concentration) Then add the lye water to your oils and blend as usual. You'll want to do the math for your recipe.

You do need at least an equal amount of water to lye to dissolve the lye, but you can use more water in the lye solution if you want, just make sure your milk + water = recipe amount of total liquid.
 
Not Shari (shunt2011) but we do it the same way so I can help explain.

Mix equal amount lye and water = 1:1. The remainder of the liquid needed goes into the oils as milk. Example: Recipe calls for 50g lye and 100g liquid. Mix 50g lye + 50g water. Add 50g milk to oils. (This example is 2:1 ratio, or 33% lye concentration) Then add the lye water to your oils and blend as usual. You'll want to do the math for your recipe.

You do need at least an equal amount of water to lye to dissolve the lye, but you can use more water in the lye solution if you want, just make sure your milk + water = recipe amount of total liquid.

Ah, that makes sense! Thank you :)
 
Some people said that if you’re going to use real milk, you have to freeze it first. I just started making soaps, so I’m quite fresh :p

Don't! Hahaha I just now botched a batch up using frozen coconut milk. I had what I think were solidified milk-lye chunks in the batter and I have no idea if I can still save it. Probably not.

Do it the way @amd and @shunt2011 do for starters.. I wish I did.

I wonder if powdered baby milk will work?

Welcome to the forum!
 
B
Don't! Hahaha I just now botched a batch up using frozen coconut milk. I had what I think were solidified milk-lye chunks in the batter and I have no idea if I can still save it. Probably not.

Do it the way @amd and @shunt2011 do for starters.. I wish I did.

I wonder if powdered baby milk will work?

Welcome to the forum!

Baby formula? There is a lot more than just milk in formula. Generally you want additives with as few ingredients as possible. If you can't find powdered milk, you can use just milk but don't freeze it. Chill it until almost froze then slowly add in your lye, have your lye solution pot in a large bowl filled with ice to keep it cool will also help.

If you add the lye slow enough, it won't heat up and scorch the milk. I personally don't like dealing with powdered milks so I just dissolve my lye in water and add in the rest of the required liquid with whatever milk I'm using. I don't use animal milks anymore unless someone asks for it, I really prefer coconut milk.
 
Don't! Hahaha I just now botched a batch up using frozen coconut milk. I had what I think were solidified milk-lye chunks in the batter and I have no idea if I can still save it. Probably not.

Do it the way @amd and @shunt2011 do for starters.. I wish I did.

I wonder if powdered baby milk will work?

Welcome to the forum!

@Dawni iv made goats milk soap about 4 times now and never had that issue before did you make sure all the lye was dissolved in the milk mixture before pouring it into the oil mixture? you have to take your time mixing the lye with the milk however what i have found works best for me is to leave the milk out for about haalf an hour so it gets a bit slushy for i weight it out and add the lye that waay it just makes it a bit more user friendly. not sure how well coconut milk freezes though so could be the reason for the mishap?
 
B


Baby formula? There is a lot more than just milk in formula. Generally you want additives with as few ingredients as possible. If you can't find powdered milk, you can use just milk but don't freeze it. Chill it until almost froze then slowly add in your lye, have your lye solution pot in a large bowl filled with ice to keep it cool will also help.

If you add the lye slow enough, it won't heat up and scorch the milk. I personally don't like dealing with powdered milks so I just dissolve my lye in water and add in the rest of the required liquid with whatever milk I'm using. I don't use animal milks anymore unless someone asks for it, I really prefer coconut milk.

Thats an interesting comment as iv never tried coconut milk but i do plan on doing that at some point fairly soon. For what reason do you prefer coconut milk over animal milk does it add a creamier lather or another better quality to your soaps that you prefer?

I tried doing that and only chilling it to the point of nearly frozen but i either find it too much hassle to remember to do that or i forget how long its been in the freezer for and it just ends up freezing but i suppose my method of letting it go slushy before adding the lye is simular to your way of doing it. I find i dont need a ice bath for it doing it the slushy way but i do keep one handy incase it over heats and have used that methid but found it took even longer but i was using frozen milk on that attempt as i was still experimenting to find my prefered method.
 
I love coconut milk over other milk. 1. It doesn’t smell like other milks though it does go away after time. 2. I think it’s creamier. 3. Nice bubbles (sugars in the milk). I also like buttermilk.
 
The recipe I’m going to try is;

Original recipe:
2/3 cup olive oil
2/3 cup coconut oil
2/3 cup sunflower seed oil
3/4 cup distilled water
1/4 cup lye (60 grams)

Additives:
2 teaspoons ground old fashioned oats (dry)
2 teaspoons honey
2 tablespoons dry milk

Do you guys have any tips on what else I can use instead of the "additives"?
I've tried different essential oils and cold coffee/tea instead of water.
 
Thats an interesting comment as I've never tried coconut milk but i do plan on doing that at some point fairly soon. For what reason do you prefer coconut milk over animal milk does it add a creamier lather or another better quality to your soaps that you prefer?

Animal milk always has a bad smell to it, doesn't matter the animal, I know its in there. I also see absolutely no benefit from milk, it doesn't make the lather creamier or more bubbly. Coconut milk does add to the density and creaminess of lather but honestly, I prefer aloe juice over any milk. Helps create larger bubbles and is easy to use, mix the lye in it just like water. No burning or weird smells.

@Chai you really need to convert that recipe to weights. Using volume measurements can be unsafe, even a little extra lye can produce a lye heavy soap that could burn the skin. You can pick up a cheap digital kitchen scale off amazon or walmart.

A great additive is aloe juice, I buy the big jug from walmart for around $6. Its the kind made for drinking, not skin application.
I like egg yolk too. Strain the yolk through a sieve to remove any solid bits and blend it really well into you warm oils before adding the lye. If the egg is heated too fast, it will cook and you'll have weird little egg chunks in your soap.

Sorry, just saw you are in Norway so no walmart. You can use fresh aloe gel, just blend it up well so there is no chunks. Don't use the skins. Carrot juice or cucumber juice are other options, carrot can overheat though so careful with it. Cucumber is well behaved.
 
I do in fact use a digital kitchen scale :D
180 grams water to 60 grams lye.
Also I'm from Norway, Walmart do not exist here o_O
 
Sorry, just saw you are in Norway so no walmart. You can use fresh aloe gel, just blend it up well so there is no chunks. Don't use the skins. Carrot juice or cucumber juice are other options, carrot can overheat though so careful with it. Cucumber is well behaved.

Thank you for noticing xD

Fresh aloe gel from the plant itself? All of the items except eggs and coconut milk are quite rare here, hahaha! I sound like a farmer, but I actually used to live in a big city back in the day :p I'll keep those in mind, though!

Thanks for the warning about the lye, but I have friends who're studying chemistry on master level, so I'm well covered :D

Edit: When I think about it, I may find some of the items in foreign stores:cool:
 

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