Goat's Milk Recipe - Help Please

[Trxflyer]

I'm wanting to try my hand at Goat's Milk and all the recipes are a bit confusing. So I tried my hand at using the soap calculator at soapcalc.net to come up with a basic goat's milk recipe that holds shape and bubbles/lathers well if possible.

Here's what I've come up with so far:

5% Superfat

Goats Milk - 12.16 oz (38%) of Oil Weight
Lye – 4.43 oz (26.71% Concentration)

Olive Oil – 12.16 oz (38%)
Palm Oil – 12.80oz (40%)
Coconut Oil – 5.44 oz (17%)
Castor Oil – 1.6 oz (5%)

Hardness – 40
Cleansing – 12
Conditioning – 57
Bubbly – 16
Creamy – 33
Iodine – 60
INS - 147


I'm thinking my 'Bubbly' & 'Hardness' are too low?

I have Almond, Sunflower & Canola oils on hand if one of them is a better choice.


Your thoughts?

 

[MaitriBB]

I ran your recipe through my Soapcalc app and the only thing that looks to be a problem is your cleansing is at about 11.8 and "optimal" is considered a 12. So that's really close. You could up the coconut oil to 6 oz (I like whole numbers lol) and then everything falls within range.

Oh I was doing a 38% water discount and 5% superfat.

I think your oils are fine. Looks good, give it a try! And don't be afraid to try recipes where the "optimal" numbers aren't perfect. Experimenting is fun.

 

[Genny]

I think your recipe looks fine. The sugars from the milk will help with some of the bubbliness.

Have you looked through all the milk soap advice & stuff already so you know what to expect?

 

[Trxflyer]

MatriBB - Thanks for the feedback and helpful hints!

Genny - I've read so many postings that it's time to just go out and make my own adventure with it. But, that being said, in general I do have a remaining question though and that's about the fragrance. Is EO or FO best for use in 100% Goat Milk

 

[Genny]

Is EO or FO best for use in 100% Goat Milk

Honestly, it's all a matter of opinion & what you're going for.

I would stay clear of any eo's & fo's that tend to overheat though since the milk will already most likely overheat.

 

[Trxflyer]

Ok, just finished a batch of Goat's Milk using the recipe above. I think it turned out really good, all milky white and smooth. But I did have a few self inflicted challenges.

1) I was so paranoid about the frozen milk/lye combing (in ice bath) at too high of a temp that I did it too slow and the milk temp never got over 50F. So, I had to 'warm it up' on the stove's hot surface with a thermometer in the solution, and raised the temp to 85, exactly matching the oils temp. There was just the slightest orange on a spot of the bottom of the container but I didn't scrape it in and the entire solution seemed perfectly milky white.

2.) I combined the oils/lye water and it seemed to never want to saponify compared to my non-milk soaps that I do at higher temps. After a little while I realized I forgot the 1.75oz of FO (Wild Honeysuckle & Figs from OregonTrails). I put it in and it still didn't seem to want to trace for a while but when it did it went very quickly to medium trace. It was just the right consistency to pour into plastic detailed impression molds as these were all I had available. I just hope the molds don't create problems in getting the soap out without ruining the detail work.

The soap is currently outside (27 degrees) tonight with saran wrap loosely over it to keep it clean. I was going to put it in the freezer but since it is so cold outside, I decided to let it stay outside and perhaps some of the fragrance will dissipate a bit . I didn't really want to use this particular FO but my FO/EO order is still not arrived, but I wanted the practice of FO accelerating the trace and how strong a fragrance will/will not come through the milk soap solution. Strong FO!

So all is well, I can't wait to see how it turns out in a couple of days when they come out of the molds.

Now, if I could only figure out how to get this splash lye burn on my lip to quit boring a hole - ugh!

 

[melstan775]

Your soap sounds amazing. I thought goats milk turned dark, so creamy white is awesome. Can't wait to see your pics! For the lye burn, maybe vinegar and water. Vinegar is a low pH substance so it should help in theory. So sorry you hurt yourself! hugs.

 

[Trxflyer]

Your soap sounds amazing. I thought goats milk turned dark, so creamy white is awesome. Can't wait to see your pics! For the lye burn, maybe vinegar and water. Vinegar is a low pH substance so it should help in theory. So sorry you hurt yourself! hugs.

Well, this is my first goats milk soap so perhaps it will end up darkening. But I do like the creamy white it is now. I only have this one pic of them outside. The excess blobs you see on the tray is where I scraped a knife over the shape mold to level the 'backs'.

Next time I'll go for goats milk soap with honey & ground oatmeal.

Thanks for the well wishes

 

[Genny]

Good job! So far so good.

I just have to add quickly, never put vinegar on a lye burn. Just run it under cool water & then seek medical treatment if necessary.
Vinegar will react with the lye, causing an exothermic reaction on your burn. So your burn goes from "Ouch, that burns a little." to "Holy crap, it feels like it's on fire."

 

[Trxflyer]

Good job! So far so good.

I just have to add quickly, never put vinegar on a lye burn. Just run it under cool water & then seek medical treatment if necessary.
Vinegar will react with the lye, causing an exothermic reaction on your burn. So your burn goes from "Ouch, that burns a little." to "Holy crap, it feels like it's on fire."

Thanks for the advice. I did use only water to flush as I was afraid there might be some undesired side effect of the vinegar combining with the lye and my lip was hurting enough already. Funny thing is, the 'splash' drop came during washing of utensils so luckily the lye was diluted somewhat. The drama is over, the burn spot looks like I have a small fever blister - lesson learned!

By the way, how long do you think this goat's milk will need to cure? I've read different numbers of 4 weeks up to many months. Also, should I have used a preservative in this cold process goats milk recipe?

Thanks!

 

[Trxflyer]

Ok, here's the batch after setting up in the their molds, in the freezer since last night. They turned out a really nice creamy white, fragrance is still a bit strong for my liking but that should dissipate over the next 4-6 weeks.

 

[melstan775]

Good job! So far so good.

I just have to add quickly, never put vinegar on a lye burn. Just run it under cool water & then seek medical treatment if necessary.
Vinegar will react with the lye, causing an exothermic reaction on your burn. So your burn goes from "Ouch, that burns a little." to "Holy crap, it feels like it's on fire."

Good to know. Thanks for the correction on that one!

 

[melstan775]

Ok, here's the batch after setting up in the their molds, in the freezer since last night. They turned out a really nice creamy white, fragrance is still a bit strong for my liking but that should dissipate over the next 4-6 weeks.

Looks beautimus! I bet you cant wait until they are done. I know I couldn't. I'm still a few weeks away from my first batch, however, as money is still tight after the holidays. I'll just watch you make yours. ;-)

 

[Pepsi Girl]

WOW so creamy white I love them! Nice job!