Goat's milk soap-SOFT AND STICKY

[Ira]

Hello,
Yesterday I unmolded my first batch of goat's milk soap. I should say that the color come out beautifully creamy white
'cause I followed all the instructions about the frozen milk, temperatures of mixing the oils on 27-30C and freeze for 2.30h(it was 30C when i put it and went to 0 C), than refrigerated for 4 hours(from 0 C it went to 11 C and stay there for 2 hours)-and because it's temperature stop rising I took it out from the fridge and let it stay in the mold in my room for 18 hours(from 11 C went to 26 C then came back to 22 C and stay there for 2 hours). Then I decided to unmold it. I knew it was not as hard as it should be but I wanted to try some stamping so I took it and cut it. I forget to mention that I used a wooden mold. Buuut- here's my problem- The soap wasn't really hard enough- when i cut it, it just stick a little bit on my knife, and when I've try to stamp it it was a disaster because my soap just stick on the stamp. So my question is do you think it's gonna harden anyway now when it's cut and out of the mold?
For details I've made a 500g try soap- with recipe of 7% super fat, and decreased amount of water- 30% as % of oils.
The recipe is:
Coconut- 150g- 30%
Palm- 100g- 20%
Olive-200g- 40%
Cocoa-15g- 3%

Goat's milk- 150g
Lye- 70g

At trace
Shea- 10g- 2%
Castor- 25g- 5%

Sorry about the long explanations but I wanted to tell you the details 'cause I know in details lies the truth hahaha :-D

 

[jspann]

In my limited experience with goat milk soap, I have found the it is best to leave it in the mold for a couple of days. I had to let mine cure for about 8 weeks. Now it is good and hard but not to hard.

I've not done any stamping yet, but I would say let it cure for 3 or so weeks before trying to stamp it.

 

[shunt2011]

Congratulations on your first Goat's Milk soap. Since you didn't gel the soap it will remain softer for quite awhile. I didn't run your numbers through a calc but if you used full liquid it will be soft. Just let it sit for a couple days and it should be fine. I would also let it sit for a day or so after cutting it before stamping it as you need it fairly firm.

 

[neeners]

i really only soap with goats milk, but i gel mine. i find my gelled soaps are nice and hard after 24 hr cure in the mold (i use bamboo). i've gotten partial gel before with my milk soap and i noticed it was really soft. so if you're not gelling your soap, i'd say to leave it for a little longer than 24 hrs to unmold, and wait a week or so before trying to stamp. it'll harden up more in a week or so. this is my educated guess, so take what you want with it.

oh, and welcome!!!

 

[Ira]

Jspann- ok- I took it out too soon from the mold- but I think it will harden again,or?

 

[Ira]

Hey shunt2011, nice to be here. If i make to gel- in my wooden mold- how to prevent soap volcano? I didn't use full water- just 30%

 

[Ira]

Thank you neeners for the answer Did you have a problem with soap volcano when you gel? How do you prevent it?

 

[neeners]

no, i've never had a volcano. i just had slight overheating which resulted in a cracked top, but i think i figured out how to get around that.

i soap in the tropics, so easy for me to get gel as room temp right now is 20-something degrees C. i have to cool my wooden mold so it doesn't overheat, then after pour, insulate with some old clothes. it'll fully gel on its own in a few hours.

 

[Ira]

What temperature the soap should not go over in gel - to avoid this cracking problem?

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

A lot of people just chuck it in to a pre-heated oven, turn the oven off straight away and leave it over night, so what exact temp it is I don't think many people will be able to answer. I am impressed by how much of an hold you kept on what temperature your soap is at, though!

 

[Ira]

Hehe :clap: yes, thank you- but if I show you my notes- they are a lot more detailed than i showed here- hahahha :grin: so i should admit that I'm not precise but a little bit a fanatic hahah :crazy: But seriously, I think that's the best way to learn from my mistakes

 

[Ira]

And what do you think- is my Super fat - more than it should be? I used 7%- I mean more because it is with goat's milk?

 

[neeners]

i don't know what temp to hold. i just try to leave it alone for a few hours until the gel reaches the edges of the mold, then i take the blankets away so it can start to cool. i'm a lot less scientific than you are with this.

i personally use 7% even with my milk, but some people would do lower. it's personal preference. it'll end up being a little bit more b/c of the GM, but not sure how much unless you want to do the math (using the fat content in GM....again, i'm way too lazy to do the math.....)

 

[Ira]

I'm thankful to your replies- I think i have courage- I will make it gel

 

[neeners]

there's always a debate on gel vs no gel, esp with milk soaps. i did one batch ungelled, and i have to say personally, i'm not a fan of my ungelled soap. it's been months and it's still really soft compared to my other ones, and the recipe isn't that different. but, maybe try gel the next time and see how you like it. given that your recipe has pretty high CO and it's milk, it should gel on it's own on the counter with some blankets around it (or in my case, clothes), esp if you have warm-ish room temp.

 

[seven]

i'm with neeners on this. i prefer to gel my soaps. i also live in the tropics and it is ten times easier to gel my soap then trying to prevent it in my already cramped freezer. i rarely insulate, except when using silicone molds, and my soap will gel on its own. i also prefer the feel of gelled soaps compared to ungelled, for reasons neeners mentioned already.

with milk soaps, be prepared to have a darker color of your gelled soap. sometimes i like to cheat a bit by adding a dash of titanium dioxide to my gelled milk soaps

eta: i don't use thermo anymore, except for making mp base. i soap at RT and all i need to do is cool down my lye mixture. pretty simple. i used to fiddle a lot with the temp in my early days, worrying whether it was the right temp or not.