HELP!! goats milk and lye not dissolving

[csculley]

Im currently trying to make my first batch of GM soap and the lye is not dissolving into it at all. I froze the GM first (store bought real goats milk) and gradually stirred the lye into it and its not dissolving at all. Ive been going for almost 30 min and its not dissolving. I used all GM and then once it wasn't dissolving I added 2 extra ounces of distilled water and no difference.

What can i do?!

 

[csculley]

might i add its not a small amount like the entire 10 oz of lye is floating to the top if i let it sit for a minute

 

[csculley]

Oil(s) Selected Amount %
Castor Oil 3.75oz 5.00%
Coconut Oil (76 Degrees) 22.50oz 30.00%
Olive Oil 37.50oz 50.00%
Palm Oil 7.50oz 10.00%
Shea Butter (Unrefined) 3.75oz 5.00%
5% Lye (Sodium Hydroxide) Amount 10.541oz
Ounces of liquid recommended 24.75oz
Yields 110.29oz

 

[IrishLass]

Is the frozen milk getting melty or slushy at all?

Are you sure the 'lye' that you see is not actually globs of saponified fat from the milk?


IrishLass

 

[DeeAnna]

Sodium hydroxide should dissolve in cold/slushy/frozen milk, no problem. I second Irish Lass' suggestion about the saponifying milk fat looking like lye bits. I will say that lye crystals don't typically float, but saponifying milkfat usually does, so that might give you some insight.

If you're feeling really stuck, try dissolving some of the lye in plain water at room temperature. If the lye doesn't dissolve quickly and easily in the water, then I question whether it's pure sodium hydroxide.

 

[jules92207]

This is the method I use as well for milk soaps and if the GM melted the ice cubes it's likely it dissolved in the milk. Little chunks may very well be fats attaching as suggested. I realize it's been a few hours now. Can you run the liquid through a strainer and still make the batch? You would know if it didn't set up at that point if the lye really didn't dissolve.

 

[csculley]

I ended up throwing away the mixture since i didn't want to waste all of the oils. The milk was slushy. It didn't seem like it was milk fat at all, but then again Ive never made milk soap but i would be very surprised if it were milk fat. The top 1/3 of the mixture (about 10 oz) was floating and seemed like it was a more coarse granule like the lye than milk fat would be. Would I really get something like 10 oz of milk fat? The granules were also all of the same size and not formed in an unorganized fashion like id guess milk fat may be. I use the Essential Depot food grade lye and I have used it in all my other soaps and its been OK.

In the future should I use all goats milk or 50/50 GM to water. Do you also do milk in lye or another method?

Thank you!

 

[jules92207]

I know a lot of people dissolve the lye in 50% water then add the other 50% as goats milk to the batter at trace. That's another option for sure.

I'm so sorry this didn't work for you this time.

 

[DeeAnna]

"... The top 1/3 of the mixture (about 10 oz) was floating and seemed like it was a more coarse granule like the lye than milk fat would be. Would I really get something like 10 oz of milk fat?..."

It's hard to say exactly for absolutely sure what is going on without being right with you as you do it, but here are my reactions to your words.

Yes, a full-fat milk could create a thick layer of soap particles. Low fat milk, not so much. Why do you think any flakes of soap from the milkfat should be very small? In my experience, the flakes of soap from milkfat are 1/2 the size to the full size of a grain of rice -- that's if I've just been stirring with a spatula. If I've stick blended them, the flakes will be smaller, obviously. Soap flakes from milkfat will float; lye granules do not.

 

[IrishLass]

Ditto what DeeAnna said. If it were lye granules, they would have sunk to the bottom instead of floated on top. My suspicions are that the milk fat was saponifying and creating floating soap granules on top. That's not unusual when adding lye directly to frozen milk, btw, which is why I like to make my milk soap via the 'split method' instead of the 'frozen method'.

In the split method, you split your liquid amount into part water and part milk. Dissolve your lye with an equal amount in weight of water, and then add the remainder of your liquid amount as milk to your oils either before or just after adding your lye solution in. That will make a 50% milk soap.

If you want to make a 100% goat milk soap using the split method, just fortify your normal goat milk portion with enough powdered goat milk to bring the concentration up to equal a 100% concentration for your entire batch, and then add it to your oils either before or just after you add in your lye solution.


Irishlass

 

[Dan]

I'm certainly no expert, but all the soap I've made I always use 100% goats milk, frozen, dissolving the lye on top. It always dissolves fairly quickly. The last bits do take a while, but eventually there is definitely no crunchy bits left, but sometimes there are the tiny milk fat particles. In the end the mixture has a thick/smooth consistency like maybe similar to buttermilk. Is it possible your amount of lye is off, or isn't pure lye?

 

[shunt2011]

I do mine the way IrishLass states. Works like a charm.

 

[AMyers]

I have made several (maybe 10) batches with goat milk. I typically freeze it, and mix the lye in over time. I generally add my lye in small amounts over about an hour, while I'm measuring out other oils, preparing molds, etc. I tried adding it faster one time, and ended up with a weird crust, and was worried about my lye not being dissolved properly. I find that even when the milk is slushy, the feel/sound of the undissolved lye is different. It's harder than the milk slush, harder than the saponified milk fats. I can tell when the bit of lye I've added has dissolved, and then I wait for the temp to stabilize and add the next bit.

 

[TBandCW]

I agree that it must be the GM. Stuff always floats to the top of my lye/GM mix. I just stir it around every once in a while to keep it mixed up while cooling. This also helps to prevent the GM from burning. What you have described is how I do it, except I add the lye gradually to the frozen GM and it only takes me a few minutes. I stir as I'm adding the lye and seems to work out fine for all my soaps.

 

[csculley]

thank you everyone for the input. I'm going to try again this weekend. Have you found that it matters if I use raw or pasteurized goats milk? I can only find pasteurized since its winter I guess.

 

[IrishLass]

You should have no problem with pasteurized. That's the kind I normally use in my goat's milk soap, and it soaps up great for me.


IrishLass