My Goats Milk base is vey soft, oily and smells of alcohol

[Gracie B4]

Hi, I'm new to soap making. My first attempt was yesterday. When I opened my Goats Milk base it was very soft (like butter), very oily and had a very strong alcohol and soap smell.

My finished soap turned out the same way.

I made it in the microwave in a saran wrap covered pyrex cup.

My additives were: 1Tbl of honey and 20 drops of vitamin E oil to 1 # of base. (added after the base was melted.

My base temp was about 130 degrees.

Is it normal for the base to be this soft oily and smelly?
Thanks for any help in what the base should be like!
Gracie

 

[Tabitha]

Which base did you buy? From where? All bases are not created equal. GM base is softer, but shouldn't smell.

 

[Gracie B4]

It was a gift. I'm trying to find out where it came from so i don't order from there.
Do you suggest a place to purchase in the US?

Thank you

 

[Tabitha]

I order from wholesaelsuppliesplus.com

I am going to bet it was froma craft store, so the grade would not be as good as what you get when you order from a suppliers.

You ca also mix 1 pound of gm base w/ 1 pound of regular base & you may like the texture better.

 

[Gracie B4]

It wasn't from a craft store that I'm sure of.
I'm going to try your supplier and I will also try the mix.
I have about a lb of gm base on hand.

Thank you for your help ( & I love your Alice quote!)

 

[Goldenearthgirl]

I had one batch of GM like that once, it was a bit like alcohol, not that pleasant. I was going to bin it, but stuck it at the back of my soap stuff. I dragged it out a year or so later and all the odor had gone. So don't throw it out, just get some more, and let the other one age.

 

[Gracie B4]

Thanks for the info.
I contacted the supplier and they are having me send a sample to their chemist. I'll see what happens from there.

I'll post the results when I hear.

Thanks again!

 

[agriffin]

Thanks for the info.
I contacted the supplier and they are having me send a sample to their chemist. I'll see what happens from there.

I'll post the results when I hear.

Thanks again!

Who was the supplier?

 

[Gracie B4]

The supplier was Oregon Trails.

 

[cathym]

was the texture like cold from the fridge butter or room temp.? It should cut a bit harder than butter from the fridge. Sometimes the smell can be from being wrapped tightly but after unpackaging it should go away. I recently got some really nice GM from Voyageur. 25 lbs for $52.

 

[Gracie B4]

It was like very warm room temp.
I left the bag open for about a week and all but the alcohol smell went away. It also got harder, more like you said; "fridge butter".

After reading more about it, I've decided not to return the sample until I try a batch. Been really busy, hoping to try later this week.
Thanks so much for the input! I really appreciate it!