My "secret squirrel" soap

[JanelleTrebuna]

I call this my "secret squirrel" soap because it felt like a clandestine operation
I'm fairly new to soap making. This will be year two I've been making and using and sharing with family my creations. I stick to one basic recipe that I absolutely love, and have decided 2019 will be the year of the colorants for me. I was inspired by so many of your lovely soaps on this forum that I decided to try to create one of my own. I knew that my Cinnamon Sugar fo from Brambleberry discolored my soap to a tan/brown, so I separated my batch 1/3 without fo and 2/3 with. I then poured layers and did a swirly type motion at the top. Bear in mind my soap looked all the same at this point. It was like writing with invisible ink, and then hoping it would become visible later on. I took photos of the top 48 hrs after and the inside 72 hours after pouring and 24 hours after cutting. It worked and I am elated. I'm also asking Santa for micas for Christmas so I can do this the proper way.

 

[lsg]

It turned out to be very pretty soap.

 

[JanelleTrebuna]

It turned out to be very pretty soap.

Thank you

 

[shunt2011]

Congratulations! It turned out nicely.

 

[Chris_S]

looking awesome. i was running before i could walk with regards to colourants in my soap making i dont really do plain and always think iv more talent than i actually have fortuatly getting soap wrong is far less painful than say having a fight with a tree and loosing big time (knocked out cold, whoops) while mountain biking not that i learnt from that either lol. i already had a bunch of micas to use in my m+p but iv had mixed results i have to admit none as good as yours has turned out. My latest batch of beer soap is dark grey and white because apparently mixing a dark brown with white makes a vile grey coloured soap still not sure how that works. might be worth getting some titanium dioxide aswell as micas i found its much cheaper and worked an absolute treat when my goats milk turned a nasty cheese yellow colour dispite all suggested precautions taken

 

[Zing]

This is super cool! Love it,

 

[cmzaha]

Very Pretty. What you did is handle a discoloring fo very well. When I am working with dis-coloring fragrances I prefer to seperate off the batter adding the fragrance only to the main batch of batter. I really dislike using TD and very seldom add it to soap.

 

[dibbles]

They turned out beautifully!

 

[JanelleTrebuna]

looking awesome. i was running before i could walk with regards to colourants in my soap making i dont really do plain and always think iv more talent than i actually have fortuatly getting soap wrong is far less painful than say having a fight with a tree and loosing big time (knocked out cold, whoops) while mountain biking not that i learnt from that either lol. i already had a bunch of micas to use in my m+p but iv had mixed results i have to admit none as good as yours has turned out. My latest batch of beer soap is dark grey and white because apparently mixing a dark brown with white makes a vile grey coloured soap still not sure how that works. might be worth getting some titanium dioxide aswell as micas i found its much cheaper and worked an absolute treat when my goats milk turned a nasty cheese yellow colour dispite all suggested precautions taken

Thank you for your sweet compliment. I kind of just swirled around the end of my wooden spoon. I thought the inside would be more defined layers because I poured over my spatula to try to prevent the layers penetrating the one below. But I actually like the way it turned out better than what I was aiming for! I've wanted to try making goat's milk soap for over a year now. I just need to work up the courage to venture outside of this recipe that I know works well. I think freezing the goat's milk and then adding it to my lye that's been mixed with a small amount of water is the way I will try to do it. I've asked my dh to buy me a goat for milking, but he refuses saying we aren't zoned for it.

Janelle

They turned out beautifully!

Thank you. It was super encouraging that they turned out

Congratulations! It turned out nicely.

Thank you

This is super cool! Love it,

Thank you

Very Pretty. What you did is handle a discoloring fo very well. When I am working with dis-coloring fragrances I prefer to seperate off the batter adding the fragrance only to the main batch of batter. I really dislike using TD and very seldom add it to soap.

Thank you

 

[amd]

When I am working with dis-coloring fragrances I prefer to seperate off the batter adding the fragrance only to the main batch of batter.

This is how I do it "most" of the time as well. I have some degrees of success. A few FO's the vanillan content is so high, eventually it will discolor the unfragranced portion of the soap. In those cases I have used TD to help "hold off" the discoloration a bit longer. The soap I made last night was actually done this way

 

[Chris_S]

Thank you for your sweet compliment. I kind of just swirled around the end of my wooden spoon. I thought the inside would be more defined layers because I poured over my spatula to try to prevent the layers penetrating the one below. But I actually like the way it turned out better than what I was aiming for! I've wanted to try making goat's milk soap for over a year now. I just need to work up the courage to venture outside of this recipe that I know works well. I think freezing the goat's milk and then adding it to my lye that's been mixed with a small amount of water is the way I will try to do it. I've asked my dh to buy me a goat for milking, but he refuses saying we aren't zoned for it.

Janelle

I might well be missing something or not understanding the obvious but is this zone thing something american?
I freeze the milk in bags then leave it out for half an hour before i measure it out then just slowly add the lye to the slush which eventually turns to liquid i made the coffee soap and beer soap the same way although i didnt freeze the coffee just added the lye bit by bit. and i just added it to a recipe i liked the most after trying it with just water i didnt change the recipe and not yet come across any issues. I cant easily get hold of distilled water in england and where it is available its stupudly expensive so goats milk, beer or coffee works out the cheapest way to make soap.

Hopfully someone will correct me if im wrong but i thought adding the goats milk to already mixed lye water would be counter productive because unless you add the milk while the lye water is still warm it will take a while to combine and melt the frozen milk. Im sure iv read somewhere that you only need to freeze it if you are adding the lye directly to the milk. Im sorry if iv got that wrong though. Maybe trying a powdered milk would be a good first step to trying milk soap?

 

[Carolyne Thrasher]

That’s really cool Janelle. I bet it smells super.

 

[earlene]

I might well be missing something or not understanding the obvious but is this zone thing something american?

We have 'zoning' laws that restrict what can be done in certain places where we live. Zoning laws vary from community to community based on what type of thing is acceptable or allowed. I have lived in various places in the US, with different zoning laws that restrict what types of animals and how many of different animals are allowed. In rural areas there is usually a lot more leeway about what types of and how many animals are allowed. Inside the city limits of many areas, goats are absolutely not allowed and to have them inside the city limits would be a violation of the zoning laws.

Zoning laws also regulate the types of businesses and the types of dwellings that can exist or be built as well, not just what types of animals.

I suspect you have something similar in the UK, but it is probably called something else.

 

[JanelleTrebuna]

I might well be missing something or not understanding the obvious but is this zone thing something american?
I freeze the milk in bags then leave it out for half an hour before i measure it out then just slowly add the lye to the slush which eventually turns to liquid i made the coffee soap and beer soap the same way although i didnt freeze the coffee just added the lye bit by bit. and i just added it to a recipe i liked the most after trying it with just water i didnt change the recipe and not yet come across any issues. I cant easily get hold of distilled water in england and where it is available its stupudly expensive so goats milk, beer or coffee works out the cheapest way to make soap.

Hopfully someone will correct me if im wrong but i thought adding the goats milk to already mixed lye water would be counter productive because unless you add the milk while the lye water is still warm it will take a while to combine and melt the frozen milk. Im sure iv read somewhere that you only need to freeze it if you are adding the lye directly to the milk. Im sorry if iv got that wrong though. Maybe trying a powdered milk would be a good first step to trying milk soap?

Great suggestions. I've never actually made goat's milk soap. I've just been reading up a lot on the subject and working up my courage . Last night I read that someone combined their lye with a very small amount of water before adding it to the frozen milk because they had problems with the lye dissolving all of the way adding it straight to the frozen milk.

 

[Chris_S]

We have 'zoning' laws that restrict what can be done in certain places where we live. Zoning laws vary from community to community based on what type of thing is acceptable or allowed. I have lived in various places in the US, with different zoning laws that restrict what types of animals and how many of different animals are allowed. In rural areas there is usually a lot more leeway about what types of and how many animals are allowed. Inside the city limits of many areas, goats are absolutely not allowed and to have them inside the city limits would be a violation of the zoning laws.

Zoning laws also regulate the types of businesses and the types of dwellings that can exist or be built as well, not just what types of animals.

I suspect you have something similar in the UK, but it is probably called something else.

We do but its not really a strict law based on location as such in the way you have described it its really just common sense and certain laws that apply to wherever you live mostly that they need a suitible living enviroment anything that is found to not come up to those standards or is reported to authority's will be inspected regardless of location ect. i dont need a permit or have any restrictions that im aware of i know that theres nothing stopping me from having beehives in my garden if i wanted too theres lots of people who keep beehives on appartment building roofs in the middle of cities. the same with hens ect as long as you have suitable place for them to sleep and they are safe from cats ect then they cant stop you keeping them in a grassed garden. Turns out goats have to be regestered and most likely they would inspect the land before hand they often do that with adoption places for dog and cats ect to make sure they will be kept in a safe area.

Businesses are more restricted than most other things by area. But given that the uk is made up of 4 countries which all have thier own laws even in areas you would think would be the same they generally arnt. Im not sure how the other 3 countries set out the laws on such subjects as bi laws ect. The isle of man doesnt have a speed limit in some areas whereas the rest of the uk its 70 at very maximum but then again the isle of man is basically a motorbike road racing curcuit for nearly 6 weeks of the year and the rest of the time its used a as a playground for supercars and superbikes thats basically what people go there for.

It can take a while for lye to dissolve in a cold beer or milk ect iv found it best for me to let it go slightly slushy before i add the lye big blocks of milk just isnt practical but it worked when i didnt have the time to wait for it to go slushy. Using powdered milk first might just help you gain the confidence to go to the next step of making it with fresh milk. I absolutly love my second attempt at goats milk soap best soap iv ever used in the shower. Next on the list is another coffee soap as my last one wasnt great then a coconut milk soap and eventually ill be trying powdered cows milk soap too so i can compare and see which i prefer

 

[melinda48]

I call this my "secret squirrel" soap because it felt like a clandestine operation
I'm fairly new to soap making. This will be year two I've been making and using and sharing with family my creations. I stick to one basic recipe that I absolutely love, and have decided 2019 will be the year of the colorants for me. I was inspired by so many of your lovely soaps on this forum that I decided to try to create one of my own. I knew that my Cinnamon Sugar fo from Brambleberry discolored my soap to a tan/brown, so I separated my batch 1/3 without fo and 2/3 with. I then poured layers and did a swirly type motion at the top. Bear in mind my soap looked all the same at this point. It was like writing with invisible ink, and then hoping it would become visible later on. I took photos of the top 48 hrs after and the inside 72 hours after pouring and 24 hours after cutting. It worked and I am elated. I'm also asking Santa for micas for Christmas so I can do this the proper way. View attachment 33445 View attachment 33446

Looks great!

 

[penelopejane]

Great suggestions. I've never actually made goat's milk soap. I've just been reading up a lot on the subject and working up my courage . Last night I read that someone combined their lye with a very small amount of water before adding it to the frozen milk because they had problems with the lye dissolving all of the way adding it straight to the frozen milk.

A lot of people here use the split method because it is easy, does not burn the milk and cause soap that smells of burnt milk and does not overheat.

To use the split method dissolve the amount of lye in the recipe in an equal amount of water. So say the recipe has 500g of water and 200g lye dissolve the lye in 200g water. Keep stirring for a while and ensure it is clear. Then take 300g milk (the remaining amount of water from the recipe) and it doesn’t have to be frozen and mix it into the oils (not the lye mix) and soap as usual.

If you want full milk add enough powdered milk to the milk to make the 200g of water you used to dissolve the lye into milk. So if you need 85g of milk powder to make 200g milk add it to the milk. When it is all mixed it will be full milk.

If you want to use a purée of pumpkin etc do the same and substitute the 300g water with 300g of purée.

 

[Chris_S]

A lot of people here use the split method because it is easy, does not burn the milk and cause soap that smells of burnt milk and does not overheat.

To use the split method dissolve the amount of lye in the recipe in an equal amount of water. So say the recipe has 500g of water and 200g lye dissolve the lye in 200g water. Keep stirring for a while and ensure it is clear. Then take 300g milk (the remaining amount of water from the recipe) and it doesn’t have to be frozen and mix it into the oils (not the lye mix) and soap as usual.

If you want full milk add enough powdered milk to the milk to make the 200g of water you used to dissolve the lye into milk. So if you need 85g of milk powder to make 200g milk add it to the milk. When it is all mixed it will be full milk.

If you want to use a purée of pumpkin etc do the same and substitute the 300g water with 300g of purée.

Iv only ever done it by using the entire lye solution as milk but i am going to try the split method at some point. I have the milk already frozen will it be ok just defrosting that in the fridge and once liquid will that be ok to use with the split method? also whats the crack with adding beer iv got some alcohol free beer could i just leave that out a few days to go flat then do the split method? and would this work for beer with alcohol in it?

 

[penelopejane]

Iv only ever done it by using the entire lye solution as milk but i am going to try the split method at some point. I have the milk already frozen will it be ok just defrosting that in the fridge and once liquid will that be ok to use with the split method? also whats the crack with adding beer iv got some alcohol free beer could i just leave that out a few days to go flat then do the split method? and would this work for beer with alcohol in it?

Thawed milk will be fine for cp soap.

I haven’t made beer soap but lots of people have:
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/beer-soap.58010/

 

[Chris_S]

Thawed milk will be fine for cp soap.

I haven’t made beer soap but lots of people have:
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/beer-soap.58010/

Thank you. iv made beer soap before but did the same as i did with the goats milk soap. Ill check the link thanks