Soap Powder for Goats Milk Soap

[Johnray]

Hi Guys,

I have been looking at videos of people using frozen milk to make goats milk soap and then freezing them.

Has anyone tried using goats milk powder im cp by adding it to oils before the lye water?

If i am soaping and not intending to put it in the freezer, should i soap it at room temp? (Btw its winter and room temp is about 16 deg)

 

[shunt2011]

I have and do use GM powdered milks. I just mix my lye with enough water 50:50 and mix the remainder water with powdered milk then add that to my oils and blend well before adding my cooled lye mixture. As to doing RT soaping it will totally depend on your recipe. If you use a lot of hard oils you'll have to soap warm enough to keep them melted. I still insulate my milk soaps but I've found I need to watch them a bit with powdered milk for overheating.

 

[Relle]

I know it's winter, but I would still freeze the gm and add the lye to it, then put it in the frig. It still heats up and 16C is not cold enough to stop that. I have never used powdered gm so can't help with that other than gm powder in oz is more expensive than buying the milk. I've soaped gm all year round and still keep to freezing method no matter what time of year. Sometimes I've still ended up with partial gel even after putting in the frig

 

[Johnray]

I have and do use GM powdered milks. I just mix my lye with enough water 50:50 and mix the remainder water with powdered milk then add that to my oils and blend well before adding my cooled lye mixture. As to doing RT soaping it will totally depend on your recipe. If you use a lot of hard oils you'll have to soap warm enough to keep them melted. I still insulate my milk soaps but I've found I need to watch them a bit with powdered milk for overheating.

It is winter in Aus now and the day temp gets to about 8 deg, do you think it will be fine if i make it and just let the mould sit outside? for a good 6 hours?

I know it's winter, but I would still freeze the gm and add the lye to it, then put it in the frig. It still heats up and 16C is not cold enough to stop that. I have never used powdered gm so can't help with that other than gm powder in oz is more expensive than buying the milk. I've soaped gm all year round and still keep to freezing method no matter what time of year. Sometimes I've still ended up with patial gel even after putting in the frig

I live in a share house and don't have the luxury of space to freeze the full GM mould, that is why I have put it off for awhile.

 

[Relle]

I live in a share house and don't have the luxury of space to freeze the full GM mould, that is why I have put it off for awhile.

You only need to put it in the frig overnight, you don't need to put the mould in the freezer. Tell them, you need soap, they don't need food .

 

[earlene]

It is winter in Aus now and the day temp gets to about 8 deg, do you think it will be fine if i make it and just let the mould sit outside? for a good 6 hours?
I live in a share house and don't have the luxury of space to freeze the full GM mould, that is why I have put it off for awhile.

Do you have a stone or concrete patio outdoors that you could set the mold on? Or perhaps the ground itself is colder and takes longer to heat up if you have a shady spot. I'd give it a try at least once and see how it goes.

 

[Relle]

It is winter in Aus now and the day temp gets to about 8 deg, do you think it will be fine if i make it and just let the mould sit outside? for a good 6 hours?

You could try that, but would have to make sure animals such as cats, dogs, birds etc don't get to it or possums if you put it out at night.

 

[Primrose]

I make exclusively GM soap as I have goats, I'm also in Oz I use the frozen milk method but now I'm using larger moulds I just leave them on the counter to do whatever they wish to do re gel etc sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. I only get a partial gel if I put it in the fridge trying to avoid it

 

[Johanna Miner]

If you are using powdered goats milk do you still need to freeze it?

 

[artemis]

If you are using powdered goats milk do you still need to freeze it?

You can mix the powder with a little water and then add it directly to your oils. Then, just mix up your lye solution with water. This way you do not have to freeze it.

 

[DeeAnna]

What artemis said -- The powder needs to rehydrate. I think it's best to dissolve it in water first and then you could add that to the oils. But I'm not sure I'd add the dry milk powder directly to the oils.

 

[cmzaha]

I always add the powder directly to my oils and stick blend well. Maybe I am just lucky but it has never given me problems, clumps or specks doing it this way.

 

[Johanna Miner]

What artemis said -- The powder needs to rehydrate. I think it's best to dissolve it in water first and then you could add that to the oils. But I'm not sure I'd add the dry milk powder directly to the oils.

Thank you so much for the quick response

You can mix the powder with a little water and then add it directly to your oils. Then, just mix up your lye solution with water. This way you do not have to freeze it.

Thank you so much for the quick response

I always add the powder directly to my oils and stick blend well. Maybe I am just lucky but it has never given me problems, clumps or specks doing it this way.

Thank you so much for the quick response

 

[mtinetti61]

Is there any difference between fresh and powdered goat milk other than label appeal>

 

[DeeAnna]

@Johanna Miner -- if you'd like to thank people, it's fine (in fact, it's preferable) to only reply once and include everyone you want to mention in that one message. If you want people to know when you do this, put the @ sign and then the person's username right afterward in your message, just like I did with your name.

Obviously Carolyn (cmzaha) and I have had different experiences. I'm leery of putting milk powder in oils; she's not. So pick which one makes sense and don't look back.

@mtinetti61 -- Not in my opinion, especially if you're using store bought, whether fresh or dried. On the other hand, if you have goats and want to tout using your own goat milk, then fresh is a selling point.

 

[AliOop]

I have never used powdered gm so can't help with that other than gm powder in oz is more expensive than buying the milk.

Where I live it is just the opposite - the powdered GM is much less expensive than the fresh.

Like @cmzaha, I stick-blend mine right into the oils, and haven't had any problems with that, either. I don't notice any difference between fresh and powdered, and I don't have any trouble with overheating.

ETA: I also add sugar to every batch, sub in vinegar for all of the water, often use the heat transfer method to melt the hard oils, and usually pour around 110-120º F. My soap always gels, but I have no issues with overheating.

 

[Johanna Miner]

So today I made some and i didn’t put it in the refri or the freezer and it started to crack. I did put it in my wood mold that I covered. When I noticed the crack I put it in my refrigerator for about and hour and after that it seems fine. Is there any way I could have avoided that. Should I have cooled my oils more. They were about 110 and my lye was about 125 to 130

 

[penelopejane]

So today I made some and i didn’t put it in the refri or the freezer and it started to crack. I did put it in my wood mold that I covered. When I noticed the crack I put it in my refrigerator for about and hour and after that it seems fine. Is there any way I could have avoided that. Should I have cooled my oils more. They were about 110 and my lye was about 125 to 130

Try soaping a bit cooler. I use GM powder using the split method (mix lye with equal weight of water and add the GM powder to the rest of the recipe water). I soap at 110*F max for everything when mixed and put my soap in silicone liner timber molds and then in a polystyrene box covered with a doona and leave for 18 hours in winter. Exactly the same process in summer but I can cut it a little earlier. My soap does not overheat and I get full gel.

a high Coconut oil soap might overheat or one with too much honey or sugar.

 

[cmzaha]

Like AliOop I also use vinegar as a liquid sub at 50-100% which is why I use milk powders instead of liquid. I also use Camel's milk powder at times and other milk powders. If I am using the vinegar at 50% I could mix the milk powder in the vinegar but I find it mixes better in my oils. I do dissolve my EDTA, Sodium Gluconate, and Sorbitol in my vinegar. I never mix additives in my lye water. It is just the way I do things, we all work our own way.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

I just made a batch of soap using powdered goats milk. All I did was mix the powder with my oils using my SB. As I let the oil cooling down I SB'd it a few more times. I didn't have any problems with over heating. In fact I force gelled it @130°F for 2 hours.

Here's what it looks like after I cut it the next day.