# Milk soap question? First Batch



## Rashashea (Aug 12, 2012)

Just made my first batch of goats milk soap and everything looked just like all the videos I have watched but I checked it after about an hour in the mold (too excited to leave it alone) and in one corner there was about 1/4 cup of oil on top? Is it supposed to do that, it looked like it was getting darker and was firming up?
It was very fun making it, I so hope it turns out ok.
Thanks 
Rashashea


----------



## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

Your soap was probably getting ready to go through the gel stage, that is a pretty liquid stage. Once it has set up, it should be OK.


----------



## Rashashea (Aug 12, 2012)

Ok, checked it this morning and the soap is hard but that oil is still there and one end of the soap looks a little funky kinda like raw cookie dough, so I pored the oil off....hope that is the right thing to do and covered it back up. Going to try to unmold it tomorrow.
Thanks 
Rash a


----------



## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

Did you run your recipe through a lye calculator before making it? You might want to test the pH of your soap before using.


----------



## Rashashea (Aug 12, 2012)

How do you test the Ph? I did not use a calculator I used a recipe that a women who has been making soap for along time uses but I can get in touch with her.
thanks 
Rasha


----------



## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Sounds to me as if one of 3 things happened:

1. The recipe wasn't accurate (post it here and we'll run it through a lye calculator for you.)

2. you weren't weighing your ingredients with an accurate scale.

3. you obtained a false trace


----------



## MDKatie (Dec 13, 2010)

I'm also thinking a false trace.


----------



## Rashashea (Aug 12, 2012)

Here is the recipe
6 cups of goats milk
473 grams of lye
2 pounds of coconut oil
1 pound 8 ounces of palm oil 
4 pounds of olive oil
1 cup of ground oats
4 Tablespoons of honey

What is false trace? I cut the soap today and it is hard but has a lot of oil on it.
Thanks for being patient with a newbie
Rash a


----------



## InHisName (Jan 26, 2006)

here is that recipe punched into soap calc-
it would not take the .8 on the oil- so not exactly right, but you can get a somewhat idea. 
View/Print Recipe
SoapCalc

Cold Process Soap Troublshooting

I did not check your liquid and lye amounts- (couldn't see original post when replying) so check that as well.

when I checked links, the soap calc recipe did not come through. I would check it there....


----------



## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

The lye amount is okay. The amount of milk is a tad bit high, but not way too much (I would have used at least 6 oz less)

Honey can be tricky to incorporate into the oils. Honey is water soluble and will separate from the oil if it is not thinned out a bit with water (or milk) from the recipe.

What type of oatmeal did you use? A cup is quite a lot! Whole oats are better than quick oats. quick oats can make quite a mess. Baby food oatmeal works real well though! 

False trace is when your oils cool off that they start solidifying looking like you reached trace when really you didn't. You need to keep your soaping oils warmer than the highest melting point of your oils.


----------



## lathermaker (May 7, 2010)

hmm with the honey in there you probably ended up with a false trace, then it heated up too much & separated. Honey & Milk are both ingredients that will heat up the batch. For your next batch I'd recommend using either/or but not both until you learn how to make the soap. Have you made soap using water, before attempting this?

False trace is when your hard oils fall below their normal melting point. They harden up in the batch fairly quickly before they actually get mixed up with the lye. Later on, they separate out. That could be where the extra oils are coming from.

If you have a whole lot of extra oil floating on the surface, I would rebatch this. Oils that are floating, are not using up the lye like they should be. Your soap could actually end up being harsh & lye heavy.


----------



## kidsngarden (Mar 24, 2006)

I would add too that you really should use weight instead of volume measurements for your milk. Much more accurate that way. I weigh everything but colorants, even oats and honey!

And yes to baby food oatmeal - works great! I found colloidal oatmeal at dollar tree and began using it in my soap.


----------

