# milk soap recipie



## lambs.are.cute

Hi, 

I'm looking for a milk soap recipie that uses as much milk as possible with as few ingreidents (preferably ones that i can get locally or I already have). Also the milk that i have is fresh sheep's milk so it's pretty high in fat. 

Thanks.


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## linn

You can use all milk for your liquid, but be sure to freeze it to the slushy stage and add the lye a little at a time, stirring all the time.  I would also set my lye container in an ice water bath to cool it down, otherwise the milk might scorch.
You can make soap from just one fat or oil. Use Soapcalc to figure the percentages. Lard, coconut oil, tallow, olive oil & Crisco are all good soap ingredients.


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## MullersLaneFarm

There are a number of recipes on my soapmaking page and pictures of how I make soap using 100% milk.


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## PaulNKS

When I make goat milk soap, I substitute milk for ALL of the water. I don't freeze the milk or anything. I take it straight from the fridge. The only thing I do different is that when I combine the lye to the goat milk, I have the container sitting in the sink full of tap water to keep the milk from scorching and turning brown. 

Unlike a lot of goat milk soap, mine stays white. 

The only other thing I do, is I use SoapCalc and put in 5lbs of lard. I follow the recipe except that I reduce the lard by 1lb when I actually make the soap. It seems to lather better that way since lard doesn't lather as much as some oils.


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## MullersLaneFarm

You what!!! Use the amount of lye for 5 lb of lard but only use 4 lb of lard!!

Excuse me, but ARE YOU NUTS!!! You are using almost 2 oz of extra lye for your soap.

Even accounting for the average 4% cream in goat's milk, your recipe is very, very lye heavy. I would use it to clean inanimate objects, but wouldn't even dare to use it for laundry much less my skin.

I also use 100% Jersey milk for all the liquid in my lye solution. The only color change I get is sometimes a light yellow (depending on the time of lactation). I allow my soaps to gel and yes, they are very, very light in color ... I can't call them a perfect white, but they're too light to call a cream.

I'm sure your soap leaves your skin nice and slick feeling ... that is the extra lye in your soap.

I DO *NOT *RECOMMEND THIS FOR MAKING SOAP!!!

When the soap calculators tell you how much lye to use for a specific amount of oils ... don't use less oils than that!

I certainly hope you are not selling this mess to the general public and if you are, I hope you have good insurance in case someone gets it in their eyes or soft tissue and seriously hurts themselves (like going blind by getting it into their eyes.)

If you want better lather, stick with an oil that is high in lauric fatty acid like coconut or palm kernel.


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## lathermaker

PaulNKS said:


> When I make goat milk soap, I substitute milk for ALL of the water. I don't freeze the milk or anything. I take it straight from the fridge. The only thing I do different is that when I combine the lye to the goat milk, I have the container sitting in the sink full of tap water to keep the milk from scorching and turning brown.
> 
> Unlike a lot of goat milk soap, mine stays white.
> 
> The only other thing I do, is I use SoapCalc and put in 5lbs of lard. I follow the recipe except that I reduce the lard by 1lb when I actually make the soap. It seems to lather better that way since lard doesn't lather as much as some oils.


I agree TOTALLY with Cyndi! What you are making is a mess of extremely LYE HEAVY soap that will burn your skin. PEOPLE DO NOT FOLLOW these directions. They are entirely WRONG ! Please tell me you aren't selling these things. If you are, I sure hope that your rear end is covered with both hands in your PRoduct LIABILITY Insurance!~ CRAP (and I DO mean CRAP) like this is what gives handmade soap a bad reputation for being caustic enough to burn your skin....


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## PaulNKS

If your soap is properly cured IT WILL NOT BURN YOUR SKIN. It is only caustic while it is still curing.

It is still a very mild soap and it does not leave any feeling on the skin. Obviously y'all don't let your soap cure as long as you should.

SoapCalc is not a soap bible. It is a guide for those that don't know enough to do it on their own.

In the old days, soaps were heavier on the lye and didn't use all the additional oils, etc that people use these days. They were used for everything from bath soap to laundry to dish soap... But, they also knew to let the soaps properly cure!

You call me nuts? Unless you know from you experience, don't call me nuts. This soap is a very good soap, but must be cured.

Obviously y'all don't let your soaps cure properly or for as long as you should. If you knew enough about lye soaps, you would know that after it has cured, the lye is no longer caustic and will NOT BURN YOUR SKIN!!!!!


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## mekasmom

PaulNKS said:


> If your soap is properly cured IT WILL NOT BURN YOUR SKIN. It is only caustic while it is still curing.
> 
> It is still a very mild soap and it does not leave any feeling on the skin. Obviously y'all don't let your soap cure as long as you should.
> 
> SoapCalc is not a soap bible. It is a guide for those that don't know enough to do it on their own.
> 
> In the old days, soaps were heavier on the lye and didn't use all the additional oils, etc that people use these days. They were used for everything from bath soap to laundry to dish soap... But, they also knew to let the soaps properly cure!


The longer soap sits or "cures" the more lye disappates to make it milder. It doesn't get stronger, it gets weaker over time. So even strong soap will someday be usable if you let it cure enough. That's how our grandma's did it without having to act like rocket scientists when they made soap.
I have to admit, the amount of info out there and warnings is scary. But if our grandparents did it without rubber gloves, goggles, digital scales, sodium hydroxide........ and lived to tell about it, then obviously it isn't that precise of a science. It's just not nuclear physics or anything like that. There's room for variance because the lye unbound in the salt compound will interact with the water in the air and dissapate.

Sometimes people put so many warnings and dire rules out there about making soap, it makes it really scary. But (Thank God!) my daughter's chem professor explained it to me in such simple terms. If you use too much lye, it will dissapate with time if you just leave it set because it reacts with the water vapor in the air. And if you use too much fat, it just makes the soap greasy. It's not the end of the world. It is just simple chemistry, and you are just making a salt called soap. It is not rocket science.


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## lathermaker

PaulNKS said:


> If your soap is properly cured IT WILL NOT BURN YOUR SKIN. It is only caustic while it is still curing.
> 
> It is still a very mild soap and it does not leave any feeling on the skin. Obviously y'all don't let your soap cure as long as you should.
> 
> SoapCalc is not a soap bible. It is a guide for those that don't know enough to do it on their own.
> 
> In the old days, soaps were heavier on the lye and didn't use all the additional oils, etc that people use these days. They were used for everything from bath soap to laundry to dish soap... But, they also knew to let the soaps properly cure!
> 
> You call me nuts? Unless you know from you experience, don't call me nuts. This soap is a very good soap, but must be cured.
> 
> Obviously y'all don't let your soaps cure properly or for as long as you should. If you knew enough about lye soaps, you would know that after it has cured, the lye is no longer caustic and will NOT BURN YOUR SKIN!!!!!


I've been a PROFESSIONAL SOAP MAKER for 13 years! This is how I make my living...so yes, you are nuts! ~ I DO know from experience! Too much lye in a formula is just that...too much lye. If there isn't enough oils for the lye to react with, it stays in the soap. Length of curing dries out the water. FYI: I don't use Soap Calc. It's not the only reputable lye calculator out there along with common sense!


Grandma's soap was notorious for being very harsh. They didn't know any better because that's all they had to use. The "good old days" weren't so good in this case.


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## Tinker

I have heard the stories about how harsh Grandmas's soap was, because she could not proberly calculate the lye. Those folks just bathed 1 time a week, so there skin was not exposed to the harsh soap several times a day.

I agree that letting the soap sit over time will remove more water, but not more lye. I do let my soap sit at least 6 weeks---some I have are a couple years old, and hard as rocks. 

How long do you cure yours Paul?


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## PaulNKS

lathermaker said:


> I've been a PROFESSIONAL SOAP MAKER for 13 years! This is how I make my living...so yes, you are nuts! ~ I DO know from experience! Too much lye in a formula is just that...too much lye. If there isn't enough oils for the lye to react with, it stays in the soap. Length of curing dries out the water. FYI: I don't use Soap Calc. It's not the only reputable lye calculator out there along with common sense!
> 
> 
> Grandma's soap was notorious for being very harsh. They didn't know any better because that's all they had to use. The "good old days" weren't so good in this case.


Length of curing the soap doesn't just dry out the water. The entire soap making is a chemical process. 

If you are so experienced, then you know that you CANNOT use any lye soap as soon as it's made or it will burn the skin. It has to have time to cure and go through the chemical changes for the soap to be mild enough.

Not all of "Grandma's" soaps were harsh. My grandmother raised her kids in the 1920's through the 1940's. She always made her own soaps and they bathed more than just once a week. Her soaps were never harsh because she always let them cure properly.

Your 13 years does not make you the "end-all" or the soap police.

If you really do have that much experience, you would know that the curing will continue with the chemical process until the lye is no longer harsh or caustic.

So, I would seriously question how much knowledge you've gained from your 13 years of so-called experience.

Stop with the misinformation! I will gladly send you some soap to test to prove that what I say is factual.


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## MullersLaneFarm

Let's get down to the the chemical reaction between lye (base) and the oils (acid). 

Each oil has a small range of how much base it takes to transform the acid into salt & glycerin (soap). This range can change depending on growing conditions & other environmental aspects. The SAP factor is determined by KOH and then converted to NaOH usage. The range is small. From 0.001 to 0.010 of base per oz of acid.

The chemical reaction between a base & acid is exothermic ... it creates heat. When the base (lye) has transformed all the available acid (oil) into salt/glycerin (soap), the reaction is complete.

If there are still oils left that have not been turned into soap (because all the lye has been exhausted), they remain oil.

Like wise, if there is still lye left because it has exhausted all the oils (turning the oil into soap), there will be lye left in the product.

No amount of 'curing' will remove this extra lye. It doesn't magically disappear and since it no longer has any oil to chemically react with, it remains an active ingredient as a base. The slick feeling you get when washing with it is the lye reacting with your natural skin oils.

Since lye attracts moisture, any excess surface lye in your soap will do the same. The moisture may dilute the surface lye but it does not magically disappear into thin air.

A properly constructed soap recipe is very safe to use immediately after it cools down from the gel stage.

No, it isn't rocket science, but it is science.


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## lambs.are.cute

Please! I just asked for recipies. I didn't mean for this to turn into an argument.


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## mekasmom

lambs.are.cute said:


> Please! I just asked for recipies. I didn't mean for this to turn into an argument.


It wasn't you or your specific question. It is an ongoing thing. Some people are very confident and assertive in their knowledge about soapmaking. The same thing happens in the canning boards, goat board, etc too.

The truth is our grandmas, great grandmas, great-great grandmas and even further back made soap, canned foods, raised goats, raised rabbits, bred dogs, etc and everyone lived to tell about it. None of this is rocket science. Find a few recipes on the web, try them, and don't be scared away. You can tweak whatever one you like to make it just how you like it over time. Experience is the best teacher. Have fun, and good luck. Here are some links to get you started.
[ame=http://www.google.com/search?q=Goat+milk+soap+recipes&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a#hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=R8R&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&q=homemade+goat+milk+soap+recipe&revid=1065010428&sa=X&ei=3K0BUObAG4ms8QTU95HyBw&ved=0CGMQ4QIoAA&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=e4af5c0a09a6ef30&biw=1468&bih=914]Goat milk soap recipes - Google Search[/ame]


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## lathermaker

PaulNKS said:


> Length of curing the soap doesn't just dry out the water. The entire soap making is a chemical process.
> 
> If you are so experienced, then you know that you CANNOT use any lye soap as soon as it's made or it will burn the skin. It has to have time to cure and go through the chemical changes for the soap to be mild enough.
> 
> Your 13 years does not make you the "end-all" or the soap police.
> 
> If you really do have that much experience, you would know that the curing will continue with the chemical process until the lye is no longer harsh or caustic.
> 
> So, I would seriously question how much knowledge you've gained from your 13 years of so-called experience.
> 
> Stop with the misinformation! I will gladly send you some soap to test to prove that what I say is factual.


Nowhere did I say that I would use soap as soon as it's made...Of course it has to cure! The curing will continue as long as there is enough oil to react with the appropriate amount of lye. BUT, if you have too much of one or the other you'll end up with either soft oily soap or lye heavy soap. Excess Lye doesn't just disappear. 


Why don't YOU STOP with the misinformation! 

13 years and literal Tons of soap made doesn't make me the "Soap Police", but I sure as heck am going to say something when misinformation is spewed about haphazardly. 
If you want more lather, go study up on the Fatty Acid profiles of the different oils and formulate something that will work. To tell people to use a pound less oil than is recommended is dangerous & irresponsible.


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## southernmom86

Wow! Talk about hijacking someone's post. How rude!


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## lathermaker

southernmom86 said:


> Wow! Talk about hijacking someone's post. How rude!


Read the entire thread and you'll understand why. She has been offered help with pm's, so don't worry.


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## MullersLaneFarm

mekasmom said:


> It wasn't you or your specific question. It is an ongoing thing. Some people are very confident and assertive in their knowledge about soapmaking.


This is the first time on this and other soap boards that I have seen bad advice tried to be backed up with "how everyone lived when our great grandmothers did this." 

The real truth be told is that folks did get injured and some died using bad techniques.

When it comes to soap making, it IS science and the reaction between chemicals.



> Some people are very confident and assertive in their knowledge about soapmaking.


We are very confident and assertive in our knowledge because we know the science behind soap making, recognize the dangers and speak out when we see a formula or technique that can harm people.

We are not being 'mean' or 'rude', jut passing along correct knowledge about our craft.


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## southernmom86

I have read everything. Coming from a person who is new to the soapmaking board and was also going through looking for recipes, a lot of the comments do come across as rude. First, you did hi-jack her post and instead of just presenting her with recipes and letting her make her own decision you treated her like a child and tried telling her what she could and could not do. If you truly were concerned about it I'm sure a pm would have sufficed and no one would have been the wiser. You destroy your crediblity when you treat people rudely. I know as a newcomer, when I now go to ask questions, I will probably think twice about taking someone's advice that acts like this. Just a third person point of veiw.


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## lathermaker

southernmom86 said:


> I have read everything. Coming from a person who is new to the soapmaking board and was also going through looking for recipes, a lot of the comments do come across as rude. First, you did hi-jack her post and instead of just presenting her with recipes and letting her make her own decision you treated her like a child and tried telling her what she could and could not do. If you truly were concerned about it I'm sure a pm would have sufficed and no one would have been the wiser. You destroy your crediblity when you treat people rudely. I know as a newcomer, when I now go to ask questions, I will probably think twice about taking someone's advice that acts like this. Just a third person point of veiw.


NO, we aren't treating HER, the OP, as a child, but the person that posted the formula that isn't well thought out and could be downright dangerous. We've been helping the OP behind the scenes. 
If I didn't give a ----, I'd ignore the entire thread! But, I'd hate to have someone get hurt following bad advice!


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## bluetogreens

UHM did everyone miss the part where she is using 100% milk instead of water in her recipe +the 4lbs lard which would provide more/less the same amount of fat/oils for the lye to react with? and on top of that lye is water reactive and while curing the power of the lye would dissipate with longer cure times cure times, not just the "surface lye" soap itself is very porous. and if your eally wanted to prove the safety of the soap just test it.


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## MullersLaneFarm

B2G,
Even if Paul used milk from his Alpine goats for all the water, we're not talking about too much butter fat! The average butterfat of goats is 4%. Alpines are touted for having a lower butter fat content ... around 2-3%. 

There is not much detailed information on Paul's soap recipe so I will have to make some assumptions. We do know that Paul uses SoapCalc as his starting point. If he is just changing the amount of oil and leaving the other variables at the default level (5% superfat and 38% water as percent of oils), the recipe for using 5 lb of lard would be:

5 lb (80 oz) lard
30.4 oz milk
*10.729 lye*

Just for comparison, here is the recipe using 4 lb of lard (again 5% superfat and 38% water as percent of oils)

4 lb (64oz) lard
24.32 oz milk
8.584 lye

(for a 0% superfat on 4 lb lard, the amount of lye is *9.035*)

So, based on these two recipes and Paul stated, I will have to assume that Paul uses 64 oz of lard, 30.4 oz milk & 10.729 oz lye.

(10.729 - 9.035 = 1.694 oz. This is the difference in the amount of lye Paul used and the amount of lye needed for a 0% superfat using 4 lb lye)

Taking into consideration a generous 5% butterfat on Paul's Alpine goats, there is an addition 1.52 oz of butterfat available for the lye to consume for a total of 65.52 oz of fat ... which according to the lye calculator would require *9.25* oz lye for a 0% superfat on 4 lb lard

(10.729 - 9.25 = 1.479 oz difference. I will round it up to 1.5 oz excess lye)



> using 100% milk instead of water in her recipe +the 4lbs lard which would provide more/less the same amount of fat/oils for the lye to react with


So even taking into consideration the butterfat of the Alpine milk, there is still 1.5 oz of excess lye that is used in Paul's recipe compared to a safe soap where all the oil is consumed by the lye.



> lye is water reactive and while curing the power of the lye would dissipate with longer cure times


Interesting theory.

So if I were to leave the excess 1.5 oz of lye in an open non-reactive container, the power of the lye will just dissipate? Just how long would this take? days, months, years??

From my early soaping days (1999) when I would only buy a pound or two of lye every 6 months of so, the lye (which was not in an air tight container) would still be good after sitting for 6 months. Sometimes the lye would clump up, since it attracted moisture from the air, and be hard as a rock. It was still strong enough to turn oil into salt.


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## MDKatie

I did not take the caution posts to be rude, because lye can be dangerous and if I were a beginner soaper I would be glad people spoke up and mentioned reducing oils by a pound is dangerous. 

There's a reason "grandma's soap" tends to be remembered as being harsh.


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