# Is this soap good for anything?



## JudyM (Jan 9, 2015)

I just made my second batch of goat soap. Unfortunately I substituted goat milk for water. I had read on the Internet that you use half as much goat soap as water. That didn't seem right so I added just a little more. At the time I didn't think about this site for information.

As I guess you all can guess I poured my very dark orange pudding into a mold and within a minute or two it had started erupting out of the mold. Not only that but it was smoking! I put the mold under cold running water then brought it outside. It was too late to try to cut it into bars.

So my question is, is this soap any good for any thing? It has olive oil, castor oil, and coconut oil.

I'm leaving to go out shortly so won't be able to check back until tomorrow.

Thanks!


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

JudyM, Give me the entire recipe ... how much Olive, castor & coconut oil ... how much lye, how much milk??

Did you weigh your ingredients??

I make my soap using full amount of raw Jersey milk in the lye solution.

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Most likely your Goats Milk was not frozen, you used too little of GM for your lye solution (for a first time soapmaker) ... 

Your lye/milk solution overheated & started saponifying (hence the orange pudding). When you added it to your oils it started a reaction.

I've been making my own soap since 1999 and exclusively milk soaps since 2001. You can see my soap making page here.

Tell me the weighed amounts of your recipe and I can probably tell you how to rebatch it and make it good.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Did water get into your soap when you put the mold under cold water??


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## JudyM (Jan 9, 2015)

Thank you for your response! I actually was on your site earlier today. What a wonderful site!

I guess water could have gotten to some of it. The mold I used was just a Pringles canister that I lined with freezer paper. 

I forgot where I got this recipe but I had to convert it to ounces:

Coconut oil 22 1/4 oz
Castor oil 3 1/8 o
Olive oil 6 3/8 oz
Lye 4.5 oz
Goat milk 9 oz - it was frozen but I took it out when I started melting the coconut oil

I tried using a lye calculator - after the fact; thinking I was following a recipe after all! But I didn't understand one of the factors! It had something to do with fat, I think. I'll look it up and repost.

Also, my husband cut a section of the log, it looks weird. It's porous in the center and outlined with what looks like regular soap.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

The amount of lye you used for your oils listed is okay ... the liquid amount (milk) is on the low side for someone just beginning.

When some milk soapers say they used half as much milk as water, they are referring to using half of the total amount of liquid for the lye solution as water, and dissolving the lye in the water. They will then add the water/lye solution to their oils and add the milk to the pot.

Your soap was orange because you let the lye/milk solution get too hot before adding it to the oils.

When soaping with a water/lye solution, you should mix up your lye solution before weighing/mixing oils to give the lye solution a chance to cool down. The opposite is true when using frozen milk for your lye solution. You want to weigh & mix all your oils first, then mix your lye with your frozen milk chunks. Some milk soapers add the lye very slowly. I feel this only gives more time for the milk to overheat and burn so I add the lye in 3 dumps, incorporating the lye well before dumping more lye. I also use a stick blender after the f2nd & 3rd dumping of lye (wear eye protection and keep the stick blender submerged!) Once the lye & frozen milk have dissolved, pour immediately into your oils.

What you didn't understand was the superfat. This is the amount of excess oil that there is not enough lye to saponify. Most soapers keep their superfat between 3%-10% with 5%-7% being most used.

The tunneling is either because of water splashed inside mold (doubtful) or the soap was too thick when poured & left gaps or the soap just overheated and you got to see 'tunneling' where the soap got so hot it created bubbles in the middle trying to escape to the top.

Regardless, based on your recipe, the soap is very usuable.


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## JudyM (Jan 9, 2015)

It's good to know that I can still use it!

I did add the lye VERY SLOWLY to the milk. When I added the lye mix to the oils it was 116* and the oil mix was 114*

The first batch I made was a different recipe and it turned out like mashed potatoes when putting it in the mold. The temp of the lye/milk mix was 94* when I added it to the oils mix which was around 110* so that's why I made the second batch with the temps a little higher. 

I will make Round 2 of this and see what happens. The original recipe called for 11 ounces of water so I will use 11 oz of GM and keep my fingers crossed! 

Thanks again!!


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

My milk/lye solution is usually under 70Â° while my oils are between 100Â°-110Â°


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## NostalgicGranny (Aug 22, 2007)

Judy are you making it CP or HP?
Did you freeze your milk?


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## JudyM (Jan 9, 2015)

N. Granny - I used cold process and did freeze the milk although it was starting to melt a little.


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