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Making goat's milk soap is not for the beginner soap maker, but is not too advanced either. This page details how to make goats milk soap and will guide you through the basics of making soap using goat's milk.
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Soap Making Tips
- Freeze a portion of the goat's milk before using.
- Work slowly.
- Make sure the lye never rises above 100 degrees F.
- Oils should be heated to a lower temperature.
- Make sure the soap is well mixed before pouring it into the mold.
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Introduction
- Making soap using goat's milk is very popular, but tricky because you have to be careful to keep the temperature of the lye down in order to avoid curdling the milk. If you have never made soap before, you might want to check out how to make lye soap first and start with a simpler recipe before trying to make goat's milk soap. Although the instructions here are geared toward goat's milk, any milk can be used.
Equipment
- Soap molds:
- Cardboard box lined with wax paper, freezer paper or a plastic trash bag.
- Glass baking dishesAbout.com: Make Soap
- Capped PVC pipesCole Farms: Making Soap From Scratch
- Candy moldsCole Farms: Making Soap From Scratch
- 8" x 11" x 3" plastic container with lidThe Ponte Vedra Soap Shoppe: Soap Making Instructions for Cold Process Soapmaking
- Wooden soap mold lined with freezer paperThe Ponte Vedra Soap Shoppe: Soap Making Instructions for Cold Process Soapmaking
- Large piece of cardboard the size of your soap mold (if it does not have a uncover)The Ponte Vedra Soap Shoppe: Soap Making Instructions for Cold Process Soapmaking
- Rubber gloves
- Eye protection or safety goggles
- Kitchen scale (soap ingredients are measured by weight, not volume)Down-to-Earth: How to Make Cold Pressed Soap (July 26, 2007)
- 1/2-gallon glass jar or plastic (heat-resistant) pitcher
- 8-quart ceramic or stainless steel pot
- 2 small mixing bowls
- 2 cooking thermometers (with readings from 90 degrees F to over 200 degrees F)MakeLotion.com: How to Make Cold Process Soap (from Scratch)
- 2 rubber spatulas, stainless steel spoons or wooden spoons
- Hand stick blenderMakeLotion.com: How to Make Cold Process Soap (from Scratch) (optional)
- White vinegarAbout.com: Soap Making Safety Procedures
Ingredients
- There are three parts to any soap:
- Distilled or spring water
- 100 percent lye
- Oil or fat
- However, in this case you will be replacing all or most of the water with goat's milk. It is important that you should not substitute one oil for another. Every oil has a different saponification index.Treehugger: Easy Homemade Soap (December 31, 2005) Saponification is the process of combining a base fat with lye to produce soap and glycerin.Coconut Coast Handmade Soap Company: Glossary for the Modern Soap Maker, S For more information, check out Mahalo's How to Make Your Own Soap Recipe.
- The following are a list of recipes that replace the water with goat's milk. If, however, you want to make your own recipe, check out Mahalo's How to Make Your Own Soap Recipe.
- Majestic Mountain Sage: Goat Milk Soap
- From Nature with Love: Goat's Milk Soap Recipe
- Soapnuts: Cold Process Soap Recipes Page One | Page Four | Page Five | Page Seven
- Pine Meadows: Soap Recipes
- Rainbow Meadow Recipes: Mama's Milk and Mango Madness | Baasic Goat's Milk
- Noah's Ark: Recipes for Soap - Page 2
Step 1: Prepare Your Work Area
- You will need to be in a well-ventilated area, although it is not necessary to work outside.
- Gather all your equipment and make sure it is clean.About.com: Soap Making Safety Procedures
- Cover your workstation with newspaper, vinyl tablecloths or other protective materials.About.com: Soap Making Safety Procedures
- Prepare your molds by lining them with waxed paper (if cardboard) or spraying them with nonstick cooking spray.Cole Farms: Making Soap From Scratch
- Put on your safety goggles and rubber gloves.The Ponte Vedra Soap Shoppe: Soap Making Instructions for Cold Process Soapmaking Wear an old shirt with long sleeves.Teach Soap.com: Easy Cold Process Recipes
- Assemble all of your ingredients.
Step 2: Prepare the Lye-Milk Solution
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Also, although lye can reach potentially dangerous temperatures when it comes into contact with any water-based liquid, it can be perfectly safe to work with the two substances in your own home.YouTube Video: How to Make Lye Soap :
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Your biggest challenge when making goat's milk soap is to keep the lye solution cool enough that it does not curdle the milk. If it gets too hot, your lye-milk solution will curdle and your only option is to neutralize the lye with vinegar and toss it dow
Safely Working with Lye
- Always wear hand and eye protection when handling lye--even if you are simply cleaning up from making soap.About.com: Soap Making Safety Procedures
- Have plenty of white vinegar handy to neutralize any lye spills.About.com: Soap Making Safety Procedures
- Don't put your lye-water solution anywhere pets or children could knock it down or reach it.About.com: Make a Lye-Water Solution for Your Cold Process Soap, Page 6
- Mark your containers: "Danger: Lye Solution."About.com: Make a Lye-Water Solution for Your Cold Process Soap, Page 6
- Do not use containers made out of tin, zinc or aluminum because the lye reacts with them. Cast iron and stainless steel are fine.Suds & Scents: Lye Safety Check
- The vapors released when lye is added to water are noxious and will irritate the lungs.Cranberry Lane: Natural Soap Making - Cautions Do not breathe.
- Keep lye in a tightly-sealed bottle because it can react with moisture in the air.Suds & Scents: Lye Safety Check
- Once you've made sure that you're clear on how to work safely with lye and water, it's time to prepare the mixture for your soap:
- Weigh the amount of goat's milk you need and place in a glass jar or plastic pitcher.
- Freeze all or a portion of the goat's milk. You goal is to make the milk have the consistency of a slush, not solid ice.About.com: Making Soap with Milk
- Weigh the amount of lye needed in a small dish or mixing bowl.Down-to-Earth: How to Make Cold Pressed Soap (July 26, 2007)
- Place the lye pitcher into a bowl of ice water.About.com: Goat's Milk Soap, p. 2
- Add the lye slowly to ensure that the solution never gets above 100 degrees F.About.com: Making Soap with Milk
- WARNING: Do not pour the milk into the lye--it will get extremely hot, extremely quickly.About.com: Make a Lye-Water Solution for Your Cold Process Soap, Page 4 If mixed improperly, it is even possible for the lye mixture to explode.Google Book Search: The Encyclopedia of Country Living By Carla Emery (p.615)
- The milk-lye solution may turn brown and smell foul when the lye burns out the sugars in the milk.Making Soap: How to Make Coconut Milk Soap (April 14, 2008) However, the smell will decrease when the reaction is over and will not affect the smell of the final soap.Making Soap: How to Make Coconut Milk Soap (April 14, 2008) About.com: Making Soap with Liquids Other than Water
- Stir the mixture until the lye is dissolved.The Ponte Vedra Soap Shoppe: Soap Making Instructions for Cold Process Soapmaking Don't worry if your lye mixture looks grainy, this will clear up.Rainbow Meadow Recipes: Mama's Milk and Mango Madness
- Clean the area immediately.
Step 3: Mix the Ingredients
- Weigh out the oils needed.
- Place the solid oils into the ceramic pot or stainless steel pan.About.com: Make Cold Process Soap, Page 2
- Place the pot on the stove over medium heat until the oils have melted.About.com: Make Cold Process Soap, Page 3
- Turn off heat and add liquid oils to bring down the temperature of the oil.About.com: Make Cold Process Soap, Page 3
- Slowly pour the lye mixture into the container with the oils.Teach Soap.com: Easy Cold Process Recipes Stir continuously with a spoon.
- Stir continuously as the mixture begins to thicken. You can continue to use a spoon or switch to a stick blender.The Ponte Vedra Soap Shoppe: Soap Making Instructions for Cold Process Soapmaking
- Tracing occurs when you begin to see tracks or ripples on the surface of the soap that don't disappear.
- You can also tell a soap is tracing if you drop some of it from a spoon on to the surface that it dents the surface.MakeLotion.com: How to Make Cold Process Soap (from Scratch)
- Room temperature, humidity levels and stirring speed will affect the tracing time.Cranberry Lane: Making Natural Soap from Scratch - Soap Moulds
- Tracing will happen between 10 to 40 minutes depending on your mixture.The Ponte Vedra Soap Shoppe: Soap Making Instructions for Cold Process Soapmaking
- Using a stick blender will cause tracing to occur faster.Down-to-Earth: How to Make Cold Pressed Soap (July 26, 2007)
- With the lower temperature and thicker lye solution, it is important that you mix the soap well. Otherwise, you risk getting a "false trace," which can cause your soap to separate or develop pockets of lye.About.com: Goat's Milk Soap, p. 6
- Once the soap has traced, stir in your additives and mix until the soap is a uniform color.Pioneer Thinking: Make Modern Soap With Herbs, Beeswax And Vegetable Oils
Step 4: Cure the Soap
- Once the soap has begun to trace, it is ready to pour into the mold. Use a rubber spatula to scrape out any remaining soap.About.com: Make Cold Process Soap, Page 9
- Pick up your mold and tap it gently on the counter to dislodge any trapped air bubbles.About.com: Make Cold Process Soap, Page 9
- If the soap mixture does not fill the mold, place a piece of freezer paper over the top of the soap before covering it with a lid of piece of cardboard.The Ponte Vedra Soap Shoppe: Soap Making Instructions for Cold Process Soapmaking
- Cover the mold with blankets or a towel and set it in a warm room of the house.
- - Milk can cause cause overheating in soap. Depending on the mold, you may not want to insulate it.Miller's Soap: Soap Recipes Using Animal Fats - Goat Milk Soap
- - How long you let your soap sit is up to you. Some makers say 18 hours covered followed by 12 hours uncovered, others say 48 hours covered, while others say three to five days covered.The Ponte Vedra Soap Shoppe: Soap Making Instructions for Cold Process Soapmaking Maple Lane: Soap Making Recipes Teach Soap.com: Easy Cold Process Recipes
- - If the surface of the soap is still soft, allow it to sit uncovered for a day before removing it from the mold.Maple Lane: Soap Making Recipes
- Remove the soap from the mold and cut it into bars using a sharp knife.
- - If the soap will not release from the mold, place it in the freezer for two hours, which will make it shrink.Cranberry Lane: Making Natural Soap from Scratch - Soap Moulds
- - The soap mixture is caustic for at least the first 24 hours.About.com: Soap Making Safety Procedures Wear your eye protection and gloves if you plan to handle the soap during this time.
- Allow the soap to cure for another three weeks before using.Cole Farms: Making Soap From Scratch
Other Ways to Add Goat's Milk into Soap
- Making a lye-milk solution is not the only way to incorporate goat's milk into your soap. There are several other methods you can use:
- Another method some soap makers use to prevent the milk from curdling is to substitute milk for only half of the water.
- You can also add warmed evaporated goat's milk to your soap after incorporating the lye.Miller's Soap: All Vegetable Soaps and Recipes - Spiced Milk and Honey Soap
- Add powdered goat's milk to a small portion of the oil.About.com: Goat's Milk Soap, p. 5
- Add about 4 ounces of evaporated goat's milk per pound of soap at trace.Sabrina's Soapmaker's Resources: Diary: December 22, 1998
- Add 2 ounces of dry goat's milk at trace.From Nature with Love: Goat's Milk Soap Recipe
Variations
- Here are some of the various ways that people have altered their goat's milk soap recipes through the use of additives. All additives should be added at trace unless stated otherwise.
- Add 2 teaspoons per pound of mint, dried and crushed.Soapnuts: Cold Process Soap Recipes Page Seven
- Add finely ground oatmeal.Pine Meadows: Soap Recipes
- Add 0.7 ounces essential oil per pound of soap.Rainbow Meadow Recipes: Baasic Goat's Milk
- Add 2 ounces glycerin.Noah's Ark: Recipes for Soap - Page 2
- Add 1 cup dry oatmeal and 1/4 cup honey per pound of soap.Noah's Ark: Recipes for Soap - Page 2
Conclusion
- Now that you've learned how to make soap using goat's milk, you might want to try some of the other soap recipes found on Mahalo such as How to Make Olive Oil Soap and How to Make Coconut Soap. If you are more adventurous, you will want to check out How to Make Your Own Soap Recipe.
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