Suds Up

Feeling inspired by my newly created Soap Cave, I made my first solo loaf of goat milk soap today.  I coloured the soap a creamy white and then dropped in chunks of my first ever batch of uncoloured soap (a buttery yellow) which will hopefully result in a white soap with yellow geometric shapes in it when I cut it into bars.  I also made a beautiful swirly pattern on top using the two colours.  It is so fancy - it looks like dessert!

I am very excited to cut it and see how the slices turn out.

Creamy Goat Milk Soap Recipe

Liquid & Lye Portion:
9 oz (255 g) milk
1 oz (28 g) water
4.05 oz (115 g) lye

Oils & Butters:
14 oz (397 g) olive oil
7 oz (198 g) coconut oil
4 oz (113 g) sunflower oil
2 oz (57 g) shea butter
2 oz (57 g) sweet almond oil

Step 1: Freeze the goat milk and then weigh it out.

Step 2: Place the frozen milk in a plastic pitcher and add the water.  Set the pitcher in a bowl of ice cubes to keep everything as cold as possible.

Step 3: Wearing safety goggles, gloves and long sleeves, weigh out the lye and pour it into the pitcher of frozen milk and water. Pour a little bit at a time, stirring well after each addition until the lye is fully dissolved into the milk. At this point, the milk will probably smell a bit like ammonia. Set aside the lye solution for around 10 minutes, while you prepare the oils. The temperature will probably drop to around 90 to 100°F as it sits.

Step 4: Weigh the coconut oil and shea butter into a plastic pitcher. In the microwave, melt the oils keeping a close eye on it. Weigh the other oils the container and then stir to combine. The melted oils should bring the temperature to around 90 to 100°F.

Step 5: Get ready to mix! Working carefully and still with gloves, goggles and long sleeves on, pour the lye solution into the oils. Stir by hand for around 30 seconds then begin mixing with an immersion  blender.

Step 6: Blend for around 30 to 40 seconds, then hand stir with the motor off for 30 to 40 seconds. Alternate until trace is reached. “Trace” means that your soap batter has gotten thick enough so that when you drizzle some of it across the surface of itself, it leaves an imprint or “tracing” before sinking back in.

Step 7: Once trace is reached, stir in any other additives (e.g. colour, oatmeal, essential oils, honey, etc.). 

Step 8: Pour the soap batter in a mold.  Once the soap has firmed up in the mold (24 to 48 hours, or longer), remove it from the mold, slice into bars and allow to cure for 6 weeks before using.

Citation:

https://thenerdyfarmwife.com/milk-and-honey-soap-recipe-cold-or-hot-process/