# Hot or Cold Process for Goat Milk Soap



## Ark Nubian Girl

Hello! I am fairly new to soaping and I've only made 2 batches of CP soap with fragrance oils. I used olive oil, coconut oil, and shortening for my oils.

I have spoken with several soap makers and can't decide whether to pursue Cold process or Hot process with my goat milk. We're getting about 25 gallons a week (and only have a family of 4 to drink it!) so I probably need to make some soap soon!

What do you think--hot or cold process for goat milk soap?

Additionally, any tips about keeping the milk from scorching would be wonderful!


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## hsmomof4

It really is a personal preference as to HP or CP. To keep the milk from burning, you can either freeze it or else use a different liquid to dissolve the lye (equal amounts lye and liquid by weight) and add the milk to the oils as the balance of your liquid for the recipe.


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## swgoats

Try both and see what you like - in terms of the process, curing time, and resulting product.


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## Anita Martin

Hot process is a good process to learn. An overheated batch of cold processed soap that has separated, riced, etc. can be saved by hot processing it. The downside to hot processing is that your soap will be ugly nearly always. As you expand and learn more, you will be drawn to make more and more beautiful and colorful soaps and that simply cannot be done with hot processed soaps. Also, sometimes hot processed soaps stink, in my opinion, especially when cooking and the hot lye is burning the milk. It can't be helped. Nobody wants to be in the house, including myself, when I'm doing hot processed soap.  Hot processed soaps take a long time to make. You will only be able to make a small amount of soap at a time, compared to making batch after batch of cold processed soap as you gain experience, limited only by the number of molds you own. A hot processed batch, from start to finish, is, for me, at least an hours time, and usually more. I can't color my hot processed batches as the high heat kills most color, although some people can get it to work. Swirls are harder, layers are next to impossible, and fancy shaped molds? Forget it! 

On the upside, hot processed soaps take less time to cure and seem to be more bubbly. You can technically use less scent because you add the scent at the end of the cook time, but I usually add the same amount. I make both types of soaps, but the majority of my bars are cold processed because they are prettier and sell better. I often love the hot processed soaps for my own personal use, but that's just me. I actually like them all!


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## swgoats

I make pretty large batches hot process. I don't use a crock pot. I use a large stock pot. I happened upon my method by accident by doing cp with too much heat and insulating it. Now I do it that way on purpose. I add a little extra liquid at the end so that it is Vaseline when I pour. I found a crinkle cheese cutter at an antique shop, and made log molds out of cardboard boxes. I do think the fresh soap (unscented) has a different smell, but it goes away. I soap both ways, but I really like hp best, cause I can get it entirely done while my kids are in bed. The next morning, I slice it and put it away. It needs to dry just a little, but it's fine in a cracked cardboard box, whereas with cp, I put it out on trays and turn it daily. Here's what my plain soap looks like hp. I could have made it lighter, but I rushed it and got a creamier color. The best thing I've found to get white soap is to drag out the blender and whip a little air into it. If you don't over do, you get a white soap that floats, but doesn't warp. Too much air it warps over time.


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## Ark Nubian Girl

These are all great tips. I love CP so far, but I knew that HP had some benefits as well. I will hopefully get to try both!

If I decide to try the method for CP of mixing the lye with water first, then adding the oils and milk, can I just use my same recipe? Or do I need a special recipe to try that?


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## hsmomof4

Same recipe as always, but remember, don't add the oils to the lye, add the lye to the oils (and milk).


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## NubianSoaps.com

Hands down you-tube is the best resource for how to videos, ideas on wrapping, what molds to buy, cutters....cool actually seeing people using the stuff before you purchase it. Vicki


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