# Dissolving Lye in milk, water or oils



## Trysta

So, I have made some walmart-like recipes, but instead of in water, I dissolved the lye in frozen goat milk. That has been working for me. My soaps are a little off white and I don't mind that much, but my last batch was downright yellowish. Didn't like that.

I know dissolving Lye in water is an option, but I really like the idea of using goat milk only... Then I've read you can dissolve lye in the oils and then add the goatmilk. How would I do that? Does that mean I don't have to heat the oils, since adding the lye will create heat? Do I use cooled liquid oils to add the lye to, or could I put it in solid coconut oil or even lard so it would melt by the heat created by the lye reaction?

Thanks for your help!

Marion


----------



## NubianSoaps.com

Soaping is a very simple chemical reaction. Liquid lye (and you can liquefy lye with any liquid period) added to butters and oils saponify, chemically change completely and forever into what we call soap....... but that lye has to be liquid. Read again.... The lye has to be liquid. Granulated lye does not liquefy in oils or butters. And someone who would make a comment like that and then not answer all your questions thoroughly doesn't need to be listened to again. 

If you are happy with how you are doing it why change? I changed from the way you are doing it because of the time it takes to freeze the milk and then melt the lye back into the frozen milk. It's faster the way I do it but I also use 1/3 again as much milk as you do when you use the full amount of liquid as milk. That is important to some soapers. Vicki


----------



## MF-Alpines

Completely agree. YOU CANNOT DISSOLVE LYE IN OIL. If you could, no one would worry about lye clumps making there way into the bucket of oils. That's why some strain the lye solution before adding it to the oils.

Marion: Did you really read that somewhere or did you misinterpret what was said?


----------



## Trysta

Cindy: Yes, and possibly???? I did read that someone (here on this forum) adds the lye to the oils, BUT I may have misinterpreted, because she may have meant Lye solution and assumed there's no idiots like me on the forum?? :/ Anyway, I will stick with dissolving it first (although I would think that even if you would add the liquid later to the lye oil mixture you would still get the chemical reaction.....).

And yes, Vicki I could stick to dissolving in milk (I have lots of milk frozen, ready for soaping), but like I said, that last batch was very much on the yellow side and if that's going to happen every now and then (I did not do anything different than other times), it will affect the consistency of my soaps, especially when I start coloring (just ordered colorings, too), and I do want the soaps to be consistent (I think that's crucial if you're serious about your sales). I guess I will try the lye/water solution and see what the soap is like, but yes, it is important for me to have goat milk as a serious ingredient, since that would be my 'angle' setting me apart from other non goatmilk soapers. Plus, I have plenty of milk! (well, I have plenty of water, too of course......)

I really like the soaps I've made so far, but I don't want to stop learning and experimenting until I have a total understanding of each ingredient and can make a well researched decision which oils/colors/additives I like in which type of soap... And I don't just want to ask recipes from others and make those, I want to understand the _reason_ for the recipe. Right now I'm at the stage where I go: okay, cool soap. Hmmm, let's throw some shea butter in the next batch and see what it does? But I want to be able to explain WHY I put shea butter in my lavender soap (for example, I actually haven't yet) but a larger amount of olive oil in my oriental soap (again, example, that soap is still on my 'drawing table'). I am reading and reading and 'listening' on this forum, I'm just that kind of person: dabbling is not my style, I want to jump in and do this thing for real.


----------



## hsmomof4

> Cindy: Yes, and possibly? I did read that someone (here on this forum) adds the lye to the oils, BUT I may have misinterpreted, because she may have meant Lye solution and assumed there's no idiots like me on the forum?? Anyway, I will stick with dissolving it first (although I would think that even if you would add the liquid later to the lye oil mixture you would still get the chemical reaction.....).


Oh, absolutely you misinterpreted, no buts about it.  Oftentimes, people will talk about adding the lye to the oils, they are just using a sort of shorthand, assuming that people understand that it's the dissolved lye plus the liquid they dissolved it in that they are talking about. When we talk about adding the milk later, we just mean that we have dissolved the lye in part of our total liquid (generally, an equal weight of liquid to lye, otherwise, it doesn't dissolve completely) and then the remaining portion of the total liquid, as milk, is added later and not to the lye directly so as not to burn the milk. So, if I am making a soap that calls for 16 oz of lye, I will dissolve my lye in 16 oz of some liquid (in my case, usually aloe vera juice) and then add about 16 oz of milk to the oils. (I could, in theory, add less, but I want to have at least as much milk my other liquid)

As for the reaction, you would get SOME chemical reaction, but you would also probably have pieces of undissolved lye in your mix and that would be a very bad thing. (And you would have unsaponified oils, which isn't good, either, but at least it won't hurt you.)


----------



## Trysta

Thanks, I really like that idea, to dissolve the lye in a liquid other than water (like the aloe vera juice you are talking about) that actually adds to the quality/charm of the soap. I have been thinking of using vegetable type juices/purees in my soap and didn't think of the fact that that counts as liquid. Thanks for all your great thoughts people!


----------



## [email protected]

Make sure your liquid/lye bowl is IN the sink when trying any *new* liquid (fruit/vege/etc). I've tried different juices and I've had them volcano on me.


----------



## Trysta

I expected volcanoes over here since I have a history of violent lab-episodes in college (I'm a klutz)..... but no, I'm almost disappointed that so far the soaping has been totally without incidents. So bring on the volcano!!!! (I will be careful, though this time....have to do chores no matter what) :biggrin


----------



## hsmomof4

And I freeze my other liquids routinely, to cut down on fumes and volcano potential.


----------



## tlcnubians

If you can take the time to do it, you don't have to use frozen milk. Cold milk works just fine as well. Float your cold milk in an ice water bath, add your lye to it slowly, 2-3 tablespoons at a time, stirring thoroughly each time and letting it cool back down before adding more lye. The method may take 10-15 minutes but in the end you will have a milk/lye solution that will make an almost white soap. I did this for several years before running out of patience. I now dissolve my lye in water (it takes an equal amount of liquid to fully dissolve a corresponding amount of lye) and then add milk to it after it has cooled down. Still floating my lye/water/milk pan in ice water though. Caroline


----------



## Trysta

I think that was probably why my soap was 'yellower' last time: I'm getting braver and I added the lye to the frozen milk pretty fast and was multi tasking, so not stirring all the time. Probably a bad idea. Patience is not one of my strong points (as in waiting for something, that kind of patience. I don't get mad easy, but I sure do hate to stand around doing nothing!!!)


----------



## Anita Martin

I dump all my lye over the frozen cubes at once. There will be no reaction if the cubes are frozen and not yet starting to melt. In my 50 degree kitchen it takes a few minutes before it starts to melt, but when it does I'm standing there ready with the spatula to stir, then the stick blender. I find the method extremely reliable and never any issues with yellowing or fumes. I think adding lye slowly o the already melting milk and lye creates more of an issue with smelly orange milk and clumps of lye. It should still be white when you dump it in the oils.


----------



## Trysta

Dumpin' the lye! Now I can do that!!! :biggrin


----------



## MF-Alpines

Anita Martin said:


> IIt should still be white when you dump it in the oils.


That depends on your lye strength solution. The higher the lye content, the yellower it may become (and that's with frozen milk).

I, too, just dump the lye into my frozen milk cubes. It really takes a while to melt that milk. But I stir right from the get-go. Yes, it's tedious, but I don't want dark yellow solution.

Caroline: For me, and I really mean FOR ME, I have no patience for a cold water bath. I really don't. Nor do I have the patience to add lye a few tbsp's at a time. Especially when the outcome is quite negligable. But that's just me.



Trysta said:


> and I do want the soaps to be consistent (I think that's crucial if you're serious about your sales).


Crap, I cut out too much of that quote. Marion was talking about consistency of color.

In my experience, if your color is off, it does not make one bit of difference to the customer. I used to discount my soaps for off-color or off-scent (not enough scent). I've learned that customers really don't care if my Rosemary & Lavender is sometimes pale lavender or sometimes dark purple (I use alkanet root). Sure, I strive for consistency, but I'm not obsessed about it anymore. Customers care about the scent. They like the colors. They like the different patterns. But in the end, it's the scent (or non-scent for some).

With natural colorants, even if you add the same amount(s) with the same formula, there can be a variation. Customers understand this and like I said, quite honestly, they don't seem to care about the variation. As long as the soap itself is the same and the aroma is the same.


----------

