# New to Goat forum, but not to milk soap making!



## mullerslanefarm (Sep 12, 2009)

Hi all,
I'm introducing myself here instead of the main forum because I am a milk soap maker (since 1999). I do not soap with goat's milk now (although I did until late 2002) because my husband told me, "No self respecting cowboy would milk a goat." We have had Jersey cows until just a month ago.

I am on this forum just to give support to milk soapers. I see on many soap forums where folks will recommend adding a bit of milk after trace or other techniques. I'm here to tell you that you need to use 100% milk to your soaps and you don't need to end up with dark colored soaps because of it.

I've used only 100% milk in my soaps (either goats milk before we got our Jersey, and raw Jersey milk since then) for many, many, many years.

I also use a DWCP method where you calculate your milk amount based on your lye amount. I use a 32% lye saturation and it is very easy to get even the most difficult FO/EO to behave. When I make my 100% OO soaps, I use a 38% lye saturation.

I've had folks tell me that you can't use this much of a lye saturation with milk soaps and that you can't gel milk soaps without getting a dark soap. I'm here to tell you that you can!!!

Here is a picture of my last Lavender EO soap. It is made with 100% milk in the 32% lye saturated solution and was gelled using 2 very heavy wool blankets on top of a running clothes dryer. The bright white in it is TD










I am more than happy to answer any questions. I can't say I'll know the answeres to all of them, but I will answer what I know. I've only been doing this for 10 years and feel I still have plenty to learn!

Happy Soaping!


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Welcome Cyndi! Glad you found us and we welcome the input...although of course I do everything exactly the opposite  Vicki


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## mullerslanefarm (Sep 12, 2009)

Oh Vicki!

We do have history together, eh? Are you still a member of Tallow_Soapers?

I'll be good and only give my input from just what I've experienced myself with soaping.

No goat info, no cow opinions... especially since we are without a milking animal for the first time in 7 years..... la sigh.. Thank goodness we have friends that have both Nubians and Jerseys ... the best of both worlds!


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

Welcome, Cyndi! I've been to your website before. 

Your soap sure it pretty, and white! While I don't make 100% gm right now, I do discount. Rarely less than 33% on up to 40%, and 50% for laundry soap. Would love to hear your ideas on getting difficult FOs to behave. For me.....if they don't test as being fairly easy (I'll tolerate a very slight acceleration), they don't get added to my line. LOL


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

HI CYNDI! WELCOME TO THE FORUM!
Always nice to have another soaper to chat with

Most of my soap I use 100% GM. Lilac is a new recipe I am playing with, love the results so far, and it is 50% aloe juice/50% GM. It has produced a lovely scent, NICE hard bar, and the colorant makes it a lovely pastel lavender. My lye percentage is much lower(usually 9 to 9.25 oz per 128 oz batch), but I use different oils one being my homeprocessed safflower oil. I am one of the "mad scientist" experimenters on here and have lots of fun learning what can and cannot be used in soap :biggrin. I have heard of just OO recipes but have not played with it YET :lol. Tammy


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## [email protected] (Sep 18, 2008)

Hi Cyndi. Welcome to DGI.

I know you from MrsS. (we miss ya) and love your site for soap info. 

You said: "The white in it is TD" about your pic. What is TD?

I've just started soaping and FINALLY getting a consistent light cream color (I'm sure I'll screw up more though) <rolleyes>, but would like to do a pure white once in awhile.


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## mullerslanefarm (Sep 12, 2009)

> your ideas on getting difficult FOs to behave


I'll add the FO to some warmed oil (taken out of the soap pot before putting in the lye) and then only using a whisk instead of a SB.



> 50% aloe juice/50% GM


Yum! My favorite soap of all time is a 50% aloe juice and 50% cream.


> homeprocessed safflower oil.


 I'd like to hear more about this!

Hey Necie! TD is titanium dioxide. you can get it either water or oil soluable. it will make a bright white soap, but it has has a chalky feeling (imo)


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

Cyndi I am a penny pincher. With the price of safflower per gallon and shipping it is too expensive. Plus butters and such (coconut, shea, cocoa, and palm kernel)are also expensive plus shipping. So I concocted an infusion of safflower oil that works wonders in my bars. I have nice hard bars because of it. It was one of my "mad scientist" experiments that really worked well for me Tammy


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## Whitney (Oct 27, 2007)

Welcome to the forum! 

Pretty soap.


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

Hi and Welcome. But my question is without the TD using 100% milk are you always getting white soap? 
I do pretty well with it if adding lye very very slow to frozen milk and keeping the solution in a sink full of ice water. Usually is very very light cream to white. I have never used TD


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

I think she just used the TD in the bright white portion swirled in?

I gave up trying to get white soap. I've tried every trick mentioned. Now that I do the 50/50 lye/water mix and add my milk at emulsion it's the lightest it's been.....but still not as white as Cyndi's. I'm convinced the oils you use has a lot to do with it as well.


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## MiaBella Farm (Jul 22, 2008)

Caprine Beings said:


> Lilac is a new recipe I am playing with, love the results so far, and it is 50% aloe juice/50% GM.


So, are you mixing the frozen GM or room temp aloe with the lye?


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

I use only frozen liquid with the lye beads. I do get close to a white bar. The Aloejuice is mixed in with the milk and then frozen. It is a solid block of ice. I do like Sondra mentioned and add the lye slowly, but I don't use a sink of ice bath. By the time the lye has mixed in with the milk/aloe or just plain milk I have a wonderful mixture that is just the right temp. Now making sure the oils are not too hot or not too cold is the trick with this method. Too hot it gels as a liquid. Too cold you seize the batch. This is my process. Tammy


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## MiaBella Farm (Jul 22, 2008)

Thanks for info! Sounds like something cool to try!


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Tammy,
what sort of temps are you looking at for your oils when you add the lye mixture?


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

A little lower than room temp . You gotta remember I have a craft house with no electricity. So in the morning when its cool (about 50 degrees F outside around 5:30am) I go out and melt my oils then shut it off. By the time I'm done with my chores and mixing the lye/milk, allowing it its five minutes to sit and stir and then straining into oils. I don't use a thermometer anymore so I can't give you a precise temp :shrug. Even in the winter I make soap in DH's shop because it is maintained at 50 degrees (cement floor heating system). Once it sets I bring it in to cut and cure.
Tammy


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## mullerslanefarm (Sep 12, 2009)

Yes, the TD was used for the bright white of the soap.

I use Aloe juice that is frozen (I also blenderize fresh aloe leaves and add that to the juice before freezing.)

http://www.mullerslanefarm.com/frozen.jpg[/url]

As for temps ... I heat my solid oils on the stove until they are almost all melted, remove from heat and SB them (removing the rest of the unmelted oils). Add my room temperature liquid oils to that. I'd say probably around the range of 110*F-120*F

Once I put my soaps in the mold, I insulate it heavily to encourage thorough gelling.


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