# newbie question - white dots in soap



## sherridi (Jul 11, 2011)

The first batch of soap I made (the Walmart recipe) turned out great - thank you everyone for that advice! I made goat's milk soap for my second try, and it seemed to be ok. BUT, when I cut it there were small white dots throughout. I did the zap test - nothing. I read on one of the threads that it may be just soap - how do I eliminate that? One thing I don't think I did right was that I poured the lye into my milk too slowly - the temperature never went above 100. Could that have done it?


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

If you're sure it didn't zap, then it is probably milk fats. I get that sometimes.

Did you freeze your milk? For future, freeze you milk in ice cube trays and then you can just dump the lye right on top and stir it that way. It will take a couple maybe a minute for the lye to start reacting with the cubes to melt. You'll be able to get a much lighter bar that way.


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

I get those spots when I soap in a room that is too cool and don't heat my oils enough. They are fats/oils that solidify. I try to make sure the kitchen is quite warm when I soap now and always cover and insulate my soaps, alternating molds when I stack to prevent condensation dripping back on the soaps. I've not had the problem in about a year but when I did it was very annoying. And I do freeze my soap in cubes and small covered cups.


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## eam (Aug 22, 2010)

Another thought might be bubbles. I find I get them when I don't pay enough attention to my stickblending. It's really annoying, too, because I find the bars to be unsightly. Do you have a picture you can post?


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## sherridi (Jul 11, 2011)

I am trying to post the picture - hope it goes through. Also, I noticed that there are more spots in the bars that were cut more toward the middle of the mold. I am totally confused. (the kitchen WAS somewhat cool, and I was so concerned with overheating the milk/lye mixture, I probably erred on the side of too cool)


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

Did you stick blend your lye/milk solution? I always do that now too. The good news is that these soaps are unslightly, but can be used by your family safely. They can also be ground up for use in laundry detergent (what I normally do with mine) or felted!


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## sherridi (Jul 11, 2011)

Yes, I did, maybe 4 minutes - not long enough?


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I agree that it is milk fat. Lye starts reacting with the butter fat in the milk and starts saponifying, so you have little solid soap pastilles you then are blending in your soap bucket. Being heaviest they start sinking to the bottom of your pot, which means you are pouring them last into the middle of your mold.

I normally room temp soap, other than to hasten getting them out of buckets, I don't melt anything in the microwave to soap but my cocoa butter, sometimes mango. This time of year, everything has to be melty when soaping in a cold room, or I have problems not seen in summer even with the AC on. 

With the solids in goatmilk, I do not think you have enough actual liquid in 100% goatmilk to add lye right to it, with this happening with larger pours especially. It was always worse for me the longer the girls were in lactation, the higher and higher nubian butterfat. It was one of the list of things that had me 'melting' my lye with water, then adding my milk at emulision. Vicki


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## Greylady (Mar 28, 2012)

I have had one batch so far that had the white spots. The spots on mine were larger that those in your picture. I just used that batch for family. Nothing wrong with it except for the dots.


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## sherridi (Jul 11, 2011)

Thank you so much, everyone! I think I'll try mixing the lye with water first - seems the most foolproof -something I definitely need!


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I wish I could get everyone to walk before they run  Water soaps, walmart recipe, scents someone you trust tells you they use.....texture your first batches, then learn to swirl. Then start tweaking the recipe after you get it. Stop taking temperatures and listening to all the ridiculous stuff in books and the internet, noise made by those who have no interest in making sure you succeed!


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## Greylady (Mar 28, 2012)

In loving to create things, the challenge of trying out all the new techniques are fun to do. Yeah, we do run into problems doing so at times and learning from our mistakes or discovering something new to do. As far as taking temps, I haven't done anything other than feel the buckets to test that both are about the same temp. I have some books that measurements are by cups and spoons but I go by the soap calculaters as taught on here. I also need to slow myself at times and do Baby Steps, but it is so much fun experimenting! My flops so far have turned onto laundry soap!


Vicki McGaugh Tx Nubians said:


> I wish I could get everyone to walk before they run  Water soaps, walmart recipe, scents someone you trust tells you they use.....texture your first batches, then learn to swirl. Then start tweaking the recipe after you get it. Stop taking temperatures and listening to all the ridiculous stuff in books and the internet, noise made by those who have no interest in making sure you succeed!


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