Soap Makers Help!

[MullersLaneFarm]

My favorite molds are from Kelsei's Creations (the original divider mold). I bought my first one (30-bar) new almost 10 years ago and have been able to get two 45-bar molds from garage sales. For log molds, I love my 4-cavity vertical log mold from For Craft's Sake.

 

[Flyboy718]

I am interested in soaping and does anyone have an easy first recipe for crock pot soap with vegetable oil?

 

[equine chick]

I've never did the hot process method, but you could find some things to get you started on www.teachsoap.com
I have a craft fair in late october and will be starting on the soaps this week which started me thinking on some new scents. I am thinking of a cranberry scent I have seen recently, I usually don't do bakery scents but saw a pumpkin souffle and hazlenut marshmallow wanting to try. I feel at the very least my house will smell fantastic.

 

[equine chick]

For those that do the gm soap. Do you use all the milk for your water or a 50/50 where ice cold gm is put in at trace? I have done it in the past at full strength but want to get a soap as white as possible and mine has had a orangey cast. Any hints?

 

[MullersLaneFarm]

By vegetable oil, do you mean using only liquid soybean oil??? (check the ingredients on you 'vegetable oil' bottle. most likely it will say 'soybean oil'). If that is the case, I wouldn't recommend a recipe for it.

Now it you wanted to add Olive Oil and Crisco with the vegetable oil .... Here you go.

12.8 oz Olive Oil
12.8 oz Crisco
6.4 oz Soybean Oil

11.2 oz water
4.1 oz lye.


Be sure to WEIGH all your ingredients!

Wear protective eye gear when using lye and after the lye is in the water and in the oils.

Be sure to allow the soap to age for 4-6 weeks, turning soap every day, to allow for evaporation of excess moisture.

 

[savingdogs]

Quote:
I have an abundance of goat milk so I was going to try 100 percent for the liquid next time. I have just substituted gm for 1/2 the water in prior batches, and it came out a sort of oatmeal color.

 

[MullersLaneFarm]

100% all the way!

For coloring of your final soap, you'll also want to look at the oils you use. palm oil, some olive oil, corn oil and others will lend a yellow cast. To keep a nice off white soap using 100% milk, make sure your oils are ready and melted BEFORE working with your lye solution. You do NOT way your milk & lye to turn orange or even yellow. If it does, you're taking too long combining the lye with the frozen milk and are burning the sugars in the milk.

 

[equine chick]

Quote:
Thanks cindy. I probally am taking too long, do you make a slush such as shaved ice to mix the lye in or just really cold milk? I usually use small chunks of the milk but maybe just really cold milk would be better.

 

[MSDeb]

Yesterday I tried out a lotion bar I received in a soap swap. I love it, my hubby loves it, I'd like to make some. Digging through my soaping things I found a recipe but, it didn't have any directions. Can someone share a basic recipe with instructions? It would be greatly appreciated.

 

[MullersLaneFarm]

I use the milk frozen and chopped into about 1" chunks. I don't 'slowly pour' the lye onto the frozen milk, but dump about 1/3 of the lye onto it. Stir well to get the milk cubes 'just' melting, then dump on half the remaining lye. Stir, stir, stir. Then add the rest of the lye and stir some more. There is still frozen milk in the solution after I have added all my lye. I take my trusty stick blender (being sure to keep it well submerged!) and dissolve the milk cubes also making sure the lye is well incorporated. Then it is IMMEDIATELY poured into the waiting oils.

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