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Teach Soap • View topic - Lye to liquid ratio and using milk

Teach Soap

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 8:05 am 

Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2011 3:11 pm
Posts: 29
Hello,

I am a new soaper and have 20 recipes under my belt including success with goat milk, oatmeal, honey and other somewhat problematic additives. So naturally it is time for me to really start experimenting :D

I was wondering if anyone could explain where the lye to liquid ratio comes from. I know the amount of lye is dependent upon the amount of oils but where does the liquid measurement from? I always use a lye calculator and the range for the amount of liquid is provided. I have read that the lower amount of liquid will lead to faster trace and curing. But what if I were to use an even lower amount than what is suggested?

Is the liquid just for the purpose of dissolving the lye and slowing trace?

Once the lye is dissolved and cooled somewhat, can chilled milk be added? Once lye is dissolved the threat of the volcano effect should be eliminated correct? If not, what about adding the milk after lye was added to oils? I gave it a try anyway...

I was not sure..... so I tried something new with milk. This is my first coconut milk bar, I was going to freeze the milk but it was taking too long so I decided to dissolve 7.41 oz of lye in 5 oz of water (calc said use 12-19 oz fluid). Since it was small amout of liquid it cooled much quicker, I was going to then add my chilled 14 oz of milk but was not sure if there would be a strange reaction. I wanted the liquid to cool enough to reduce scorching my milk. Instead of adding milk to lye mix, I added the lye mix to oil both were at 100 degrees, gave it a few hand wisks, warmed milk to 80 and added to the mix, gave a few more hand wisks, added EO gave it a real quick whiz as it was tracing fast.

So essentially, I added the required measurment of liquid but just at different intervals. I have read other recipes in where this was done but the water ratio was higher than the milk ratio added to oils.

I did all this to prevent the milk from scorching, in addition I used silicone molds and did not wrap...I even refrigerated one mold to see if there was a difference but all my molds went through the gel phase..the one ine the refrigerator went through partial gel...what other methods ae there to prevent milk soap from gelling? Or does it not matter? My goat milk sopas always gelled and I never noticed a bad odor from scorching...

Anyhoo, just curious about the liquid measurement...

Thanks for any advice :D


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PostPosted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 9:33 am 
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Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2008 11:14 pm
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Location: Mistress Of Lather
You need the minimum amount recommended to dissolve the lye. Otherwise you will end up with soap that has undissolved lye crystals throughout your soap. Lower amount of liquid will lead to faster trace. That's why you can do a substantial liquid discount for pure castile soap, since that one normally take a long time to trace.

What I do for milk soaps is I dissolve the minimum water required to dissolve the lye, then add the milk as soon as the lye water and oils have emulsified. That way there is less of a chance for the milk's sugars to caramelize. Since milk soaps have natural sugars, it's harder to stop them for gelling. I put my milk soaps in the freezer; up to overnight. Lots of people let their milk soaps gel. It's a matter of preference. I like my soaps lighter in color, so I don't gel (or try not to).

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.


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PostPosted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 2:23 pm 

Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2011 3:11 pm
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Oh boy, undissolved lye..does not sound good and would probably be hard to test for ie: the zap test would not work unless I happen to hit a pocket...

My lye look looked disolved but I don't think I want to risk it...are there ways to identify if my crystals did not fully dissolve?

I have never rebatched but is this even an option for this?

Thanks for your advise!


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PostPosted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 3:35 pm 
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After your water and lye are mixed for a couple of minutes, the water should turn clear with no white specs on the bottom. You can rebatch. Since the soap is new, you should not need any more water. Chunk it up. Put it either into a crock pot or in a oven safe container and put the container in the oven to cook. Depending on the size of the batch this could take an hour or a bit more at about 170 degrees (US). Stir once in a while. When the consistency is about mashed potatoes or applesauce, take it out and glop into your mold. Rebatched soap can be cut as soon as the soap cools off.

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PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 6:13 am 

Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2011 3:11 pm
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Just so I understand, if there are undissolved lye crystals in the soap, rebatching by heating in a crockpot without adding any liquids...the heat from the crockpot will make the crystals dissolve? More so than the soap going through the gelling phase? Now my brain is tryng to wrap around the purpose of the gel stage haha...I tend to overthink things!


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PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 9:27 am 
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Freshly made soap still has a lot of liquid, so the lye should incorporate, unless your calculations and measurements were off. You could add a small amount of an oil or butter after it's done cooking to make it more superfatted.

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