Aussie Soapers

Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.

A meeting place for soap making addicts in Australia and New Zealand.


5 posters

    Separation when making goats milk soap

    heavenlybotanicals
    heavenlybotanicals


    Posts : 15
    Join date : 2010-09-10
    Location : Melbourne

    Separation when making goats milk soap Empty Separation when making goats milk soap

    Post by heavenlybotanicals Wed Oct 06, 2010 4:24 pm

    Ok, so tonight I make some chocolate goats milk soap. I followed the recipe, ensured my weights were all exact & yet the mixture separated. This is the third goats milk recipe that has failed me. I'm adding fresh gm after mixing the oils with the lye water. Not only does it take forever to trace, it starts to separate, leaving an oily slick in the bottom of the bowl. I haven't bothered to mould this one, I will rebatch tomorrow night.

    The recipe is:

    350g coconut
    227g palm
    100g rice bran
    100g olive
    100g castor
    40g cocoa butter
    26g lindt choc
    142g caustic
    127g GM
    283g water

    I don't freeze my gm, I warm it slightly, as the recipe tells me to. I have a feeling the oil was too warm for the lye, although was in range based on the directions.

    What am I doing wrong? This goats milk business doesn't seem to be working for me.

    Missnatty
    Missnatty


    Posts : 114
    Join date : 2010-09-12
    Location : Queensland

    Separation when making goats milk soap Empty Re: Separation when making goats milk soap

    Post by Missnatty Wed Oct 06, 2010 11:42 pm

    .



    Last edited by Missnatty on Tue May 29, 2012 4:35 am; edited 1 time in total
    Missnatty
    Missnatty


    Posts : 114
    Join date : 2010-09-12
    Location : Queensland

    Separation when making goats milk soap Empty Re: Separation when making goats milk soap

    Post by Missnatty Thu Oct 07, 2010 12:00 am

    .



    Last edited by Missnatty on Tue May 29, 2012 4:35 am; edited 1 time in total
    Ally
    Ally
    Admin


    Posts : 172
    Join date : 2010-09-08
    Location : North East Melbourne

    Separation when making goats milk soap Empty Re: Separation when making goats milk soap

    Post by Ally Thu Oct 07, 2010 12:23 am

    Sad I don't have any answers either, but what a POO! I've given up on milk soaps for the moment, planning on coming back to them at a later stage.
    heavenlybotanicals
    heavenlybotanicals


    Posts : 15
    Join date : 2010-09-10
    Location : Melbourne

    Separation when making goats milk soap Empty Re: Separation when making goats milk soap

    Post by heavenlybotanicals Thu Oct 07, 2010 1:14 am

    Thanks guys. I think my oils may have been too hot for the lye. Having said that, I've never had this problem with other batches that don't contain milk but I've only recently started using milk. I did rescue another batch earlier in the week by rebatching, but the separation was more gell like when I unmoulded & incorporated back into the mix very well. That batch I saved is lovely, already lathers into creamy bubbles.

    I didn't run through soapcalc, I got the recipe from a Melinda Coss book. I think from now on I will work with % & run everything through a soap calc. I recently joined another soap forum, they are suggesting cutting down on the quantity of liquid used in the above recipe & lye for superfatting purposes.

    How do I work in %? Is it a matter of adding up the total quantity of oil & working out the % of each?

    So friggen complicated....
    Missnatty
    Missnatty


    Posts : 114
    Join date : 2010-09-12
    Location : Queensland

    Separation when making goats milk soap Empty Re: Separation when making goats milk soap

    Post by Missnatty Thu Oct 07, 2010 7:05 am

    .


    Last edited by Missnatty on Tue May 29, 2012 4:35 am; edited 1 time in total
    Glasshouse
    Glasshouse


    Posts : 29
    Join date : 2010-09-10
    Location : Elimbah (Caboolture) Qld

    Separation when making goats milk soap Empty Re: Separation when making goats milk soap

    Post by Glasshouse Fri Oct 08, 2010 10:21 am

    Not sure if this will help but I have had trouble with fresh goat's milk so I just use goat's milk powder. A lot of soapers have an issue with using powder but as far as I can tell it is exactly the same but without the difficulty of fresh. Milk powder just has the water content taken out but all of the goodies are still left in the powder.

    I use about 15g of goat's milk powder just after I pour the lye into the oils and then stab mix. I have never had a failed batch and it turns out beautifully! And you don't have to worry about wasting fresh milk. If you buy powder you just use what you need when you need it and don't have to worry about it going off.

    A lot of people will probably disagree with me but I thought I would just let you know of another option Very Happy
    Glasshouse
    Glasshouse


    Posts : 29
    Join date : 2010-09-10
    Location : Elimbah (Caboolture) Qld

    Separation when making goats milk soap Empty Re: Separation when making goats milk soap

    Post by Glasshouse Fri Oct 08, 2010 10:22 am

    I just reread my post... I add 15g of goat's milk powder per kilo of base oils
    Ally
    Ally
    Admin


    Posts : 172
    Join date : 2010-09-08
    Location : North East Melbourne

    Separation when making goats milk soap Empty Re: Separation when making goats milk soap

    Post by Ally Fri Oct 08, 2010 11:00 am

    I think I'm going to try powdered next time I make a milk soap.
    heavenlybotanicals
    heavenlybotanicals


    Posts : 15
    Join date : 2010-09-10
    Location : Melbourne

    Separation when making goats milk soap Empty Re: Separation when making goats milk soap

    Post by heavenlybotanicals Fri Oct 08, 2010 12:55 pm

    Glasshouse wrote:Not sure if this will help but I have had trouble with fresh goat's milk so I just use goat's milk powder. A lot of soapers have an issue with using powder but as far as I can tell it is exactly the same but without the difficulty of fresh. Milk powder just has the water content taken out but all of the goodies are still left in the powder.

    I use about 15g of goat's milk powder just after I pour the lye into the oils and then stab mix. I have never had a failed batch and it turns out beautifully! And you don't have to worry about wasting fresh milk. If you buy powder you just use what you need when you need it and don't have to worry about it going off.

    A lot of people will probably disagree with me but I thought I would just let you know of another option Very Happy

    Thanks, might try this method.
    Missnatty
    Missnatty


    Posts : 114
    Join date : 2010-09-12
    Location : Queensland

    Separation when making goats milk soap Empty Re: Separation when making goats milk soap

    Post by Missnatty Fri Oct 08, 2010 1:03 pm

    .


    Last edited by Missnatty on Tue May 29, 2012 4:36 am; edited 1 time in total
    Bubbles Galore
    Bubbles Galore


    Posts : 52
    Join date : 2010-10-08
    Location : Melbourne

    Separation when making goats milk soap Empty Re: Separation when making goats milk soap

    Post by Bubbles Galore Fri Oct 08, 2010 1:56 pm

    Hi there, definitely use Soap Calc because I put your figures into my Soapmaker program and you have too much lye in your recipe. 131g of lye would give you a 6% lye discount. Recipes high in coconut can start to heat up quickly and can gel in the pot. Try to soap at around 40C and see if that helps and perhaps lower your coconut and up your olive oil. I've never soaped with real chocolate so I don't really know what affect it can have but sugar heats things up too and chocolate has lots of sugar in it. Perhaps if you try and make a batch without the chocolate, you will have better luck too.
    Missnatty
    Missnatty


    Posts : 114
    Join date : 2010-09-12
    Location : Queensland

    Separation when making goats milk soap Empty Re: Separation when making goats milk soap

    Post by Missnatty Sat Oct 09, 2010 12:09 am

    .


    Last edited by Missnatty on Tue May 29, 2012 4:36 am; edited 1 time in total
    heavenlybotanicals
    heavenlybotanicals


    Posts : 15
    Join date : 2010-09-10
    Location : Melbourne

    Separation when making goats milk soap Empty Re: Separation when making goats milk soap

    Post by heavenlybotanicals Sat Nov 06, 2010 3:03 pm

    Forgot to come back with an update...... Well my bars don't smell like choc, the lye killed it. No longer using any book recipes, everything is going through soapcalc from now on.

    Bubbles - you're right about too much lye, I used it for the first time today & eventhough it is not fully cured, it is too drying. No longer using so much CO.....

    Sponsored content


    Separation when making goats milk soap Empty Re: Separation when making goats milk soap

    Post by Sponsored content


      Current date/time is Thu Mar 28, 2024 2:35 pm