I Made Soap!

LearningLife · #1 06/04/12, 10:26 PM

I'm so excited! I've wanted to make soap from our milk for a long time, but I finally got around to it this weekend. I made two batches - Oatmeal Honey and Grapefruit. I haven't sliced the grapefruit yet, but here are some pics of the Oatmeal Honey. It still needs to dry, but so far, I'm pleased.

Tallabred · #2 06/04/12, 10:34 PM

Looks great! You will never stop now!

LearningLife · #3 06/04/12, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tallabred

Looks great! You will never stop now!

I'm sure you're right. I've spent the whole day wondering what to do next, how to fix a few difficulties I had, searching for a new stick blender (my old one died in the middle of mixing this batch), and wishing I could get away from work so I could get back at it.

Ford Zoo · #4 06/04/12, 10:54 PM

Beautiful job!!

Zilli · #5 06/04/12, 11:32 PM

Beautiful!

I'm such a wuss about some of this stuff and working with lye makes me very nervous.......so, no soap for me - yet.

Again, beautiful job!

Bambitski · #6 06/04/12, 11:35 PM

Beautiful! I hope to do that soon. I am really interested in the grapefruit.

Ranger · #7 06/05/12, 04:50 AM

Hooray! I've been wanting to try soap making, too.

Jyllie63 · #8 06/05/12, 06:45 AM

This is one of my favorite hobbies

. Your soap looks great!

Backfourty,MI. · #9 06/05/12, 06:48 AM

Looks like you did a great job! I've been wanting to try to make soap too since now milking some of my goats.
Where did you find the recipe? I would Love if you or Jill could share how you make it with me.

Jyllie63 · #10 06/05/12, 07:15 AM

Katie, I use the recipe posted by Lamancha Paul in this thread Soap Supplies.

Larca · #11 06/05/12, 07:41 AM

That looks great, especially for your first try, I'd definitely buy it if I seen it at the market. Soap making(goat's milk) was always the one hobby I wanted to get into. I just don't know where to start. but yeah, great job

andabigmac · #12 06/05/12, 08:57 AM

It looks so pretty. I love the chunky oatmeal in the soap but dh makes me powder it now because the oatmeal would get stuck in his chest hair and he'd have to pick it out. I like how it exfoliates though. Good job.

Backfourty,MI. · #13 06/05/12, 09:30 AM

I don't want to hijack your thread Learninglife & I don't want to sound like a dummy but what is a stick Blender? and does everyone use a lye calculator?
Also can I freeze my goats milk I have now until I get all my soap supplies or will the freezing screw up my soap?

dosthouhavemilk · #14 06/05/12, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jyllie63

Katie, I use the recipe posted by Lamancha Paul in this thread Soap Supplies.

The Wal*Mart recipe is Vicki McGaugh's contribution to the world of soap making.
You can find her support, along with the support of many other soapers, in the Soap Section of DairyGoatInfo - Index

Soaping is certainly fun. I am down to less than 100 bars in my stock and realizing I simply cannot quite like I had once thought I might.
So, I sunk over $80 in soaping supplies (base ingredients, already have the FOs on hand) and need to get soaping again. That will get me 4 batches of 42 bars of soap and the start on two more as well.
I have orders for two Baby Showers, so need to get a good plan in place.
My LA customer tracked me down again and is back to ordering 20+ bars at a time.

Just wait until you get into color and embedding and other artistic forms soaping involves.
I Made Soap! - Goats

2008 DGI soap Swap

LearningLife · #15 06/05/12, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Backfourty,MI.

I don't want to hijack your thread Learninglife & I don't want to sound like a dummy but what is a stick Blender? and does everyone use a lye calculator?
Also can I freeze my goats milk I have now until I get all my soap supplies or will the freezing screw up my soap?

A stick blender is also called an immersion blender, and it looks like the one here: Cool Kitchen Gadgets immersion-blender

I did not use a lye calculator this time as it was my first go at it, and I was following the recipe closely.

Yes, you can freeze the milk. As a matter of fact, it is recommended that you freeze it to keep it from scalding and turning a nasty color when you add the lye. The lye and milk react and create a good amount of heat, so freezing your milk first protects it from being burned in the process.

LearningLife · #16 06/05/12, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Backfourty,MI.

Looks like you did a great job! I've been wanting to try to make soap too since now milking some of my goats.
Where did you find the recipe? I would Love if you or Jill could share how you make it with me.

I used the recipe from Handmade Soap Recipes: How to Make Goat’s Milk Soap | Herbal Soap. I looked at so many recipes and methods before starting that I finally just said, "OK, pick one already!" I ended up choosing this one because it included the oils that I had already purchased, and it looked fairly easy to follow. The only thing I did differently was add the oats and honey just before pouring. I put in about a cup and a half of coarsely ground oats and about 2 tablespoons of honey and just mixed it in. I did this to half of the batch I made. To the other half, I added 1 oz. of grapefruit essential oil. I have read since I made this that the grapefruit oils can cause some problems, but I don't know yet with mine. I'll let you know after I cut it.

Jyllie63 · #17 06/05/12, 02:25 PM

You would know by now if the grapefruit EO messed it up. I'm sure it's fine

. Some EO/FO can accelerate the trace and make it almost impossible to pour into the molds. Ask me how I know LOL. I just use those for my family since they aren't pretty enough to sell.

Katie, that recipe I posted by LaMancha can be tweeked a bit. I use a combo of olive and sunflower oil. I rarely use a lye calculator because that recipe is so good! I do measure everything though.

Backfourty,MI. · #18 06/05/12, 06:14 PM

Thanks Learninglife & Jill. I bookmarked both recipe's. Now I just have to get the things I need that I don't have. You'd think I'd have 1 of those blenders but nope so I'll have to pick 1 up.

dosthouhavemilk · #19 06/05/12, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jyllie63

You would know by now if the grapefruit EO messed it up. I'm sure it's fine

. Some EO/FO can accelerate the trace and make it almost impossible to pour into the molds. Ask me how I know LOL. I just use those for my family since they aren't pretty enough to sell.

Katie, that recipe I posted by LaMancha can be tweeked a bit. I use a combo of olive and sunflower oil. I rarely use a lye calculator because that recipe is so good! I do measure everything though.

Jill did you use a Lye calculator when you started using the olive oil? Oils can have differing lye needs, so it is best to run every recipe through a lye calculator.
Safflower and Sunflower Oil end up being interchangeable in that recipe, but I have never checked Olive oil.
Just wondering.

Jyllie63 · #20 06/05/12, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dosthouhavemilk

Jill did you use a Lye calculator when you started using the olive oil? Oils can have differing lye needs, so it is best to run every recipe through a lye calculator.
Safflower and Sunflower Oil end up being interchangeable in that recipe, but I have never checked Olive oil.
Just wondering.

Yes...my partner in crime runs everything through the lye calculator. We've made it so many times now that we don't bother because we use the same recipe each time.