Why Handmade Soap?
As we try and live a more natural, self sustaining life out here in our little carved out piece of the woods, we’ve gotten back into making our own soap. Years ago Hubs and I learned and practiced this science meets art craft and loved it. We made batches and batches, from a exfoliating coffee-mint soap (don’t get it in your eyes) to a mild scented patchouli soap and many things in between. But, it wasn’t about the scents that had me hooked on handmade soap, it was the creamy lather, the dewey texture and knowing that we were using all natural ingredients on our skin. (Have you read the ingredients on a package of commercial soap?)
Anywho, back in June when we celebrated Hubs 50th, I decided to make soap as party favors. It was more of a, “welcome to the country, it’s a bit dirty, our dogs will slobber (and probably jump) on you, so you’re going to need this when you get home” gift…but it seemed to go over well. This got me back into the soap making business and since then we’ve made a couple of different batches including my Merlot Soap (recipe to come?).
Why goat milk soap?
I’ve always wanted to try Goat Milk soap because of all the great benefits I’ve read. It’s great for sensitive skin, dry skin and certain skin conditions including eczema and psoriasis! Head over to THIS POST by my friends (they don’t know it but we’re friends) at www.goatsmilkstuff.com. to learn more about how wonderful this stuff is!
But, if you know anything about soap making, dealing with milk can be tricky because the excess heat can cause your milk to burn and you’ll end up with a ugly, foul smelling soap. And if you’re not familiar with making soap, well, now you know. Goat milk soap is usually made using the cold process method but since I’m a pretty impatient person, my preference is to use the hot process method so I can use the soap immediately. To find out more about the different methods, head over to This Post on modernsoapmaking.com to learn more about the different methods and what is right for you!
So began the quest for a hot process recipe and low and behold, thank you internet, I happened upon a lovely website (yes, I use the word lovely now) www.chickensintheroad.com and was able to get some great tips and tricks. Here is a step by step tutorial on how this all went down:
Assemble all ingredients and equipment needed
The equipment I use for my hot process soap is a crockpot, a glass bowl, a plastic cup to weigh the lye, a kitchen scale, a wooden spoon, a wooden soap loaf mold (hand made by hubs – but you can buy one LIKE THIS), parchment paper, gloves and safety goggles.*
The ingredients I used were oils and shea butter, lye, goat milk and essential oils. My recipe is below.
Measure and double check your recipe
In order to be sure you have the right ratios down, run your recipe through a lye calculator like THIS ONE and double checked all the ingredients. It’s super important for you to run your recipe through a lye calculator because…well…lye! I love this site, Brambleberry.com and use it as a go to resource whenever I make my soap.
Also, it is recommended that all measurements be done in weight vs. in a measuring cup. You get a much more accurate reading and have a much less chance of a soap fail.
Freeze the goat milk and melt oils
The next step after getting my ingredients together was to freeze the goat milk. When lye hits liquid, there is a chemical reaction that causes the liquid to heat up rapidly. Milk, because of it’s sugar content, can burn easily. Burned goat milk = bad soap…so, I measured the goat milk in these silicon molds and put it in the freezer for about an hour or so.
I then put the measured oils into the crockpot and melted them while the milk was freezing. Once melted I turned the crock off so when I finally get to add the milk/lye mixture, the oils wont burn the milk.
Slowly add the lye to the goat milk
As you can see in the photo below, the goat milk was not 100% frozen, but for me it was good enough (I’ve already said I was impatient!). The key now is to add the lye slowly and a little at a time. This took me about 45 minutes to add the lye. I would sprinkle some in, stir and let cool.
*PLEASE USE ALL SAFETY PRECAUTIONS WHEN HANDLING LYE! Lye can burn when it touches your skin and it gets very hot when added to a liquid. It also puts off some pretty intense fumes. Here are some tips I’ve learned along the way. Use protective eyewear, gloves, long sleeves, long pants and closed toed shoes to avoid burns if there are any splatter. Use in a well ventilated area and keep vinegar near by in case of accidental contact.
As noted a couple of times now, I am impatient and wanted to pour in the rest of the lye so I created an ice bath to keep the mixture cool at the end. Here you can see a beautiful lemony liquid ready to be added to the oils! Once the rest of the lye was added, I let it sit for another 10 minutes in the ice bath.
Carefully pour the goat milk/lye mixture into the oils and bring to trace
Once I was sure the lye was fully dissolved and done generating heat, I slowly added the mixture to the oils, stirred with my wooden spoon and then used an immersion blender to bring the soap to trace. Trace is the point where the soap begins to look like pudding. (But it’s not, so don’t eat it).
Heat mixture slowly in crockpot
Different from the regular hot process method, I turned off the crock to let the oils cool after they were fully melted…now it’s time to heat it all back up. I put the crock on low, put the lid on and watched carefully. If the oils were still very hot this step would take about 45 minutes. It took just a bit longer for this process. You need to WATCH THE SOAP VERY CLOSELY in the beginning because your soon-to-be-soap can creep up the sides very quickly and cause an awful mess…believe me, been there! It’s a pain in the you-know-what to clean up. If you do see the soap rising, open the lid and stir it down with your spoon. Keep your eye on it, especially in the beginning. Here are a couple of photos showing the stages:
The soap will start to take on an opaque look and get gel-like, almost like vaseline, once this happens you know it’s just about done. Stir the soap and if you want to be sure it’s done, give it the zap test. This is where you take a little of your soap and touch your tongue to it. If it zaps your tongue, it needs more time. If your soap doesn’t zap and it tastes like soap, it’s done!
Once it passes the “Zap Test”
At this point your soap is ready for the mold. If you want to add essential oils then this is the time to do it. I suggest going back to the lye calculator and running your recipe through the fragrance calculator. Depending on how fragrant you want your soap to be, it will tell you how much to add. I poured my soap into a stainless steel bowl to bring down the temperature for a bit, and then added the essential oils. Oils are tricky as well, so please do your homework. Some oils lose their smell as soon as they reach a certain temperature, some are more heat resistant and some act as scent holders. Just experiment, that’s the fun part!
Here is our soap poured in the mold that Harry made. Again, there are many molds available on line, like this one!
Cut the bars
Once soap is cool (I think I waited a couple of hours) then you can slice your bars. I used a crinkle cutter, like this one, for a fun rippled effect.
Enjoy!
Here is my not so perfect Goat Milk Soap. The beauty of handmade soap is that every bar is an original. With the hot process method your soap will be ready immediately for use. Some makers advocate for waiting a week or two, or even more, so the moisture from your soap evaporates leaving a harder, longer lasting soap. It’s your choice. I waited a week and loved the finished product.
Here is the recipe:
5.02 oz – Lye (Sodium Hydroxide)
11.55 oz – Goat Milk
1 oz – Avocado Oil
11 oz – Coconut Oil
11 oz – Olive Oil
11 oz – Palm Oil
1 oz – Shea Butter (Refined)1.00 oz
Follow the directions above and have fun! Have a question, comment or tip? Please leave us a comment!
*This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on one and make a purchase we may receive some pennies! See our disclosure page for more information.
