Hands On Basic Soapmaking

GOAT’S MILK SOAP RECIPE (1 POUND)

(copied from Diana Ford)

Ingredient	Weight	What I Use
Coconut Oil	4oz	20oz
Oalm Oil	3oz	15oz
Swt Almond Oil (or Liquid Oil like olive)	3oz	15oz
Castor Oil	1oz	5oz
Shea Butter	1oz	5oz
Lye (Sodium Hydroxide/Pure Lye)	1.75oz	8.75oz
Liquid (any liquid, usually goat milk or water	4.5oz	22.5oz

The most important factor to keep any milk recipe a lovely creamy white is to keep the entire lye solution as cold as possible. Caramelization of the milk’s sugars occur if the lye solution warms to more than 100 degrees. To ensure this mixture stays chilled, freeze milk into ice cubes ahead of time. Additionally, place your container within an ice bath while mixing the lye and milk together.

Carefully mix this lye solution with your melted oils and once it begins to thicken slightly and all oil is completely blended into the micture, gently pour the mixture into your mold. Place mild in refrigerator or freezer for a few hours to prevent heating leading to caramelization of the milk (once again).

After 2-4 days, it is time to unmold your soap. In order to help the soap remove easily from your mold, place it in the freezer until solid (usually just a few hours). Remove from freezer and allow it to rest on the counter for 5-10 minutes. This will help the soap to be rock hard while the mold becomes a bit flexible. Turn the mold upside down and gently pop the soap slab from the mold. Place the soap onto a drying surface, like a tea towel or cookie cooling rack. Once back to room temperature, cut the soap slab into whatever size bar you choose using a butcher knife. Allow the bars to cure for 3-6 weeks before use.

MY EASY TO WORK WITH SOAP RECIPE (1 POUND)

Coconut Oil	3.5 oz
Palm Oil	3.5 oz
Olive Oil	3.5 oz
Castor Oil	1 oz
Lye	1.6 oz
Liquid (this could be ANY liquid – beer, tea, milk)	4.3 oz

This recipe will be very easy to work with, as any recipe with a large amount of Olive Oil is slow to thicken while mixing, this will give you time to divide the batter and add colorants if desired. You will also have a fluid batter which will provide a good texture for completing complex artistic designs. However, this soap will remain soft in the mold for a longer amount of time. Do not attempt to unmold until AT LEAST a week or two has passed. Then place the mold into the freezer until the soap is solid (a few hours to overnight).

Unmold while frozen using the technique found in the milk recipe above. Place on a surface that will allow the soap to dry easily. Allow the soap slab to continue curing for another weeke or two before attempting to cut. When the soap texture is that of a refrigerated cold butter, it is ready to cut with a butcher knife into whatever shapes you choose. Drying for several more weeks will result ins a wonderfully hard and bubbly bar of soap.

MY NOTES

https://www.thecosmeticslab.com/soap-recipe-lye-calculator – This is a great calculator to help adjust your recipes based on different oils and inputs.

Scents and Additives – after making a plain batch, I shave my soap with a cheese grater, and melt in a slow cooker. Then I add my scents and herbs and colors, before pouring into a mold. This prevents the lye from consuming the scents and changing the color.

https://soapqueen.com has a lot of great instructional videos, recipes, and fun ideas

The Recipes I Usually Use

Castor Oil	2 oz	6%
Coconut Oil (76* F)	10 oz	31%
Sunflower Oil	20oz	63%
Liquid	12.2oz
Lye	4.6oz

Shea Butter	6 oz	19%
Coconut Oil (76* F)	8 oz	25%
Sunflower Oil	18 oz	56%
Liquid	12.2oz
Lye	4.6oz

When I am All the mixing I do before curing, I do in a bowl that is in a larger container filled with ice, in addition to freezing my liquid. This helps keep everything super cold.