About Terry Knorr Expertise I can answer most questions concerning the making of handmade soaps. Those which I cannot answer, I am willing to research for you.
Experience Began making and selling handmade soaps under the name of Earth Soaps in 1994. Have since expanded under the name Good Earth Herbs to 24 different soaps. We do both retail and wholesale business. I also teach two different classes on soapmaking: a basic class and an advanced class.
Question --THANK YOU FOR YOUR ANSWER. I WAS WONDERING FOR THE RECIPE USING COCO BUTTER DO YOU USE LESS WATER AND GOAT'S MILK .ANOTHER PROBLEM I HAVE WITH MY SOAP IS NO MATTER HOW MUCH SCENT I USE I STILL HAVE A SLIGHT LYE SMELL IS THAT NORMAL?--THANK YOU AGAIN---------------------
Followup To
Question -
I MAKE GOAT'S MILK SOAP BY THE COLD PROCESS. I LOVE THE SOAP BUT IT'S TO SOFT AND MELTS AWAY TO FAST. I USE 2 OZ.WATER, 1.5 OZ LYE 4.2 OZ. COCONUT OIL, 2 OZ. PALM OIL, 4.2 OZ. OLIVE OIL, 2OZ.GOAT'S MILK. PLEASE HELP. I'M TRYING TO START SELLING IS THERE A FILLER TO SAFE MONEY MAKING SOAP.
Answer -
Hi Carol!
Handmade soaps will never be as hard and long-lasting as factory-made soaps. In the factories, soaps are milled (pressed into bars under great amounts of force). Makers of handmade soap simply cannot reproduce this.
With that said, there is still hope. Two of your three oils tend to produce hard bars of soap; olive oil does not.
But, I would recommend that you keep the olive oil in your soap.
The goat's milk will tend to make the soap softer, but there are other ingredients which can be used to make the soap harder. If you don't mind using animal products, you can add lard or tallow to your list of ingredients (these would also reduce the cost of your soap).
I would also recommend reducing the amount of coconut oil. Generally speaking, if you use more that 20% coconut oil, the soap becomes very drying. I would recommend replacing half of the coconut oil with either one of the animal products or with cocoa butter.
If you choose the cocoa butter, adjust the formula accordingly: 3.9 oz water, 1.5 oz lye (sodium hydroxide), 2.1 oz coconut oil, 2.1 oz cocoa butter, 2 oz palm oil, 4.2 oz olive oil.
If you choose either of the animal products I mentioned, the above formula will work by simply replacing the cocoa butter with the animal product.
Another way to decrease the cost of the soap is to make more of it at any given time. Instead of making 5 bars at a time, make 50. It takes no more time to make 50 bars than it does to make 5. I make my own wooden molds and cutters and can make anywhere from 19 to 96 bars at a time (depending on the size mold I use). But, to make larger batches of soap, you cannot simply multiply your formula by whatever number. It must be reformulated.
I hope this helps you. If you have any more questions, feel free to contact me again. I wish you much luck!
Happy soaping!
Terry
Answer Hi Carol!
Yes, you are correct about adding the milk. Simply reduce the amount of water by the amount of milk used. So, in the formula I gave, if you want half water and half milk, simply divide the total amount of liquid by 2. You would use 1.95 oz of water and 1.95 oz of milk.
Concerning the lye scent that you are getting, I'm not sure what to suggest. The lye which I use gives a scent which is almost undetectable. The formula which you gave me has excess fat in it, and the milk adds even more. This is not necessarily bad, but it makes me wonder if the odor is not the scent of the excess fat. But, that should be easily covered with most any scent.
Three other possibilities come to mind:
1. The temperature at which you are working is too high and the milk is being scortched.
2. The lye that you are using is not as pure as it should be.
3. You are not using enough scent.
I have not been able to find at what temperature milk will begin to scortch. Perhaps someone at allexperts dealing with cooking can supply you with that information.
I purchase my lye (sodium hydroxide) from a lab supply. There are various qualities or standards of purity which can be purchased. I choose "lab grade". It is not 100% pure, but is quite close and much less expensive than the higher purity. It is also much less expensive than buying lye at the grocery or hardware store (though the price varies, I can normally get it for around $.50 per pound by purchasing at least 20 pounds at a time). If you do purchase your lye from the grocery or hardware store, be certain not to by products such as Drano or others which contain lye but also other substances. To my knowledge, the only brand of drain cleaner containing a only a highly pure sodium hydroxide is Red Devil Lye.
If it does not seem to be the purity of your lye, my guess would be scortched milk. Keep careful records of the temperature from the time you mix the milk and lye until the time the soap mixture is put into the mold. This should help you to determine if the milk is being scortched.
You stated that no matter how much scent you use, you still smell lye. Many people are afraid of over-scenting their soaps and use just a few drops of scent. I scent my soaps only with essential oils and use about 1 teaspoon for each pound of soap.
I wish I could be more specific with my answer to your question, but there are so many variables which I cannot observe via the internet. I've tried to give you the most likely reasons for the problem you are having. If none of these things seem to be the cause of the problem, please feel free to contact me with any additional information you can, and I'll be glad to try again.
