Teach Soap

I tried my first batch of coconut milk soap last night. I shall post pictures plus a description later.
Not sure it worked very well though. The lye/coco milk mixture seemed to curdle, and the whole thing set up within less than 12 hours in a cool place.......

Adam

semplice, I think it turned out very nice!

_________________
Debbie

Ok, here's some photo's of the coconut milk soap. Following (mostly - she's a bit vague) Cavitch's instructions from Soapmakers Companion, I added the lye granules to the coconut milk prior to adding this to the blended oils (lye mix around 39 C, oils about 33 C). Not a pleasant smell, like rotting prawn shells. This went rather curdled-y, and therefore difficult to tell if mixed properly.
However, when blended with the oils, it traced very quickly and set up hard enough to cut within 12 hours, despite being left in a cool (approx 12 C room).
I didnt use any fragrances, but I did attempt another swirl, tho this ended up being a sortof ITP affair....
As you can see, a nice bluey colour, and not too bad swirlyness, but lots of small whitish specks. There is no zap whatsoever.

Any comments?




Cheers,
Adam

Really pretty! Is there any cocoa butter in it? I tend to get white specks with cocoa butter (probably because I don't temper it).

_________________
***************
Lesli Sagan
Avital's Apiaries
Like us: http://www.facebook.com/AvitalsApiaries

Congrats! It's a pretty color. The spots are most likely stearic acid from one of your soapmaking oils. Stearic has a higher melt point, so if you soap cool, the stearic will precipitate out.

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Love the color! I freeze my coconut milk until it's very slushy and add the lye to that, stirring the whole time. You can also figure it as part of your water amount and add it at trace. Works equally well both ways.

_________________
Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

Love your soap Adam!!!

_________________
Debbie

Adam, that soap looks great to me! Did you use TD to get it so white? When I added my coconut milk, water and lye together, it got really thick, but I didn't notice any smell. Today I'm going to add the coconut milk to the oils right before I add the lye water. I want to see if that makes a difference. I'm not sure what fragrance I'm going to use, but I want to try to color this one.

_________________
www.facebook.com/Semplice-Naturals

_________________
www.facebook.com/Semplice-Naturals

Many thanks for your kind comments - to answer a couple of the questions there,
I didnt use any titanium dioxide - the whiteness is just a combo of the oils used and the coconut milk (which was a slight creamy colour by the time the lye had been added and dropped to the 'correct' temp).
I used a tin of coconut milk, which had the consistency of cream when blended. To this I added the dry NaOH (and only a little extra water) and mixed with a small balloon whisk (not sure I like doing that, whisking a gloopy lye mix). Might it have been better to make a more concentrated lye solution with water only, and add the coconut milk to that at the same time as mixing in with the oils?

Stearic acid? A term I have come across, but no more than that. Is it likely to cause a problem with this batch, or is it essentially cosmetic?

There was cocoa butter (and for the purpose of getting a white bar, was unfortunately unrefined and a light caramel colour) - here is the recipe I used :

Olive - 30%
Shea B - 15%
Cocoa B - 15%
Babasu - 15%
Avocado - 10%
Palm - 10%
Castor - 5%
Interestingly, no coconut oil in a coconut recipe...........

Again, many thanks for the kind comments

Adam

Stearic spots are usually just aesthetic. If the soap doesn't zap I wouldn't worry about it.

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I just soaped another batch using the same recipe. This time, however, I added the coconut milk to the oils right before I poured the lye solution. I also put TD in the lye water to get a lighter color. I stirred in whole oats once I got a light trace and then sprinkled some on top. It did take longer to trace, but I think it's because I soaped a little cooler than usual. I put the batch in the fridge to prevent gel....so I'm anxious to see how it turns out. I have high hopes for this batch!!

_________________
www.facebook.com/Semplice-Naturals

Adam that is such a lovely soap! You did a great job with the swirl and once again the color is fantastic. I wish I could get that dye over here! And your white is a great contrast.

_________________
Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

Thanks Susie I have no idea whether you are able to get the same substance over there, but here is a link to where I got it from (apologies if against site rules), though it doesnt have a manufacturers label, just the description. I have learnt to be very cautious with the blue in particular - 2 or 3 drops at most per half litre to give the deep pastel-y blue.

https://www.soapkitchenonline.co.uk/aca ... ments.html

Adam

I was having issues with spots when ever I used a milk mixture with my lye. Mine turned out to be undissolved lye but in tiny amounts. I didn't get zap unless I licked at the right spot. I found that without the heat to dissolve the lye, I had to stir... stir.... stir. I would stir for up to 15 minutes. The best way to tell with milk mixtures if the lye is dissolved is the temperature will start to drop. Even a 1 degree drop is enough to tell. If however you stir, and the temp rises... there is still undissolved lye.

I also found running the milk mixture through a strainer helps with spots. That said, I use 100% milk in place of my water...

_________________
The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!