Teach Soap

Could I also sub almond oil for safflower? Or some combination of safflower/almond/coconut?

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

Welp, my scale died so I didn't get to try more today! But I figured I could take the time to ask some more questions...

I gave my mom a small container of some of the lotion I had made (the first batch) because she LOVES shea butter. She said it went moldy the day before yesterday and she threw it out. I haven't seen the second batch go moldy but I guess it could in time if I did the same thing wrong twice! Any idea what causes that? I'm talkin visable black furry mold on top of the lotion.

Also - is it necessary to heat the milk to 170? Doesn't seem to help with the germs so perhaps it just isn't needed?

If I reduce the staeric acid am I going to want to reduce my milk as well? From my understanding the staeric is thickening agent.

Lastly, is there some order I should be adding everything together? Some sites I have been reading say "add it all and mix" while others describe phases. Any opinions on this?

You need to heat and hold the milk just like you do with water for 20 minutes. I bet it was the milk that you had a problem with. I don't go above 20% milk in my formula. I use the rest as distilled water.
Stearic acid is used as a co-emulsifier. If you want a thicker lotion cetyl alcohol is a better choice. A lot of people don't add any stearic to their lotion and it comes out fine.

You are already using the maximum recommended % of Germal. I would go with another preservative and make another small batch only to test or use part milk and part distilled water. When I make lotion, I do it in 3 phases.

Phase 1 is boiled, distilled water cooled off to 120
Phase 2 is my oils and butters gently heated to 120
Phase 3 is my preservative, which I add during cooldown, after Phase 1 and Phase 2 have been added and mixed.

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