Teach Soap

I just mad my first batch of unscented uncolored Goat's Milk Soap less than an hour ago and it already has a long split down the center of the loaf. Can anyone tell me what causes that? It's made with Fractioned Coconut Oil, Beef Tallow, Sunflower Oil, and a small amount of castor oil. It was superfatted with shea butter. I ran it through a lye calculator so the totals should be correct.

Goat milk soaps can overheat so you shouldn't insulate. Did you insulate? There's a video on YouTube on how to fix the crack from overheating with rubbing alcohol. So all is not lost. The milk has sugars in it that make it heat up. Next time don't insulate if you did and keep the mold elevated on a rack so the heat can release. If it still gets too hot put a fan on it to keep it cool. That has worked for me . You can also put it in the fridge or freezer but that never worked for me. I would always get partial gel. But it does work for many people.

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~Kelly~

No, I didn't insulate. I have it on my livingroom table. I didn't put a fan on it. Is it too late to put a fan on it so that it doesn't crack any further?

By the way... Thank you FOHoarder

Sounds like it overheated due to natural sugars in the milk. Lye is still very active at trace. There is no guarantee that any particular oil or butter will end up as your superfat. Add ALL your oils and butter right up front.

Fractionated coconut and castor are both so called soft oils. Depending on the % of each, you might end up with a soft soap. Most people use a regular coconut oil, not the fractionated.

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

thanks Irena

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

All my soaps are made with goat's milk, and they are popped straight into the freezer to avoid overheating. (I also avoid gel). Depending on the weather, and how cool you soap, you can get away with just popping it in front of a fan. I've always found I needed to help it stay cool though to avoid a partial gel (I don't like the look of the ring) or overheating.

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

If you are gonna stick 'em in the freezer then do NOT do like I did last week - I didn't get the freezer door closed all the way!(I actually think I left it mostly opening meaning to return, and forgot about it)

So...it still managed to gel and start to overheat a tad before I caught it! All's well, looks good....but dang was I mad for multiple reasons when I saw my nice lovely room temp freezer full of beginning to melt stuff and overhot soap to boot! (obviously, shutting the door well is NOT on anyone's 'checklist for soaping' in reference to the freezer trick and thus was not on mine...I still can't tell you why I left it open like that...)

Be sure and add "shut freezer door completely" to your soaping check list

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Making soap one loaf at a time - it's better than bread 'cause soap doesn't have calories!