French green clay is a popular additive in beauty products. It has a fine texture and light green color that comes from decomposed plant matter and iron oxides. It’s known for its fantastic oil absorbing properties. In this French Green Clay & Milk Soap, the clay adds a subtle color and skin-loving properties.

Rather than water, this recipe uses raw unpasteurized cow milk. You can also use pasteurized in this recipe – we just happened to have raw unpasteurized cow milk on hand. If you’ve never made milk soap, there are a few extra precautions to keep in mind. The lye can scorch the milk if it gets too hot, which can produce a dark color and unpleasant smell. Learn more about how to add lye to milk here.

This soap can be used on the face. It’s best suited for combination to oily skin. Learn more about which clay is right for your skin here. The recipe is made with a refreshing blend of lemongrass essential oil and tea tree essential oil. If you’re planning on using this as a facial soap and you have sensitive skin, you may consider removing the essential oil or using a lighter usage rate. 

What You Need
Silicone Scalloped Round Mold
Impression Mat – Flowers and Spirals
4.3 oz. Borage Oil (25%)
4.3 oz. Coconut Oil (25%)
5.1 oz. Olive Oil (30%)
3.4 oz. Palm Oil (20%)
2.4 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
5 oz. Milk (10% discount)
0.6 oz. Lemongrass Essential Oil
0.4 oz. Tea Tree Essential Oil
French Green Clay
Titanium Dioxide

Click below to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

MILK PREP: When lye is added to milk, the temperatures heat up to 200 ° F. This scorches the milk, causing it to smell bad and develop a dark yellow color. Keeping the temperatures as cool as possible helps prevent that scorching. Our preferred technique is to freeze the milk into cubes before adding the lye. To keep the milk extra, extra cold, you can place the container of frozen milk into a larger container with ice.

First, measure out 5 ounces of milk and pour into ice cube trays. Allow the milk to fully freeze. Next, empty the milk ice cubes into a container appropriate for mixing lye. When adding the cubes to the container, place the container on a scale to make sure you have the correct amount of milk. Although it was measured previously, some milk might be lost in the freezing/transferring process. If you’re short, pour cold milk into the container to supplement what you have. Adding distilled water to supplement works too.

MOLD PREP: To create the flower shape on top of each bar, we used the Flowers and Spirals Impression Mat. Use a sharp pair of scissors to carefully cut out individual flowers from the mat. Then, place them pattern side up into each cavity of the Silicone Scalloped Round Mold. Set aside.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices. That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, other distractions, and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

LYE PREP: With safety gear on, slowly add about 1/4 of the lye flakes directly to the frozen milk. Use a non-reactive spoon to stir the lye flakes and milk together. Slowly, the flakes will begin to melt the cubes. After a few minutes of stirring, add another 1/4 of the flakes and continue stirring for several minutes.

Continue this process until all the lye flakes have been added to the milk. The milk will continue to melt as more lye is added and stirred. Once the milk has fully melted, continue to stir to make sure all the lye flakes have completely dissolved.

Because the temperatures are low, the lye flakes do not dissolve as quickly. Listen and look for lye flakes on the bottom of your container; lye flakes can take a lot longer to dissolve in cooler temperature liquids. Patience is key. Any undissolved lye in your soap could cause skin irritation or even lye burns, so take extra time to make sure all the lye is dissolved.

If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the milk solution. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add 1 teaspoon sodium lactate.

COLOR PREP:  Disperse 1/2 teaspoon of titanium dioxide into 1/2 tablespoon of lightweight liquid oil, like sweet almond oil or sunflower oil. Then mix 2 teaspoons of French green clay into 2 tablespoons distilled water. Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps.
NOTE: To ensure that the titanium dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Please note this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide clumping in the soap. To micronize colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to blend the colorant to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable, stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 0.6 ounces of lemongrass essential oil and 0.4 ounces of tea tree essential oil into a glass, essential oil safe container. Set aside.

ONE: Fully melt and combine 4.3 ounces coconut oil, 3.4 ounces palm oil, 5.1 ounces olive oil, and 4.3 ounces borage oil (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (the milk lye solution will be on the cooler side, that’s okay), add the milk and lye solution slowly to the oils. As you add the milk, begin pulsing your stick blender. Because the milk and lye solution is on the cooler side and the recipe contains hard oils that solidify at cooler temperature, adding the lye and milk solution gradually can help prevent false trace.

TWO: Once all the lye solution has been added, continue to blend until thin trace. As you stick blend you may notice some very slight graininess – that’s okay. That’s common for milk soap and disappears as the soap becomes more emulsified.

THREE: Once the soap is at a thin trace, whisk in the essential oil blend.

FOUR: Add all of the dispersed French green clay. It will be a thick texture – that’s okay. Pulse the soap with the stick blender to get rid of the clumps. Add 1 teaspoon of the dispersed titanium dioxide. If your soap is still a thin trace, stick blend in the titanium dioxide. If it’s becoming thick, use a whisk to fully mix in.

FIVE: The soap needs to be a thin enough texture to pour into the mold cavities and to fill the small details of the silicone flowers. But very thin soap can take a long time to remove from a silicone mold. Stick blend the batter until it’s a thin to medium trace. Just be careful to not over blend.

SIX: Once you’ve reached a good texture, slowly pour the soap into each cavity. This batch makes enough soap to fill each cavity to the very top. Once each cavity is full, tap it gently on the counter to help even the soap and get rid of air bubbles. Spritz the top with alcohol to prevent soda ash.

SEVEN: If you live in a very hot climate, place the soap in the fridge for several hours to keep temperatures cool and prevent the milk from scorching. If your area is not very hot (70° F or lower), you can keep the soap out at room temperature. Doing so will allow the soap to unmold slightly faster.

EIGHT: Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 1-2 days. Check the soap by gently pulling away the silicone mold from the sides. If it releases without any tearing, attempt to break the airlock on the bottom by gently pushing the soap out. Once the soap is out of the mold, it’s time to pull away the silicone flowers. We found the soap released from the flower detail the best when the soap had hardened outside the mold slightly. If your soap still feels a little soft, give it one more day. The details in the flowers will hold their shape better.

We found the best way to remove the flowers was to use a Clean Up Tool to gently “pull” each petal away from the soap to break the airlock, then use the tool to pull away one petal, then the entire flower. Continue this process for each bar. Allow the soap to fully cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy.

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French Green Clay & Milk Soap Tutorial

This skin-loving cold process soap recipe is made with cow milk and French green clay.

Course Cold process soap

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours

Servings 6 bars

Author Soap Queen

Ingredients

• Silicone Scalloped Round Mold
• Impression Mat – Flowers and Spirals
• 4.3 oz. Borage Oil 25%
• 4.3 oz. Coconut Oil 25%
• 5.1 oz. Olive Oil 30%
• 3.4 oz. Palm Oil 20%
• 2.4 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
• 5 oz. Milk 10% discount
• 0.6 oz. Lemongrass Essential Oil
• 0.4 oz. Tea Tree Essential Oil
• French Green Clay
• Titanium Dioxide

Instructions

MILK PREP: When lye is added to milk, the temperatures heat up to 200 ° F. This scorches the milk, causing it to smell bad and develop a dark yellow color. Keeping the temperatures as cool as possible helps prevent that scorching. Our preferred technique is to freeze the milk into cubes before adding the lye. To keep the milk extra, extra cold, you can place the container of frozen milk into a larger container with ice. First, measure out 5 ounces of milk and pour into ice cube trays. Allow the milk to fully freeze. Next, empty the milk ice cubes into a container appropriate for mixing lye. When adding the cubes to the container, place the container on a scale to make sure you have the correct amount of milk. Although it was measured previously, some milk might be lost in the freezing/transferring process. If you’re short, pour cold milk into the container to supplement what you have. Adding distilled water to supplement works too.

MOLD PREP: To create the flower shape on top of each bar, we used the Flowers and Spirals Impression Mat. Use a sharp pair of scissors to carefully cut out individual flowers from the mat. Then, place them pattern side up into each cavity of the Silicone Scalloped Round Mold. Set aside.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices. That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, other distractions, and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

LYE PREP: With safety gear on, slowly add about 1/4 of the lye flakes directly to the frozen milk. Use a non-reactive spoon to stir the lye flakes and milk together. Slowly, the flakes will begin to melt the cubes. After a few minutes of stirring, add another 1/4 of the flakes and continue stirring for several minutes. Continue this process until all the lye flakes have been added to the milk. The milk will continue to melt as more lye is added and stirred. Once the milk has fully melted, continue to stir to make sure all the lye flakes have completely dissolved. Because the temperatures are low, the lye flakes do not dissolve as quickly. Listen and look for lye flakes on the bottom of your container; lye flakes can take a lot longer to dissolve in cooler temperature liquids. Patience is key. Any undissolved lye in your soap could cause skin irritation or even lye burns, so take extra time to make sure all the lye is dissolved. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the milk solution. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add 1 teaspoon sodium lactate.

COLOR PREP: Disperse 1/2 teaspoon of titanium dioxide into 1/2 tablespoon of lightweight liquid oil, like sweet almond oil or sunflower oil. Then mix 2 teaspoons of French green clay into 2 tablespoons distilled water. Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps. NOTE: To ensure that the titanium dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Please note this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide clumping in the soap. To micronize colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to blend the colorant to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable, stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 0.6 ounces of lemongrass essential oil and 0.4 ounces of tea tree essential oil into a glass, essential oil safe container. Set aside.

• Fully melt and combine 4.3 ounces coconut oil, 3.4 ounces palm oil, 5.1 ounces olive oil, and 4.3 ounces borage oil (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (the milk lye solution will be on the cooler side, that’s okay), add the milk and lye solution slowly to the oils. As you add the milk, begin pulsing your stick blender. Because the milk and lye solution is on the cooler side and the recipe contains hard oils that solidify at cooler temperature, adding the lye and milk solution gradually can help prevent false trace.
• Once all the lye solution has been added, continue to blend until thin trace. As you stick blend you may notice some very slight graininess – that’s okay. That’s common for milk soap and disappears as the soap becomes more emulsified.
• Once the soap is at a thin trace, whisk in the essential oil blend.
• Add all of the dispersed French green clay. It will be a thick texture – that’s okay. Pulse the soap with the stick blender to get rid of the clumps. Add 1 teaspoon of the dispersed titanium dioxide. If your soap is still a thin trace, stick blend in the titanium dioxide. If it’s becoming thick, use a whisk to fully mix in.
• The soap needs to be a thin enough texture to pour into the mold cavities and to fill the small details of the silicone flowers. But very thin soap can take a long time to remove from a silicone mold. Stick blend the batter until it’s a thin to medium trace. Just be careful to not over blend.
• Once you’ve reached a good texture, slowly pour the soap into each cavity. This batch makes enough soap to fill each cavity to the very top. Once each cavity is full, tap it gently on the counter to help even the soap and get rid of air bubbles. Spritz the top with alcohol to prevent soda ash.
• If you live in a very hot climate, place the soap in the fridge for several hours to keep temperatures cool and prevent the milk from scorching. If your area is not very hot (70° F or lower), you can keep the soap out at room temperature. Doing so will allow the soap to unmold slightly faster.
• Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 1-2 days. Check the soap by gently pulling away the silicone mold from the sides. If it releases without any tearing, attempt to break the airlock on the bottom by gently pushing the soap out. Once the soap is out of the mold, it’s time to pull away the silicone flowers. We found the soap released from the flower detail the best when the soap had hardened outside the mold slightly. If your soap still feels a little soft, give it one more day. The details in the flowers will hold their shape better. We found the best way to remove the flowers was to use a Clean Up Tool to gently “pull” each petal away from the soap to break the airlock, then use the tool to pull away one petal, then the entire flower. Continue this process for each bar. Allow the soap to fully cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy.

The post French Green Clay & Milk Soap Tutorial appeared first on Soap Queen.

There are a variety of fresh ingredients that can be added to cold process soap, from honey to goat milk. They are a great way to make your soap stand out, and each ingredient adds special properties to the recipe. For example, goat milk adds skin-loving properties. Honey is great for boosting lather. Using fresh and local ingredients strengthens ties in your community and strengthens your brand identity.

If you sell your products, customers are delighted to know where the ingredients come from. This is especially true if the ingredients are from their local area! For example, here in Washington state, we are known for our coffee consumption and apple production. Adding locally roasted coffee or puree made from Washington apples in your soap is a way to showcase what the state has to offer.

Locally roasted coffee is a great way to incorporate a local ingredient in your soap.

If you’re thinking about adding fresh and local ingredients to your soap, check out the blog posts below. They have information on how to work with alternative liquids, purees and honey, as well as recipes for each. Be on the lookout for recipes this week using local ingredients for more inspiration!

Alternative Liquids (milk, beer, tea, etc.)
In place of distilled water, liquids like milk, tea, coffee and alcoholic beverages can be used to make cold process soap. Using them in your recipe is a great way to highlight locally made goat milk or beer from a local brewery. 

Informative Posts:

• How to Use Tea and Coffee in Soap
• How to Use Alcoholic Beverages in Cold Process Soap
• How to Add Lye to Milk

Tutorials:

• Goat Milk Soap Tutorial on Soap Queen TV
• Goat Milk & Oatmeal Cold Process Soap
• Creamy Cow Milk Cold Process Tutorial
• Buttermilk Bastille Baby Bar on Soap Queen TV
• Lime in the Coconut Milk Cold Process Tutorial
• Charcoal & Cedar Beer Cold Process Soap Tutorial
• Bramble Beer Soap Tutorial
• Black and Tan Beer Soap Tutorial
• Luck of the Green Beer Cold Process Tutorial
• Oatmeal Stout Cold Process Tutorial
• Exfoliating Green Tea Cold Process Bars

Fresh Ingredients & Purees
If a fruit or vegetable can be blended to a smooth texture, it can probably be used in cold process soap! When added to the batter, the puree goes through the saponification process along with the oils and lye solution. Fruit-based purees often add to a fluffy lather because of their natural sugar content. Additionally, many purees are great from a marketing standpoint and can add skin-loving benefits. 

Informative posts:

• Purees & Fresh Ingredients in Melt and Pour Soap
• How to Add Purees to Cold Process Soap

Tutorials:

• Pumpkin Puree Cold Process Soap
• Pumpkin Spice Swirl Cold Process Soap
• Strawberries & Cream Cold Process Soap
• Avocado + Spearmint Cold Process Soap Tutorial
• Buttermilk Bastille Baby Bar on Soap Queen TV
• Lard and Loofah Cold Process Soap

Honey
Honey is a natural humectant, which means it helps draw moisture from the air to the skin. Adding honey to your products is a great way to support local beekeepers. Honey can overheat in soap, so give your soaping temperatures extra attention. 

Informative Posts:

• Adding Honey to Cold Process Soap: Tips, Tricks & Recipe
• How to Use Honey in Bath & Beauty Products

Tutorials:

• Pure Honey Cold Process Soap Tutorial
• Guest Post: Thyme & Witch Hazel Facial Bar DIY

Is there a fresh and local ingredient that you like incorporating into your products? Be on the lookout for several tutorials featuring ingredients from the Pacific Northwest. 

The post The Value of Fresh and Local Ingredients + Recipes appeared first on Soap Queen.

Goat milk is known for its skin-nourishing properties. In cold process soap, some soapers replace distilled water with goat milk to give soap extra creaminess. If you’d like to bring those properties to melt and pour soap, the Goat Milk Melt and Pour Base is made with a full 10% of liquid goat milk. For this recipe, the new Milk Soap Silicone Tray Mold really highlights the ingredients of the soap.

To help the details really pop, a small amount of Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base is mixed with rose clay and piped into the mold. The bars are scented with Dogwood and Ginger Blossom Fragrance Oil, which is a unique blend of floral, spice and citrus notes.

This project is suitable for beginners, but filling in the mold details can take a little bit of patience and a steady hand. The details in the mold were specially designed to be deep, which makes the process easier. A thermometer is recommended during this project. If the second layer of soap is poured into the mold while it’s still really hot, it can melt the details below.

What You’ll Need:
Milk Soap Silicone Tray Mold 
32 oz. Goat Milk Melt and Pour Soap Base
4 oz. Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base
0.9 oz. Dogwood and Ginger Blossom Fragrance Oil
1 tsp. Rose Clay
99% Isopropyl Alcohol in 8 oz. Spray Bottle
Injector Tool
Clean Up Tool

Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!

ONE: In a small container, mix 1 tsp. rose clay into 1 Tbsp. isopropyl alcohol. This will help the clay mix into the soap without clumping. Cut 4 oz. of Clear Melt and Pour into small, even pieces. Place the soap in a heat-safe container and melt on 5 second bursts. Using short bursts prevents the soap from burning. Add 1 Tbsp. of dispersed clay and mix to fully incorporate.

TWO: Cut a very small amount off the tip of the Injector Tool. You still want the hole of the Injector Tool to be small, but making it slightly larger helps prevent it from clogging. Fill a small cup with very hot water. Have the hot water nearby while you fill in the details of the mold with white soap. Use it to clear the Injector Tool if the soap begins to cool and harden in the tool.

THREE: Spritz 99% isopropyl alcohol into the mold details. This will help the soap flow into the details more smoothly. Using the Injector Tool, begin piping the soap into the border and “milk” lettering. Have a cup of hot water nearby to clear out the Injector Tool during this process. If the soap starts to harden while you’re filling in the details, pop it back into the microwave for 5 seconds. When the details are full of soap, spritz again with alcohol to get rid of bubbles. The details are small, so soap may go outside of the lines. Don’t worry – you can clean that up later. You will have a few ounces of leftover red soap. Pour any excess soap into a separate mold.

FOUR: When the soap is firm – after about 5-10 minutes – use the Clean Up Tool to remove any spills.

FIVE: Cut 32 oz. of Goat Milk Melt and Pour into small, even pieces. In a large heat-safe container, melt the soap on 30 second bursts. Add 0.9 oz. of Dogwood and Ginger Blossom Fragrance Oil and stir to fully incorporate. Wait until the soap is around 125-130 ° F so it won’t melt the red soap below.

SIX: Then, spritz the red soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to help the layers stick. Slowly and carefully pour the white soap in the mold and spritz with alcohol to pop any bubbles. Let the soap harden for 4 hours or overnight. Unmold, cut into 8 bars along the score marks and enjoy! To avoid glycerin dew, wrap them immediately in plastic wrap or another airtight packaging option.

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Rose Clay Milk Melt & Pour Soap

These bars are made with Goat Milk Melt and Pour Soap Base, which contains 10% fresh liquid goat milk

Course Melt and Pour

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour

Author Soap Queen

Ingredients

• Milk Soap Silicone Tray Mold
• 32 oz. Goat Milk Melt and Pour Soap Base
• 4 oz. Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base
• 0.9 oz. Dogwood and Ginger Blossom Fragrance Oil
• 1 tsp. Rose Clay
• 99 % Isopropyl Alcohol in 8 oz. Spray Bottle
• Injector Tool
• Clean Up Tool

Instructions

• In a small container, mix 1 tsp. rose clay into 1 Tbsp. isopropyl alcohol. This will help the clay mix into the soap without clumping. Cut 4 oz. of Clear Melt and Pour into small, even pieces. Place the soap in a heat-safe container and melt on 5 second bursts. Using short bursts prevents the soap from burning. Add 1 Tbsp. of dispersed clay and mix to fully incorporate.
• Cut a very small amount off the tip of the Injector Tool. You still want the hole of the Injector Tool to be small, but making it slightly larger helps prevent it from clogging. Fill a small cup with very hot water. Have the hot water nearby while you fill in the details of the mold with white soap. Use it to clear the Injector Tool if the soap begins to cool and harden in the tool.
• Spritz 99% isopropyl alcohol into the mold details. This will help the soap flow into the details more smoothly. Using the Injector Tool, begin piping the soap into the border and “milk” lettering. Have a cup of hot water nearby to clear out the Injector Tool during this process. If the soap starts to harden while you’re filling in the details, pop it back into the microwave for 5 seconds. When they’re done, spritz again with alcohol to get rid of bubbles. The details are small so soap will go outside of the lines. Don’t worry – you can clean that up later. You will have a few ounces of leftover red soap. Pour any excess soap into a separate mold.
• When the soap is firm – after about 5-10 minutes – use the Clean Up Tool to remove any spills.
• Cut 32 oz. of Goat Milk Melt and Pour into small, even pieces. In a large heat-safe container, melt the soap on 30 second bursts. Add 0.9 oz. of Dogwood and Ginger Blossom Fragrance Oil and stir to fully incorporate. Wait until the soap is around 125-130 ° F so it won’t melt the red soap.
• Then, spritz the red soap with alcohol to help the layers stick. Slowly and carefully pour the white soap into the mold and spritz with 99% isopropyl alcohol to pop any bubbles. Let the soap harden for 4 hours or overnight. Unmold, cut into 8 bars along the score marks and enjoy! To avoid glycerin dew, wrap them immediately in plastic wrap or another airtight packaging option.

The post DIY Rose Clay Milk Soap Bars appeared first on Soap Queen.

Trace is the point in soapmaking when the oils and lye have started to saponify. Once the soap reaches thin trace, it will continue to thicken as you work with it. This post has more information on trace. There are two types of false trace: fake emulsification and cool soap. This blog post deals with the cool soap type of false trace. False trace looks like the soap has saponified, as it gets quite thick. However, it is actually oils like coconut or butters like cocoa in the recipe starting to harden and resolidify before the soap is fully emulsified. Below is an example of true thick trace. False trace can look and feel like thick trace, but happens very quickly after the lye and oils are combined.

False trace looks like thick trace, but the soap hasn’t fully emulsified.

What causes false trace?
Temperature is the main cause of super thick fake false trace. When cold or room temperature lye water is poured into the soapmaking oils, it can cause them to harden up. While soft oils like avocado are always liquid, hard oils are solid up to a certain temperature. For instance, avocado butter starts to melt around 90 ° F. Cocoa butter is even higher at 100 ° F. Check out the Soaping in the Summer Heat post for more information on melting points. If adding cold lye to butters and oils that are solid at cooler temperatures, it can cause the oils/butters to cool and thicken on contact.

False trace happens pretty quickly. As the lye is poured in, the soap will start to thicken immediately. You may also notice it looks grainy. Solid chunks of soap can start to appear in the bowl. As you continue to pulse the soap, it will get thicker very quickly. Most likely, there will be chucks of thick soap along with liquid oils.

Coconut oil starts to melt at 76 ° F and is solid at cooler temperatures. 

You can see false trace in the photos below. In this batch, the oils were around 100°F and the lye was around 70°F. The recipe is 25% palm oil, 30% coconut oil, 30% olive oil, 10% sweet almond oil and 5% castor oil. Below, the lye was added to the oils and the stick blender was pulsed a few times. Notice at the bottom, you can see soap that already looks emulsified.

After just a few more pulses with the stick blender, check out that batter! You can see the thick chunks of soap. That is false trace. The chunks appear to be at thick trace, when they have actually cooled and hardened due to the cold lye temperature.

The chunks in the soap batter after just a few pulses with the stick blender is what false trace looks like. 

What do you do if your soap has false trace?
If this starts to happen to you, keep stick blending! The oils and lye need to be stick blended until the batch is emulsified. The soap will get pretty thick during this process. If you were planning on a more intricate design, you may need to switch gears. A great option for unexpectedly thick soap is the spoon plop design. See how to create that technique in the Creamy Cow Milk Cold Process Tutorial. You can also create a really simple design. While the design may not be what you planned for, it will still look great!

How to prevent false trace
Higher temperatures prevent false trace. Soaping around 100-130 ° F will keep the hard oils and butters in the batch melted throughout the entire process. False trace is common when making soap with milk if you are using a low temperature technique to prevent the milk from scalding. Certain ingredients may need higher soaping temperatures. For instance, beeswax has a melting point of 144-147°F. I recommend soaping around 170°F to keep it melted. Learn more about working with beeswax in this tutorial.

Adjusting the recipe can help as well. Adding more slow-moving soft oils like pure olive oil, canola oil, and sweet almond oil to the recipe will allow you more time to work with the design. They will stay liquid throughout the entire process and help prevent false trace. Read more about slow-moving oils in the 5 Tips for Swirling Cold Process Soap post. The Formulating Cold Process Recipes post has helpful information as well.

Adding more soft oils to your recipe will help prevent false trace.

Have you ever experienced false trace? When it happens to your batch, keep calm and continue to stick blend. Once your soap has been cut into bars and cured, I do recommend pH testing them just to be sure the oils and lye fully emulsified. Luckily, I have found that false trace batches have turned out just fine! =)

The post The Truth About False Trace appeared first on Soap Queen.

Soap made with goat milk is popular, but did you know luxurious soap can also be made with cow milk? For this Creamy Cow Milk Cold Process Tutorial, whole cow milk is used to add extra moisture and skin-loving properties. Full of contrast, this project features black and white layers reminiscent of a cow pattern. The scent combination of Vanilla Rosewood and Grass Stain fragrance oils creates a blend that is both warm and green…similar to a barn!

Freezing the cow milk before adding the lye prevents the milk from scorching. For a step by step tutorial of this process, check out this How to Add Lye to Milk for Cold Process Soap blog post. When selecting milk for soap making, be on the lookout for the least amount of additives such as vitamins, preservatives or thickeners. These additives can cause unpredictable soaping results. It can be difficult to find milk without vitamins. This recipe uses whole milk with added vitamin D; it worked great. You can also use skim, 1% or 2% milk if you’d like.

What You’ll Need:
10″ Silicone Loaf Mold
3.5 oz. Sweet Almond Oil (10%)
8.8 oz. Coconut Oil (25%)
10.5 oz. Olive Oil (30%)
8.7 oz. Palm Oil (25%)
3.5 oz. Shea Butter (10%)
4.9 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
11.6 oz. Whole Milk
1 oz. Vanilla Rosewood Fragrance Oil
1 oz. Grass Stain Fragrance Oil
Titanium Dioxide Pigment
Activated Charcoal

 If you’ve never made Cold Process soap before, stop here! I highly recommend checking out our FREE four part SoapQueen.tv series on Cold Process Soapmaking, especially the episode on lye safety. And if you’d rather do some reading, Bramble Berry carries a wide range of books on the topic, including my newest book, Soap Crafting. You can also checkout the digital downloads for that instant gratification factor.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means goggles, gloves and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

MILK PREP: Measure out 11.6 ounces of whole milk. Pour the milk into ice cube trays and place them into the freezer until completely hard (several hours to overnight).

COLOR PREP: To ensure that the Titanium Dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Please note this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide clumping in the soap =) To micronize colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to blend the colorant to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable, stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning. Then, disperse 2 teaspoons of the colorant into 2 tablespoon of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Disperse 2 teaspoons of the activated charcoal into 2 tablespoon light liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to get the clumps of color worked out smoothly.

ONE: Remove the fully frozen milk from the ice cube trays and put it into a container that has been placed in an ice bath. Slowly add lye and stir until the lye is fully dissolved and the milk has become liquid. Click here to see this process and more tips on creating a lye and milk mixture. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye milk. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add about 2.5 tsp. sodium lactate.

TWO: Melt and combine the coconut oil, olive oil, shea butter, sweet almond oil and palm oils (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below, add the lye milk to the oils and stick blend until thin trace.

THREE: Once the batter has reached a light trace, split it evenly into two containers. Each container will hold about 3 cups. To one container, add all of the dispersed titanium dioxide. Use a whisk to fully blend in.

FOUR: To the other container, add 1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons of the dispersed activated charcoal and use a whisk to fully mix in. To the black soap, add the Vanilla Rosewood Fragrance Oil. To the white soap, add the Grass Stain Fragrance Oil and use a whisk to mix in. Because the Vanilla Rosewood discolors to a deep brown, be sure not to mix the fragrances up! You can read more about fragrance discoloration in the Why Did My Soap Turn Brown post.

FIVE: The spoon-plop technique works best with a thick trace. To thicken the soap, stick blend each color for several seconds if necessary. The soap should be the texture of pudding. 

SIX: Grab a large spoon for each color.  Spoon the soap into the mold, one color at a time, layering them in three different spots within the mold.

SEVEN: Continue to plop the soap, placing the white soap onto black and vice versa. Use some large plops and some small to add visual interest.

EIGHT: Keep layering the colors until the mold is completely full. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help release any air bubbles.

NINE: Use a spoon to mound the soap toward the center. Then, twist and turn the soap in the soap to create texture. Be careful not to play with the soap too much, or the colors will blend together into a light grey tone. Spray the top of the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol and place the soap in the freezer for 5-24 hours to help prevent gel phase. Remove the soap from the freezer and allow to sit in the mold for 4-5 days. Milk soap can be a little softer due to the extra milk fat. Patience is key =) Once cut, the black soap will deepen in color over time due to the vanilla content in the Vanilla Rosewood Fragrance Oil.

Have you ever used cow milk in soap before? I’d love to hear what you thought!

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Creamy Cow Milk Cold Process Tutorial

This Creamy Cow Milk Cold Process soap is made with whole milk for added moisture.

Course Cold process soap

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours

Servings 2 -3 pounds of soap

Author Soap Queen

Ingredients

• 10 " Silicone Loaf Mold
• 3.5 oz. Sweet Almond Oil 10%
• 8.8 oz. Coconut Oil 25%
• 10.5 oz. Olive Oil 30%
• 8.7 oz. Palm Oil 25%
• 3.5 oz. Shea Butter 10%
• 4.9 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
• 11.6 oz. Whole Milk
• 1 oz. Vanilla Rosewood Fragrance Oil
• 1 oz. Grass Stain Fragrance Oil
• Titanium Dioxide Pigment
• Activated Charcoal

Instructions

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means goggles, gloves and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

MILK PREP: Measure out 11.6 ounces of whole milk. Pour the milk into ice cube trays and place them into the freezer until completely hard (several hours to overnight).

COLOR PREP: To ensure that the Titanium Dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Please note this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide clumping in the soap =) To micronize colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to blend the colorant to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable, stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning. Then, disperse 2 teaspoons of the colorant into 2 tablespoon of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Disperse 2 teaspoons of the activated charcoal into 2 tablespoons light liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to get the clumps of color worked out smoothly.

• Remove the fully frozen milk from the ice cube trays and place into a container that has been placed in an ice bath. Slowly add lye and stir until the lye is fully dissolved and the milk has become liquid. Click here to see this process and more tips on creating a lye and milk mixture. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye milk. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add about 2.5 tsp. sodium lactate.
• Melt and combine the coconut oil, olive oil, shea butter, sweet almond oil and palm oils (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below, add the lye milk to the oils and stick blend until thin trace.
• Once the batter has reached a light trace, split the batch evenly into two containers. Each container will hold about 3 cups. To one container, add all of the dispersed titanium dioxide. Use a whisk to fully blend in.
• To the other container, add 1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons of the activated charcoal and use a whisk to fully mix in. To the black soap, add the Vanilla Rosewood Fragrance Oil. To the white soap, add the Grass Stain Fragrance Oil and use a whisk to mix in. Because the Vanilla Rosewood discolors to a deep brown, be sure not to mix the fragrances up! =)
• The spoon-plop technique works best with a thick trace. To thicken the soap, stick blend each color for several seconds if necessary.
• Grab a large spoon for each color. Spoon the soap into the mold, one color at a time, layering them in three different spots within the mold.
• Continue to plop the soap, placing the white soap onto black and vice versa. Use some large plops and some small to add visual interest.
• Keep layering the colors until the mold is completely full. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help release any air bubbles.
• Use a spoon to mound the soap towards the center. Then, twist and turn the soap in the soap to create texture. Be careful not to play with the soap too much, or the colors will blend together into a grey tone. Spray the top of the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol and place the soap in the freezer for 5-24 hours to help prevent gel phase. Remove the soap from the freezer and allow to sit in the mold for 4-5 days. Milk soap can be a little softer due to the extra milk fat. Patience is key =)

The post Creamy Cow Milk Cold Process Tutorial appeared first on Soap Queen.

Inspired by the popular song, this Lime in the Coconut Milk soap is a tropical vacation in bar form! Coconut milk powder replaces water in this recipe to give additional moisture. Coconut milk powder is full of vitamins C, E, B1, B3, B5, and B6, along with potassium and folate. The lauric acid of coconut milk also gives the bar a luxurious and fluffy lather. If you have never worked with milk in soap before, check out the How to Add Lye to Milk post for tips on keeping the milk cold. Looking for more information? The Goat Milk Soap Tutorial demonstrates how to add lye to milk, with examples of scorched milk vs. non-scorched milk.

This Lime in the Coconut Milk Cold Process features a fresh smelling blend of Lime Essential Oil and Coconut Lemongrass Fragrance Oil. Adorable melt and pour lime embeds are placed on the top, giving the illusion of a fruity, tropical drink. Mica is brushed on the embeds to help the details really pop.

What You’ll Need:
Tall 12″ Silicone Loaf Mold
1.9 oz. Avocado Butter
1.9 oz. Castor Oil
11.1 oz. Coconut Oil
5.6 oz. Green Tea Seed Oil
1.9 oz. Mango Butter
14.8 oz. Olive Oil
5.2 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
1.5 oz. Coconut Milk Powder
12.3 oz. Distilled Water
Chrome Green Oxide
Fizzy Lemonade Colorant
Titanium Dioxide
1 oz. Lime Distilled Essential Oil
1 oz. Coconut Lemongrass Fragrance Oil

Embeds:
Citrus Slice Wax Tart Mold
2 oz. Clear Melt and Pour Base
Yellow Lip Safe Mica
Chrome Green Color Block

 Make the Embeds

ONE: Cut and melt 2 ounces of clear melt and pour base in the microwave using 5 second bursts. It’s easy to burn such a small amount of melt and pour, so using small bursts helps avoid this. Add small shavings of the Chrome Green Color Block and stir until a rich green color is achieved. Carefully pour the soap into each cavity until the citrus shape is covered; don’t fill the cavity all the way. Spritz with alcohol to disperse any bubbles. Allow to fully cool and harden.

TWO: Remove each embed from the mold. Use a paintbrush to lightly dust the lime shape with Yellow Mica. This step is optional, but the mica really helps the details pop! Set embeds aside.


 If you’ve never made Cold Process soap before, stop here! I highly recommend checking out our FREE four part SoapQueen.tv series on Cold Process Soapmaking, especially the episode on lye safety. And if you’d rather do some reading, Bramble Berry carries a wide range of books on the topic, including my newest book, Soap Crafting. You can also checkout the digital downloads for that instant gratification factor.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means goggles, gloves and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

COLOR PREP: Disperse 1 teaspoon of the Chrome Green Oxide into 1 tablespoon of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Then disperse 3 teaspoons of the Fizzy Lemonade Colorant into 3 tablespoons lightweight liquid oil. Finally disperse 1 teaspoon Titanium Dioxide into 1 tablespoon light liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to get the clumps of color worked out smoothly.  Please note this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide clumping in the soap =) To micronize colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to blend the colorant to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable, stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Mix 1 oz. of the Coconut Lemongrass Fragrance Oil and 1 oz. of the Lime Essential Oil. Set aside.

MILK PREP: Mix 1.5 oz. of coconut milk powder into the distilled water. When using this Coconut Milk Powder we found it was a little tricky to mix into water however, heating the water slightly (to about 95°F) made it easy. Once the powder is completely mixed into the water and contains no clumps, pour the milk into ice cube trays and place them into the freezer until completely hard (several hours to overnight).

ONE: Remove the fully frozen milk from the ice cube trays and place into a container that has been placed in an ice bath. Slowly add lye and stir until the lye is fully dissolved and the milk has become liquid. Click here to see this process and more tips on creating a lye and milk mixture. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye milk. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add about 2 tsp. sodium lactate.

TWO: Fully melt and combine the coconut, olive, green tea seed, castor, avocado butter and mango butter.  Once the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below, add the lye milk to the oils and stick blend until thin trace.


THREE: Pour off two containers, each measuring 1 cup. The large container should then hold about 4 cups.

FOUR: To the large container, add 2 tablespoons of the dispersed Fizzy Lemonade Colorant, and 1 tablespoon of the dispersed Chrome Green Oxide. Use a whisk to fully incorporate. 

FIVE: To one of the smaller containers, add 2.5 tablespoons of dispersed Fizzy Lemonade Colorant and use a whisk or spoon to fully incorporate. To the other small container, add 2 tablespoons of the dispersed titanium dioxide and use a whisk or spoon to fully incorporate. Add the fragrance oil blend proportionally to each of the three containers (it’s okay to eyeball it!) and use a whisk to fully combine.

SIX: Pour the entire container of green soap into the mold, and tap the mold firmly on the counter to help get rid of any air bubbles. Don’t scrape the bowl clean, leave a small amount of green soap in the bowl for the top.

SEVEN: Pour half of the white soap into the center of the mold. Pour from about 10 inches above the mold; this helps the white soap drop into the green soap, rather than sitting on top and creating layers.

EIGHT: Pour the yellow soap into the green and white soap. Pour the yellow soap from 8-10 inches above the mold to ensure the yellow soap breaks through into the green soap. Leave a small amount of soap in the container for the top.

NINE: Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help get rid of air bubbles. Stick blend the leftover white soap until you reach a thick trace. 

TEN: Use a spoon to gently place the thick white soap on top of the green soap. Gently spread the soap to ensure an even layer. 

ELEVEN: Use a spoon to place the leftover yellow soap from the container onto the white.

TWELVE: Place any leftover green soap onto the yellow, and use a spoon to create peaks and texture with the yellow, white and green soap.

THIRTEEN: Place the lime embeds into the side of the soap. Ensure the lime is far enough in the soap that they don’t fall out.

FOURTEEN: Spritz the top with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash, and place the soap into the freezer for 24 hours. Doing so prevents the soap from going through gel phase which will scorch the coconut milk. After 24 hours, remove the soap from the freezer and allow to sit in the mold for 3-4 days. Milk soap can be a little softer due to the extra milk fat. Patience is key! Remove from the mold, cut and allow to cure for 4-6 weeks.

Have you used coconut milk in your soap before?  Do you have any tips to share with SQ readers? I love the fluffy and moisturizing lather it gives!
 

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Lime in the Coconut Milk Cold Process Tutorial

This Lime in the Coconut Cold Process Soap uses coconut milk instead of water for a fluffy and rich lather.

Course Cold process

Author Soap Queen

Ingredients

• Tall 12" Silicone Loaf Mold
• 1.9 oz. Avocado Butter
• 1.9 oz. Castor Oil
• 11.1 oz. Coconut Oil
• 5.6 oz. Green Tea Seed Oil
• 1.9 oz. Mango Butter
• 14.8 oz. Olive Oil
• 5.2 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
• 1.5 oz. Coconut Milk Powder
• 12.3 oz. Distilled Water
• Chrome Green Oxide
• Fizzy Lemonade Colorant
• Titanium Dioxide
• 1 oz. Lime Distilled Essential Oil
• 1 oz. Coconut Lemongrass Fragrance Oil

Embeds:

• Citrus Slice Wax Tart Mold
• 2 oz. Clear Melt and Pour Base
• Yellow Lip Safe Mica
• Chrome Green Color Block

Instructions

Make the Embeds

• Cut and melt 2 ounces of clear melt and pour base in the microwave using 5 second bursts. It’s easy to burn such a small amount of melt and pour, so using small bursts helps avoid this. Add small shavings of the Chrome Green Color Block and stir until a rich green color is achieved. Carefully pour the soap into each cavity until the citrus shape is covered; don’t fill the cavity all the way. Spritz with alcohol to disperse any bubbles. Allow to fully cool and harden.
• Remove each embed from the mold. Use a paintbrush to lightly dust the lime shape with Yellow Mica. This step is optional, but the mica really helps the details pop! Set embeds aside.

Make the Cold Process Soap

COLOR PREP: In separate containers, disperse 1 teaspoon of the Chrome Green Oxide into 1 tablespoon of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Then, in separate containers, disperse 2 teaspoons of the Fizzy Lemonade Colorant, Titanium Dioxide of light liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to get the clumps of color worked out smoothly.

FRAGRANCE PREP: Mix 1 oz. of the Coconut Lemongrass Fragrance Oil and 1 oz. of the Lime Essential Oil. Set aside.

MILK PREP: Mix 1.5 oz. of coconut milk powder into the distilled water. When using this Coconut Milk Powder we found it was a little tricky to mix into water however, heating the water slightly (to about 95°F) made it easy. Once the powder is completely mixed into the water and contains no clumps, pour the milk into ice cube trays and place them into the freezer until completely hard (several hours to overnight).

• Remove the fully frozen milk from the ice cube trays and place into a container that has been placed in an ice bath. Slowly add lye and stir until the lye is fully dissolved and the milk has become liquid. Click here to see this process and more tips on creating a lye and milk mixture. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye milk. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add about 2 tsp. sodium lactate.
• Fully melt and combine the coconut, olive, green tea seed, castor, avocado butter and mango butter. Once the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below, add the lye milk to the oils and stick blend until thin trace.
• Pour off two containers, each measuring 1 cup. The large container should then hold about 4 cups.
• To the large container, add 2 tablespoons of the dispersed Fizzy Lemonade Colorant, and 1 tablespoon of the dispersed Chrome Green Oxide. Use a whisk to fully incorporate.
• To one of the smaller containers, add 2.5 tablespoons of dispersed Fizzy Lemonade Colorant and use a whisk or spoon to fully incorporate. To the other small container, add 2 tablespoons of the dispersed titanium dioxide and use a whisk or spoon to fully incorporate. Add the fragrance oil blend proportionally to each container (it’s okay to eyeball it!) and use a whisk to fully combine.
• Pour the entire container of green soap into the mold, and tap the mold firmly on the counter to help get rid of any air bubbles. Don’t scrape the bowl clean, leave a small amount of green soap in the bowl for the top.
• Pour half of the white soap into the center of the mold. Pour from about 10 inches above the mold; this helps the white soap drop into the green soap, rather than sitting on top and creating layers.
• Pour the yellow soap into the green and white soap. Pour the yellow soap from 8-10 inches above the mold to ensure the yellow soap breaks through into the green soap. Leave a small amount of soap in the container for the top.
• Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help get rid of air bubbles. Stick blend the leftover white soap until you reach a thick trace.
• Use a spoon to gently place the thick white soap on top of the green soap. Gently spread the soap to ensure an even layer.
• Use a spoon to place the leftover yellow soap from the container onto the white.
• Place any leftover green soap onto the yellow, and use a spoon to create peaks and texture with the yellow, white and green soap.
• Place the lime embeds into the side of the soap. Ensure the lime is far enough in the soap that they don’t fall out.
• Spritz the top with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash, and place the soap into the freezer for 24 hours. Doing so prevents the soap from going through gel phase which will scorch the coconut milk. After 24 hours, remove the soap from the freezer and allow to sit in the mold for 3-4 days. Milk soap can be a little softer due to the extra milk fat. Patience is key! Remove from the mold, cut and allow to cure for 4-6 weeks.

The post Lime in the Coconut Milk Cold Process Tutorial appeared first on Soap Queen.

This Goat Milk and Oatmeal Cold Process soap is made with powdered goat milk, oat extract and colloidal oatmeal for a bar that is gentle on the skin. Colloidal oatmeal is extremely fine ground oatmeal that is fantastic for irritated or sensitive skin. Oatmeal, Milk and Honey Fragrance Oil gives this bar a warm and comforting scent. The fragrance also lends its vanilla discoloration to the top layer, which darkens the Brown Oxide used to color it. For more information on fragrance discoloration, click through the Why Did My Soap Turn Brown post.

What You’ll Need:
10″ Silicone Loaf Mold
3.5 oz. Sweet Almond Oil
1.7 oz. Castor Oil
10.5 oz. Coconut Oil
10.5 oz. Olive Oil
8.8 oz. Palm Oil
5 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
11.5 oz. Distilled Water
2 oz. Oatmeal, Milk and Honey Fragrance Oil
1 Tbs. Oat Extract 
Titanium Dioxide
Brown Oxide
Gold Sparkle Mica
Colloidal Oatmeal
Powdered Goat Milk
Oatmeal (for top)
Optional: Crinkle Cutter

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means goggles, gloves and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

MILK PREP: Mix 1.5 oz. of goat milk powder into the distilled water. Once the powder is completely mixed into the water and contains no clumps, pour the milk into ice cube trays and place them into the freezer until completely hard (several hours to overnight).

COLOR PREP: To ensure that the Titanium Dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Please note this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide clumping in the soap =) To micronize colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to blend the colorant to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable, stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning. Then, disperse 1 teaspoons of the colorant into 1 tablespoon of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Disperse 1 teaspoons of the brown oxide into 1 tablespoon light liquid oil. Then, disperse 1 teaspoon colloidal oatmeal into 1 tablespoon light liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to get the clumps of color worked out smoothly.

ONE: Remove the fully frozen milk from the ice cube trays and place into a container that has been placed in an ice bath. Slowly add lye and stir until the lye is fully dissolved and the milk has become liquid. Click here to see this process and more tips on creating a lye and milk mixture. The more slowly you add the lye, the cooler the temperature of this mixture will stay. This process will take at least 10 minutes. Make sure there are no undissolved lye bits. The lack of heat slows the process considerably. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye milk. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add about 2.5 tsp. sodium lactate.

TWO: Melt and combine the coconut oil, olive oil, castor, sweet almond oil and palm oils (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below, add the lye milk to the oils and stick blend until medium trace. Because this design is simple, a thicker trace than normal works great.

THREE: Add 1 tablespoon of oat extract, and use a whisk to combine.

FOUR: Split the batch evenly into two containers. Each container will hold about 3 cups. To one container, add all of the colloidal oatmeal and titanium dioxide. Use a whisk to fully blend in.

FIVE: To the other container, add 2 teaspoons dispersed brown oxide and all of the Oatmeal, Milk and Honey Fragrance Oil. Use a whisk to fully mix in.

SIX: Pour the white soap into the mold, and firmly tap the mold onto the counter to evenly disperse the soap and get rid of air bubbles.

SEVEN: Use a powder duster to sprinkle on a thin layer of Gold Sparkle Mica. Don’t use too much, or the layers of soap may separate. Once the mica has been sprinkled on, close your eyes and gently blow on the mica to evenly disperse it.

EIGHT: Slowly and carefully, pour the brown soap into the mold. Pour the soap over a spoon or spatula to make sure the soap does not break through to the white layer.

NINE: Gently tap the mold onto the counter to evenly disperse the soap in the mold. This also helps get rid of air bubbles.

TEN: Use a spoon to create peaks and texture into the top of the soap.

ELEVEN: Sprinkle a layer of oatmeal on the top. Once you’re happy with the amount of oatmeal, spray the top with 99% isopropyl alcohol. Place the soap in the freezer for  5-24 hours to help prevent gel phase. Remove the soap from the freezer and allow to sit in the mold for 4-5 days. Milk soap can be a little softer due to the extra milk fat. Patience is key! Use the crinkle cutter to create a textured bar, or a sharp non-serrated knife for a smooth cut. Make sure there are no pieces of oatmeal directly under the knife, otherwise it may create drag marks. You can also turn the soap on its side to cut it in order to prevent drag marks.

Have you used goat milk in cold process soap before? Be on the lookout for more milk tutorials coming soon!

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Goat Milk & Oatmeal Cold Process Soap Tutorial

This cold process soap is extremely skin loving, with colloidal oatmeal, goat milk and oat extract.

Course Cold process soap

Author Soap Queen

Ingredients

• 10 ″ Silicone Loaf Mold
• 3.5 oz. Sweet Almond Oil
• 1.7 oz. Castor Oil
• 10.5 oz. Coconut Oil
• 10.5 oz. Olive Oil
• 8.8 oz. Palm Oil
• 5 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
• 11.5 oz. Distilled Water
• 2 oz. Oatmeal Milk and Honey Fragrance Oil
• 1 Tbs. Oat Extract
• Titanium Dioxide
• Brown Oxide
• Gold Sparkle Mica
• Colloidal Oatmeal
• Oatmeal for top
• Optional: Crinkle Cutter

Instructions

MILK PREP: Mix 1.5 oz. of goat milk powder into the distilled water. Once the powder is completely mixed into the water and contains no clumps, pour the milk into ice cube trays and place them into the freezer until completely hard (several hours to overnight).

COLOR PREP: To ensure that the Titanium Dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Please note this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide clumping in the soap =) To micronize colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to blend the colorant to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable, stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning. Then, disperse 1 teaspoons of the colorant into 1 tablespoon of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Disperse 1 teaspoons of the brown oxide into 1 tablespoon light liquid oil. Then, disperse 1 teaspoon colloidal oatmeal into 1 tablespoon light liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to get the clumps of color worked out smoothly.

• Remove the fully frozen milk from the ice cube trays and place into a container that has been placed in an ice bath. Slowly add lye and stir until the lye is fully dissolved and the milk has become liquid. Click here to see this process and more tips on creating a lye and milk mixture. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye milk. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add about 2.5 tsp. sodium lactate.
• Melt and combine the coconut oil, olive oil, castor, sweet almond oil and palm oils (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below, add the lye milk to the oils and stick blend until medium trace. Because this design is simple, a thicker trace than normal works great.
• Add 1 tablespoon of oat extract, and use a whisk to combine.
• Split the batch evenly into two containers. Each container will hold about 3 cups. To one container, add all of the colloidal oatmeal and titanium dioxide. Use a whisk to fully blend in.
• To the other container, add 2 teaspoons dispersed brown oxide and all of the Oatmeal, Milk and Honey Fragrance Oil. Use a whisk to fully mix in.
• Pour the white soap into the mold, and firmly tap the mold onto the counter to evenly disperse the soap and get rid of air bubbles.
• Use a powder duster to sprinkle on a thin layer of Gold Sparkle Mica. Don’t use too much, or the layers of soap may separate. Once the mica has been sprinkled on, close your eyes and gently blow on the mica to evenly disperse it.
• Slowly and carefully, pour the brown soap into the mold. Pour the soap over a spoon or spatula to make sure the soap does not break through to the white layer.
• Gently tap the mold onto the counter to evenly disperse the soap in the mold. This also helps get rid of air bubbles.
• Use a spoon to create peaks and texture into the top of the soap.
• Sprinkle a layer of oatmeal on the top. Once you’re happy with the amount of oatmeal, spray the top with 99% isopropyl alcohol. Place the soap in the freezer for 5-24 hours to help prevent gel phase. Remove the soap from the freezer and allow to sit in the mold for 4-5 days. Milk soap can be a little softer due to the extra milk fat. Patience is key! Use the crinkle cutter to create a textured bar, or a sharp non-serrated for a smooth cut.

The post Goat Milk & Oatmeal Cold Process Soap Tutorial appeared first on Soap Queen.

In addition to a silky feeling, soap made with milk is also gentle on sensitive skin. The Buttermilk Bastille Baby Bar video on Soap Queen TV is made with skin-loving olive oil and buttermilk. The soap recipe, shared by Amanda from Lovin Soap, gets its yellow color from carrot puree. It’s ideal for babies or young children.

Another way to add a silky feeling to your soap is with silk. Tussah silk fibers are dissolved in hot lye water and add a luxurious feeling to cold process soap. Bramble Berry’s Tussah silk fibers are cruelty free. Liquid silk can be added to melt and pour, lotion and emulsified scrubs. Click through the Saturday Night Spotlight: Liquid Silk and Tussah Silk Fibers to learn more.

The creamy color of milk soap goes well with a variety of colors. Spring is full of color and fragrance inspiration. Bright colors and floral scents look beautiful in projects like soap, bath bombs and lip gloss. The Rosy Red Lip Gloss is scented with springy Passionfruit Rose Fragrance and Flavor Oil. See more seasonal projects in the Spring Project Inspiration post.

Cucumber Melon Fragrance Oil is another perfect spring scent. This week’s Facebook Photo of the Week winner, Molly with Ridgeway Soapworks, used it in her stunning swirled soap.

Molly’s soaping style is full of striking contrast from a green, white and black color palette. The design reminds me of a spring flower. To get a similar look, click through the Havana Classic: Neptune Column Pour Tutorial. You can also get a similar design with the Funnel Pour Soap Technique on Soap Queen TV.

Above (clockwise, top left) are Molly’s Blood Orange and Goji Berry Soap, Jasmine Vanilla Soap, Citrus Zest and Mango Butter Soap and Goat Milk and Honey Soap. If you’d like to make a soap with the sweet scent of honey, click through the Honey Bee Soap Tutorial. For a honey-scented melt and pour project, check out the Save the Honey Bee Melt and Pour Tutorial.

Find Ridgeway Soapworks
On Facebook
On Etsy
On the web

This week’s Instagram Photo of the Week by Sarah with Spicy Pinecone is full of beautiful color as well. Her cold process soap is made with coconut milk and several butters for a luxurious feeling. The soft purple color looks great against the white and black swirl and is oh-so-spring-season. Find more beautiful soaps on her Instagram page.

Post pictures of your crafty creations on the Facebook page each week for a chance to be featured on the Soap Queen blog and receive a sweet soapy package from Bramble Berry. Photos are chosen based on consensus from the Bramble Berry staff, so the best way to increase your chances of winning is to show us lots of photos!

To participate in the Instagram contest, hashtag your pictures with #soapshare. Each Friday, I will pick a photo on Instagram to win a copy of the Soap Crafting book, and share on the Bramble Berry Instagram account. 

The post Facebook and Instagram Photo of the Week (April 4th ~ April 10th) appeared first on Soap Queen.

The only downfall of milk soap? It’s trickier to make than soap made with water. When adding lye to any soap making liquid, the temperature of the liquid can reach up to 200°F. Milks contain natural sugars, and when these sugars reach high temperatures, the milk will scorch. Scorched milk does not smell pleasant, and the milk turns from a creamy white to a golden yellow. Making soap with a scorched lye/milk mixture will not ruin your soap. But, the dark color of the milk may alter the colors in your soap. The smell of the scorched milk may also give your soap an unpleasant, ammonia-like smell for up to 10 days after the soap is made. To see an example of scorched milk, check out the Goat Milk Soap Tutorial on Soap Queen TV.

There are a few different ways to deal with this (everything from water discounting and adding the milk at the end, doing half milk and half water and more). But my favorite method has to do with temperature. The key to making soap with milk is to keep temperatures low by freezing the milk beforehand. To do this, measure out the amount of milk that you’ll need for your recipe. If using a milk powder, measure out your distilled water and add the appropriate amount of powder and stir until fully incorporated. If you are using Bramble Berry’s goat milk or coconut milk powder, we recommend 1 oz. of powder per 8 oz. of distilled water.

Pour the measured milk into ice cube trays, and place in the freezer. Allow the milk to fully freeze. Once you’re ready to make your soap, measure the amount of lye needed for your recipe. Place a mixing container that is large enough to comfortably fit the milk ice cubes into an ice bath. Place the milk ice cubes into the container resting in the ice bath.

Add one spoonful of the measured lye onto the milk ice cubes. Stir the lye flakes with the ice cubes. Continue to slowly add the lye into the frozen milk, and continue to stir.

Keep stirring! The process of adding the lye flakes into the frozen milk will take about 10 minutes. Adding the lye slowly and stirring in between each addition will help keep the temperatures low. If you were to add the lye all at once, the temperature of the milk would rise very quickly.
You will begin to notice the milk slowly melting. Continue to add the lye in small amounts, and stir, stir stir!

Once all the lye has been added, continue to stir until you are 120% sure that all the lye flakes have dissolved. Because the frozen milk keeps the mixture cold, the lye takes a while t dissolve. Patience is key! Any undissolved lye in your soap could cause skin irritation, or even lye burns.

Once lye has completely dissolved, the milk should be around 50-65° F. If you’d like, add sodium lactate to the lye mixture at a rate of 1 tsp. per pound of oils. It helps the soap pop out of the mold faster, and creates a harder, longer-lasting bar of soap. Stir thoroughly to mix in the sodium lactate.

Your milk is now ready to use! Ideally, your lye and milk mixture should be around 70° F. Much hotter than this, and your milk may begin to scorch. Add the milk to your hot oils and butters like normal, and proceed with your recipe as usual. Soap made with milk should not go through gel phase, as this will scorch the milk. To prevent gel phase, many soapers like to place their soap immediately into the freezer or fridge for 24 hours after pouring into the mold.

Have you ever made soap with milk before? What was your experience like? If you have any milk soap tips, I’d love to hear them!

The post How to Add Lye to Milk for Cold Process Soap appeared first on Soap Queen.

How long have you been soaping for and how did you get started?

I have been making soap for about a year and a half now.  I have my own dairy goats that I milk and use the milk in a variety of ways (but soap was always missing).  Quite a while ago, a friend gave me a very simple soap making kit that included everything except the lye.  I didn’t know where to get that and was scared to work with it anyway.  My kit sat unused for a long time.  Finally, I met someone who invited me to participate in an afternoon of soap making with them.  I was hooked!  The lye wasn’t so scary and I got started.  I haven’t been able to stop since.

On top of the creative satisfaction that I experienced, I was amazed that I no longer needed to use lots of lotions and creams to keep my skin moisturized.  First I just gave away the soaps as gifts and of course personal use, but now I am excited to launch a business and sell to others.

What inspires you to create?

Everything is inspiring to me as I think of new soaps to create!  I love looking at pictures of what other people do.  I also try to incorporate colors and scents that I like in other areas of life away from soap making.  Then I bring that to the soap table.  Also, along with that, each soap has an intended audience.  Whether it be men, women, sensitive skin, children, teenagers, or even specific individuals, I try to think of what colors and scents (or none) would represent that audience well.  And lastly, but probably most importantly, my goats inspire me.

I do my best thinking while I am milking and doing barn chores.  I get most of my soapy ideas at that time.  I also have a soap named after each of my goats and try to gear that soap to represent their personality some how.

What sort of advice would you give to those soapers just starting their businesses?

I don’t have much advise for other soapers just starting a business because I am one of them. My only advise as I enter this is just to “go for it”.  I am having so much fun and am so excited by what I am doing that I am almost giddy!  You must love what you are doing and try to find something unique to offer.

What is your favorite type of product to make?

I only make cold processed organic and natural goat milk soaps.  I make many different recipes, scents, colors and shapes.  At some point maybe I will hone into a few favorites or specialties, but for now, I can not keep up with my ideas and inspirations.  All I want to do is make soap, but alas, I also have a family, animals and other regular activities that keep me plenty distracted.

How did you come up with the name for your business?

My business name is Jangle Soapworks.  I usually am a very indecisive person.  But Jangle Soapworks was easy!  At the time when I was contemplating the business aspect of soap making I received an email from a close friend addressed to me as “Jangle” (my name is Janelle).  I thought it was funny and replied to her email with the sign off as “Jangle”.  I later learned that she had made a speedy typo, but jokingly said that I would name my business that.  Together we still call me Jangle.  I liked it a lot for some reason.  It just feels happy and whimsical.  I want my soaps to feel happy and whimsical.  So my business name was born.

What is your favorite Bramble Berry product?

Hmm…this is a hard question…because there are so many favorites.  I am going to give you two answers instead of one.  The first general product that I love of Bramble Berry’s are the natural colorants.  I LOVE the natural colorants! I have ordered and tried them all.  Lemon peel is my new favorite though:  just the right amount of color, scent and exfoliant!  I can’t stop smelling it when I use it.  But all of them are nice.  Madder root is another favorite.  Since I try to use only natural colorants, finding a true red was hard.  Finding madder root was wonderful!  It provides such a rich deep color.

My other favorite “product” of Bramble Berry’s isn’t really a product at all.  It is the support.  I love the personal blogs and answers to questions!  I love that you always answer my questions immediately.  I love that you provide us soap makers with so many ideas and tutorials.  I love the recipes.  I love the FUN inspired by your business and all your sites!

Find Jangle Soapworks:
On Facebook
On the web

If you’re interested in making goat milk soap yourself, check out these tutorials, videos and milk soap kits. Keep in mind making milk soap is more difficult than making traditional cold process because milk contains sugars and proteins that react differently with lye than water does. It takes an experienced soaper to make milk soap, but there are plenty of resources to help you out:

• Goat Milk Soap Tutorial on Soap Queen TV
• HSCG Conference Guest Post: Milk Soap
• Goat Milk Swirl Soap Kit
• Goat Milk Melt and Pour base
• Goat Milk soap archives on Soap Queen

The post Jabbering with Jangle Soapworks appeared first on Soap Queen.