It's snowing....

[fiberaddict]

lightly. After getting about 2" yesterday, and 1" of freezing rain. It's below freezing, and ICY. Milking was....fun. Slip-sliding away.....at least I didn't fall. So far, school is still in session, but late....which means I go in late. :sigh: If we're lucky, they'll cancel school - right now, they open at 10.

The soap smells *fantastic*. This go-round, I did mostly cream soaps....we only had 2 gallons of milk, but while rustling around in the dark recesses of my 'fridge I unearthed some whipping cream that was out of date (do NOT ask, 'k? :lol:).....since lye doesn't care, and since it really doesn't matter in soap (seriously. I know a soaper that uses the leftover lamb-bar milk in her soaps....she picks out the hay, but it's been out in the barn all day long. Her soap is still fantastic - the lye eats all the bad stuff.) I decided to go ahead and use it (Man, is this a LONG sentence, or what? :lol:)

Anyway, it was all slightly sticky - which is to be expected with cream soaps. The first batch was 100% cream - it turned into soap on a stick when the lye hit. The rest of the batches I mixed in 20% goat's milk - it still solidified, but not as much. My cutter sliced right thru them - it was so nice to have 6 perfect bars with 1 "thump". (It's a Cumberland Multi-bar cutter - a wooden version of the Tank.) I really do wish I done this sooner - the lack of effort, and the time savings is well worth the cost!

I also did a double batch of shampoo bars.......all was great until SG de-molded them. Both molds popped the soap out too quick for him to catch - out of 24 bars, 6 are "ugly", and, therefore, MINE. :lol: Slight dings, flat areas - I don't care. It still works!

The kids are glued to the TV, watching the news with the hopes our district will close. Our county/city offices have closed (we live in the County Seat)....so they have high hopes. :snicker:

Comments

[ali snowdale (from livejournal.com)]

I have heard of shampoo bars - but I don't know where you buy them at - tell me how much it would cost to get one of your bars from the "ding and scratch bin" please! I would like to see if they work well...
Pretty please?

[fiberaddict.livejournal.com]

I still have a box ready to go for you - let me see if I can squeeze an older one in - these won't be ready for use for about 4 weeks. (Well, they're usable now, but they're soft and will "melt" in the shower. The older they are, the longer they last.)

[oakenking.livejournal.com]

With the soaps that have milkfat content, do you have to adjust your lye amounts to saponify the milkfat? or does it remain unsaponified in the soap?

I used to soap at 5% discount of lye, and my soaps would last fine for six months or more - but then I noticed that year-old soaps would get DOS. I use a 3% lye discount now, and so far (touch wood!) those soaps haven't oxidized.

[fiberaddict.livejournal.com]

I haven't adjusted the lye amount - I SF at 5%. So far - *knock on wood* I haven't seen any DOS - my oldest soaps are, what? 9 months old now? I try to use a mid-range on the liquid (for example, if the Sage says "8 to 12 oz of liquid", I'll use no more than 10, and usually 9 oz of milk/cream/coffee...whatever. :lol:)

Some of the milkfat saponifies when the lye hits it - you get a kind of grainy liquid. It's not undissolved lye - that sinks; this floats. The stickblender breaks it up and works it into the oils, so I don't have grainy soaps - and so far, no lye-heavy batches. Just some ugly ones where I didn't quite get the color scheme I was going for.....

[oakenking.livejournal.com]

I was at my parents' house over Christmas, and forgot to bring soap - so it was either use their Irish Spring (yuk!) or some of the old soap that I'd given them that they never used (sigh). I went through and disposed of 5 bars that still had labeling on them - I closed The Oaken King in 2006, and I know these were probably from 2005 - but there were two bars still usable. Not much smell in them any more, but the one I used still washed up and didn't have any oxidation. Yaay!

I've never made milk soaps. I admit to a bit of curiosity, but not enough to want to give it a try. Obviously, with a milk source, you've got a natural angle... just like how I use cocoon waste in mine!

[fiberaddict.livejournal.com]

Yes - I keep looking at my tussah roving, but can't bring myself to use *it* in soap, because it's so dear. Milk? Eh - the goats'll make more. :lol:

So far, everything I've made - except 2 batches of shampoo bars - use milk. I've used chamomile tea in the 'poo bars - it's OK, but nowhere near as creamy as my milk bars. I can't wait to try the cream bars - I've heard they'll be even creamier!

soap bars

[(Anonymous)]

I love the goats milk soap bars. I have a neighbor (2 miles away, still neighbor :grin:) who makes those. Makes my hair feel really nice.

Karen