Adding Milk Powders

by Pamela Baldwin
(Torrance, Calif.)

I have made three batches of CPOP soaps and all went bad,,,,the only difference I have made to my favorite recipes is the addition of powdered milk...I added in with lye & water, bombed, I added at thin trace, bombed, then made the milk and froze in ice cubes added with half water with lye and guess what? Bombed! I've even read that you can sprinkle powder in at thin trace but was afraid of clumps and another bomb! all came out of the oven oily yet crumbling apart.
I used the 4 tbsp/1cup water ratio. Always cutting that amount from the water/lye ratio.
Any help?, I would love your in put. Also, love the sound of my soaps becoming smoother and conditioning with the milk addition, but can't afford another test.
Thanks so much!!
Pamela

Answer:

I'm not an expert on the CPOP method of soap making (I like plain old CP or room temp) but when you add milk to a soap you get much higher temperatures and have to watch that the soap doesn't overheat.

I wonder if that is what is happening to your soap. Try your recipe the next time and don't put it in the oven. Just cover it and leave it. Check on it every hour or so to see if it is gelling and when it has, take the cover off.

Other steps you can take are to recheck your recipe for accuracy and make sure you are bringing the soap to a full trace before pouring. If you are using a stick blender, be sure to mix with a spoon for a while before pouring into the molds to be sure you reached full trace and not a false trace.

Good luck,
Cathy