Curdled lavender goats milk soap

by Amy
(Missoula, Montana )

I have made, or attempted to make, lavender goats milk soap twice now with the same result.. Everything goes great until I add the lavender essential oil at trace. It almost immediately curdles and seizes.

I've tried to rebatch and heat it up again but it just turns a dark carmel color as if the milk is scorching, with only a little bit of oil seeming to melt down again. I've thought about adding the lavender oil with my other oils when they are heating up but this is getting expensive and I don't want to keep "trying".

Hopefully someone can help?

Answer:

This is quite strange. In my experience, I have found that lavender essential oil actually loosens up the soap base. What I mean by this is that when I bring my base to a nice medium trace and then add the lavender essential oil, the soap seems to revert to a thin trace and it takes a bit more stirring to bring it back up to a thick trace.

Are you positive that the oil you are using is a pure essential oil and not a fragrance oil or fragrance/essential oil blend? Could it contain other ingredients maybe?

In the past I have had one essential oil that has been what they called a commercial grade essential oil. What the manufacturer meant by this was that the oil had been 'enhanced' artificially. This oil was one that I had to work very, very quickly with in order to get it from the pot to the soap mold.

That is all I can think of without having more information.

Cathy