Goats milk soap

by Mae
(UK)

Could anyone tell me what to add to my goats milk bar to make it a little harder. Would the use of salt make any difference?

Thanks

Mae

Answer:

The hardness of your soap bar is determined by what ingredients you use to make the soap, the amount of water used and the amount of your lye discount.

I haven't used salt to harden a bar. I simply adjust my recipe by using a bit more of the hard oils, a little less water and try to make sure my lye discount isn't too high. Goats milk contains fat in it that isn't accounted for in the amount of oils used in the recipe so for milk soaps I don't like to use more than a 5% lye discount.

Another thing to consider is the additives you put into the soap. If you add large amounts of ingredients like oatmeal or other botanical matter to a soap recipe, it can make the soap a bit softer.

Hope that helps,
Cathy