Replacing water with milks/teas/coffee

by Heather
(PA)

I was curious about mixing lye with a water substitute. Would one use part water and part milk/tea/coffee? Or could you use all milk/tea/coffee and no water? Thanks.

Answer:

You can completely replace water in a soap recipe if you like.

Be sure to cool the liquid completely before mixing it with lye.

Replacing water with milk does require a little bit more care as well. You will want to freeze the milk into a slush before adding the lye crystals to it or the milk may burn.

I prefer to use half water and add the lye to that. I then add the remaining half as liquid milk that has been strengthened with powdered milk when the soap reaches a light trace.

Hope that helps,
Cathy