Room Temperature Soap Making

by Kate
(Yukon, Canada)

I am wondering if anyone has tried the room temperature soap making method using beer, wine or milk as the liquid? Is this safe and does it work? Are there any special precautions that should be taken?


Answer:

I actually haven't used this method for those types of soap but now that you have asked I am certainly interested.

I am posting the question in case anyone has an answer for you and I will give it a go as soon as I am able.

Cathy

Comments for Room Temperature Soap Making

Average Rating starstarstarstarstar

Click here to add your own comments

Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		About Soda Ash
by: Melissa

Hi everyone, I'm sorry if I'm really late to the party but I LOVE room temperature soap making myself. About soda ash - it is completely harmless and usually occurs when a soap has not had an intense gel phase or a noticeable gel phase at all. It's fine and will come off if you gently steam the soap with a steamer. To prevent soda ash on a batch of soap you might not be insulating or that you know will not gel, just give the batch a spritz of rubbing alcohol right before putting it to bed after it's been poured. Just a light spritzing, nothing heavy. That should keep the ash from forming. And again, if it does, just break out the old wand steamer (if you've got one) and give your completely set-up soap a gentle steaming to remove the ash!
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		beer room temperture soap
by: Trish B

Hi
I am new to soap making and so far loving the room temp method! The first batch I made with water looked great in the mold but when I took it out to cut is just crumbled... fail.

I tried using beer for the next batch and refrigerated the beer, the lye beer mix still got hot enough to melt the oil.

It came out of the mold looking great and cut beautifully! A little ashy on top though. I am assuming my first batch just got too hot.

Anyone have any other thoughts on why my first batch failed?

Answer:

The first batch didn't get too hot. If anything I would say it didn't get hot enough or else there was a miss measure somewhere.

Using any ingredient that contains sugar in it in soap making will cause the soap batch to become hotter than normal. Ingredients like beer and milk will have this effect. They literally jumpstart the saponification process and send the soap to the gel stage rather quickly.

Cathy
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Goat's Milk Soap Pictures
by: Kate

Kathy, I am wondering where you posted the pictures of the room temp goat milk soap that you made back in February?

Answer:

Visit this link to the recipe and pictures of my room temp goats milk soap.

Cathy
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		ROOM TEMP
by: TANIA

HI ALL,
IME JUST LEARNING ABOUGHT SOAP MAKING
AND HAVE MAID SOME BATCHES DELIBRATLY DOING THINGS WRONG TO SEE THE PROCESS OF WHAT HAPPENS!
IVE JUST MAIDE A ROOM TEMP BATCH USING A PINT OF WHOLE MILK AS MY BOTTLED WATER RAN OUT I STUCK TOO MY ORIGANAL RECIPE BARRING ADDING MILK INSTEAD OF WATER.
I HAD TO FREEZE THE END RESULT TO GET IT FROM THE MOULD BUT NOW I HAVE LEFT IT THROWN ON THE DRYING RACK,
I HAVE FOUND THAT IT'S A LOT SOFTER AND SEEMS TO BE TAKING FOREVER TO HARDEN
MIND IT WAS ONLEY A WEEK AGO THAT I MAIDE IT LOL
MY RECIPE IS;
17.50 OZ LARD
16 OZ OLIVE OIL
16 OZ SUNFLOWER OIL
16 0Z VEG OIL (SOYABEAN OIL)
8.52 LYE
16/24 OZ WATER OR (1 PINT WHOLE COWS MILK)
FRAGRANCE USED WAS ABOUGHT 6 TABLE SPOONS OF
TOASTED MARSHMELLOW
SMELLS LIKE CUSTERED NOW LOOLL
IME GOING TO TRY SUBSTITUTING LARD FOR PALM AND COCONUT NEXT
IME SURE ITS TURNING TO SOAP BUT HOW GOOD IT WILL BE ONLEY TIME WILL TELL
HAPPY SOAPING
KIND REGARDS FROM TARNIE IN LONDON X
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		that makes sense
by: Kate

Thanks for the tip Cathy. I will remember that when I make my beer soap as I usually use slushy beer for that as well. I have not made any using RT method and I will definitely keep this in mind.
Can't wait to see the photos(-:
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Goat Milk Soap
by: Cathy

The room temp goat milk soap I made turned out great and I was working on the page last night and will hopefully finish it up today - Feb.19/12.

One thing to keep in mind with room temperature soapmaking...the heat of the lye is what melts the hard oils so if you are using frozen, slushy milk, the heat may not be enough to melt the oils. You might find that the lye will be too cool to do the job properly.

Cathy
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		another ?
by: kate

I ususally make my GM soap the same as other soaps, that is I just add the lye to the milk (I do freeze the milk until it is at least slushy) Do you see any reason why this would not work with the room temperature method?

How did your soap turn out Cathy. Have you posted pictures yet?
Thanks, Kate
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Reply
by: Heather

I give my soap a generous spray on top. Not so much that it pools on top but enough that it completely covers the soap. Actually since I have started doing this I notice not only does my soap stay ash free but it seems to have this lovely smooth finished look to it!

As for photos, I would be happy to share what they look like afterwards! I'll post back on this page in about a day or two with my results.

P.S. Isn't this site just amazing! I discovered this page a few years ago and I STILL love coming back to reference things on this page. Cathy should you ever need someone to help run this page as I have read you have a hard time keeping up with it PLEASE let me know. I would be MORE than glad to help and pass on knowledge.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		pictures?
by: Kate

Thanks for your comments Heather. I have read about the alcohol trick - I think I will give it a try. Do you just spray a fine mist over the top of the loaf?
How abput posting some pictures of your soap? I would love to see your mulit coloured ones(-:
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		My Room Temp Experience
by: Heather

Thus far I haven't had a problem with soda ash at all. But I also use a technique that I learned from Brambel Berry which is spraying 91% rubbing alcohol over top of my soap just after putting it to rest in my mold. This is said to prevent soda ash and as long as I have been doing it it has completely stopped that problem.

With the two batched of room temperature method I have done they both have worked really well which really says something about this method as any recipe with milk added traces pretty quick.

As for the translucent spots. Even in certain cp recipes I have made I will occasionally have spots like that. Even one of my room temp batches had some clear spots. I think it might actually have to do with the temp. With the last batch I just made it got REALLY hot! So note to self DO NOT insulate milk batched soap. Even room temp ones! LOL

Tonight I will be making my third room temp batch of soap but with a new recipe! Can't wait! This one I will be testing what I can do with multi colors.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		oops
by: Kate

That last comment was from me. I did not intend to leave it as anonymous!
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		I am wondering....
by: Anonymous

I have made 4 batches of soap this way (none with milk, YET) and I love the method. There are two things I have noticed that may, or may not, relate to the method.1- Each of these batches has had more soda ash on the surface than I typically have. Has anypne else experienced this? I do not really inderstand ash - that is, what causes it? If temperature has anything to do with it, I would suppose it could relate to this room temp method.
2- the other thing is that the soap cured more translucent that usual (gel?) - also could relate to temperature.

If anyone has any thoughts on this, I would be interested in hearing them. Thanks.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		UPDATE!
by: Heather

This method is AMAZING! Quite possibly how I do soap now!!!! I've done two batches and it was beautiful! I had so much time to play around. Designing this way will be a breeze!

Thank you for sharing this new method. It has renewed my soap making love!
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		This menthod is amazing!
by: Heather

I was surfing your site and decided to give the room temperature method a try. I have yet to see it unmolded but this could quite possibly be my new soap making method!!!! This was unbelievably easy. No more stress scrambling around with a batch that got thick too quick! With this method I was able to take my time. Designing a fancy batch was a piece of cake! And my scent had cinnamon e/o in it too, which tends to quicken trace. Oh and did I mention I also used goats milk. And still it didn't trace quickly! Like the other comments I added my powdered milk to some reserved water and added it after my soap reached a light trace.

Here's to hoping it worked! I'll update you with my results!
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Goat's Milk Soap
by: Cathy

Yes Kate that's exactly what I did. I also added some powdered coconut milk (I would have used goat's milk powder but I was out and had the coconut milk) to strengthen the milk.

The soap isn't out of the mold yet but it looks pretty light so far. I added the mica because I was attempting to make a white on white marble but I don't know if it was successful yet or not.

And yes there will be pictures!
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Room Temp Goat Milk Soap
by: Kate

Thanks Cathy. Do I understand that you mixed the lye into water (2/3 of the required liquid) and then used goat milk for the remaining 1/3 and added that at trace? -When you do it this way is your soap quite light in colour or is that why you add the white mica.
I can' t wait to see the recipe and I am hopong you will post a picture.
Thanks so much for trying this out. I really appreciate it(-:
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Room Temp Goat's Milk Soap
by: Cathy

Kate...when you asked about using milk in the room temperature method of soap making, I decided to give it a go.

I did not add the lye directly to the milk since I don't like using that method. I held back about 1/3 of the water which I replaced with fresh goat's milk that I fortified with coconut milk powder. I added this slurry to the lightly traced soap just before adding in white mica and lavender essential oil.

I have yet to unmold the soap but so far it looks great. As with all milk soaps, you have to keep an eye on it and as soon as it reaches a full gel, unwrap it. You can even unwrap a little earlier if you see the center of the soap is overheating.

I will be adding the recipe to the site sometime this week or next.

Cathy

Click here to add your own comments

Return to Submit a Question.

Like This Page?