For months if I make an all GM soap I have been getting tiny white flecks throughout it. I figure this has something to do with using all GM as my soaps that are half GM don't usually get it. This didn't used to happen either. I'm wondering if it has to do with a different does milk? The doe I milk now compared to the doe I used to milk has much higher butterfat... I add the lye to the milk frozen it cubes, FYI and it's not undissolved lye either - no zap. Bethany
I had that happen to me.. I noticed little clumps of yellow or orange in my lye mixture. Since we use Nubian milk.. I figured it was the high fat making little balls of soap before it got to my oils. I not pastuerize the milk.. let it set for a day or so in the fridge.. then scoop off all the butterfat from the top, then bag and freeze. This has helped considerably with those little flakes.
I get that most of the time when I do all GM. It kind of looks neat and adds to the rustic look but I don't always want it. When I switched to using water with the lye and adding milk before trace I don't get them anymore. But I would like to be able to do all GM and not get them.
Yes, this is the trick! My water/Gm's don't seem to have this issue! I'd hate to skim off the butterfat...that's what I LIKE in my soap! I think I will keep the flecks to keep the butterfat. Bethany
I tried something different yesterday that worked real nice. I used water equal to the lye amount, ie. 4oz lye, 4oz water, to initially dissolve the lye. This did not get clear. I immersed the jar in ice water and cooled to I'd say below 60 degrees. Then I added the goat milk. I left the jar in the ice water. I poured the entire amount of goat milk in all at once. Yes, it heated up but I kept the thermometer in it and it never exceeded 120 degrees. The color was a pale yellow, but there was no orange or curdling. I plan to try this process again.
