Hydrated soybeans on top and dehydrated soybeans on the bottom.
Oils ready for to be melted.
1) Calculate the amount of lye and liquid needed for the oils you plan to use.
2) Measure all of the oils and set aside to heat gently.
Adding lye to the water.
4) Measure HALF of the needed liquid as water and set aside. Measure HALF of the needed liquid as milk and set aside. Milk should be room temperature, not frozen or heated.
Mixing the lye solution.
5) Add ALL of the lye to the water. Stir well. No crystals should remain on the bottom of your mixing vessel. When the temperature of this lye solution is within 110° F to 130° F, (cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, cooler for large batches and warmer for small batches), add it to the oil mixture. Blend with an immersion blender until you estimate you are halfway through the mixing process. This will happen with most oils in about 1 minute. The mixture should NOT be thick or viscous. The mixture should be very fluid, like water.
Adding the lye solution to the melted oils.
7) Add fragrance. Pour into prepared SHALLOW molds (1 inch deep or so). Milk soaps can get very hot and shallow molds help the excess heat dump into the air. This will prevent the milk sugars from interrupting the saponification reaction.
This is called the Half and Half Method, because you use half water, half milk, and add the milk half way through the blending of the batch.
Collect needed items:
| Ingredients Hydrogenated Soybean Oil Coconut Oil Olive Oil Sodium Hydroxide Soy Milk Water |
Equipment Scale Soap Spoon Gloves Extra Large Square Tray Mold Square Tray Mold Immersion Blender |
| Time spent: Weighing time: 8 minutes Adding lye to water: 15 seconds, followed by 60 seconds of stirring Heating of oils time: 3 minutes Pouring lye solution into the fat mixture: 10 seconds Using immersion blender to mix soap solution: 90 seconds Adding milk to the batch: 20 seconds Using immersion blender to completely mix milk into soap: 40 seconds Pour into molds: 60 seconds Allow soap to rest: 24 hours |
| Recipe in ounces: 40 ounces weight Hydrogenated Soybean Oil 20 ounces weight Coconut Oil 20 ounces weight Olive Oil 11.1 ounces Sodium Hydroxide |
We only have Almond Milk left! Don’t forget to give me your guesses on the final colors of the soaps! We will see a cut soap comparison on Monday!
Don’t forget to submit your blog or video posts to win the MMS Perfumer’s Kit. Remember, this kit is worth $280! Submissions are due by March 1st for posts during February.
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 Mixing the batch to halfway to trace.  Adding milk to the batch.  Filling the second mold. |
 The batch is ready for the milk to be added.  Beginning to pour the batch into the mold. |