Milk soaps - To gel or not to gel, that is the question

I love milk soaps, they are mild and gentle and evoke a feeling of warmth, natural goodness and country charm. If left to their own devices milk soaps will always gel, the sugar in the milk will raise the temperature considerably, so if you don't want your soap to gel then you have to take pretty drastic measures.

Now why would you want to stop your milk soap from gelling? Does gelling make a difference to the quality of the soap? No, the quality of the soap doesnt change, but what does change is the colour and that might be important to you.

When you let a milk soap gel, it generally turns a deep tan colour. If you have also added honey, you might find that it goes even darker.

These two soaps are from the very same batch, the one one the left is the main batch, gelled in a wooden log mould, the one on the right was leftover soap in a small individual mould, and ungelled. As you can see, the gelled soap is much darker than the soap which didnt gel.

This is what I do when I make milk soaps -

I use 35/40 water and 65/60 milk for my liquid. I use the water to mix up the lye. You will need to stir for longer than normal to dissolve all that lye in such a small amount of water, but it does work. I add the cold milk to the oils when the hard oils have melted, and stickblend it in thoroughly. If I am using a scent for the soap, I also add that to the oils and milk mix. I then add the cooled lye water, stickblend until it reaches thin trace and add whatever botanicals I want to use ( for example poppy seeds, wheatbran, oatmeal ) and perhaps a bit of honey. Handstir until the botanicals are well incorporated.

When making milk soaps I soap much cooler than I would normally do. I take the oils of the heat as soon as there are only a few bits of hard oils left, they will still melt because of the heat of the liquid oils. Adding the cold milk cools the oils down really quickly. The lye water I prepare well before I start melting the oils and put it into a bowl of very cold water to cool it down quickly. I usually aim for no more than 80F or even room temperature, especially when adding honey to the soap as well.

I never use a log mould for milk soaps these days. I used one for my first goats milk and honey soap, and insulated it as well, and it went crazy! It rose like a loaf of bread, and cracked right down the middle. I had to squash it all down again and somehow it ended up a really nice soap anyway. I now use slab moulds for milk soaps ( actually a lovely old wooden tray found at a boot sale for 50 pence ). As soon as the soap is poured, I stick it in the freezer, sometimes for a few hours, or, if I made the soap in the evening, overnight. Take it out of the freezer, and voila, beautifully creamy looking goatsmilk soap! It is easy to remove from the mould when you take it out of the freezer. I just let the slab sit for a while to return to normal temperature and then cut to required size.


This is a very plain goats milk soap without any additives, no fragrances, no colours, which makes it very suitable for young and/or sensitive skin.

There you have it, using milk in your soaps should be quite straight forward. Having said that, of course, nothing is ever straight forward, lol, and the strangest things can happen. For example, one lady in the States made a milk soap, put the mould outside in the snow, and it still gelled! Another put the soap in the fridge for a few hours, took it out and it started gelling, lol. So you just never can tell with 100% certainty that things will work as planned, but if you follow the above, then at least you should stand a pretty good chance!

So what is so special about salt bars?

Firstly, let me say that I love salt bars, and that I am eternally grateful to the wonderful person who first came up with this fabulous idea on an American forum.

Although the whole idea of having lots of salt in a bar of soap might sound rather strange, it does kinda make sense. Salt baths have often been recommended by doctors for people with skin problems, and even the Victorians loved their holidays by the seaside, because they found bathing in the saltwater so beneficial. I have been using salt soap on my face for a few months now, and I love what it has done for my skin. I very very rarely get spots or breakouts anymore these days ( only when I am very stressed and haven't used the salt bar) and they disappear again within a couple of days of using the salt soap. Just one word of caution though, don't use it on broken skin, it will sting!

So what goes into a bar of salt soap? Salt, obviously, lol, but what about the actual soap part? The most important ingredient is a very high amount of coconut oil, because that is the one oil which will make a soap lather even in salt water. Some people have made salt bars with 100% coconut oil and superfatted the bars at 20%. Personally, I find that a little too extreme. Although most people say that they dont find the bar drying despite the high coconut oil contents, I prefer to add some castor oil, to help with the lather and something nice and skin loving, like shea butter or perhaps jojoba or ricebran oil. I superfat these bars at 10% normally and find that the end product lathers quite well if used properly. That means using hot water and working the bar somewhat more than ordinary soap ( keep turning in your hand and adding a bit more hot water once or twice ). That way you will get nice biggish bubbles to start with, but they will quickly turn into a dense and creamy lather. I massage this all over my face and leave it on for a minute or so while I get on with other things ( brushing teeth for example ). Then rinse off with warm water. I think you will be quite surprised how nice your skin feels afterwards. I apply a good facial serum/elixir and my skin feels so soft!

If you dont have any problems with breakouts or spots, then you might think that you have no need for salt bars. But if you get the chance, try one, just to satisfy your curiosity. You may just get to like it anyway. If you feel that a salt bar is not for you, however, then there is always a lovely mild and gentle goatsmilk soap perhaps, or a nettle and jojoba soap, or or or.......

There's a baggie stuck to my nose!

You are probably quite reasonably asking yourself why on earth I am sitting here at the computer with a baggie stuck to my nose. The answer is quite simple really, one word........ AMBER!

I love the beautiful rich heady scent of amber in any shape or form, but when you get hold of a piece of premium amber resin, oh boy, you just have to sniff it! And this darling little piece of aroma heaven is in a little bag, which very neatly fits over the end on my nose, lol. So, I type a couple of sentences, I sniff the amber, I sigh with delight, and force myself to put it down again.

It looks quite innocent really, doesnt it?


Amber is mainly produced in India, and is a combination of different tree resins, benzoin ( with varying amounts of vanillin crystals ), essential oils and waxes. Often these amber resins are made by families from jealously guarded secret recipes handed down from generation to generation. So, you'll probably find that no two ambers are exactly the same. Some are sweet, floral ambers, others are more woody, musky, spicy ambers. But they all have one thing in common - they are utterly gorgeous, and absolutely essential for anybody who loves to create their very own fragrances. The following is a quote from edenbotanicals:-

"To the resin and wax base, the amber maker adds essential oils or fragrance oils or ambergris. The types of oils used will determine the final scent of the product. Fragrant plant powders such as sandalwood powder are also added to some ambers. The types of oils typically added include sandalwood and patchouli. Almost any other oils may be added to get the desired scent. A spicy amber may have cinnamon, cardamom or ginger added. A sweet flowery amber may have geranium, rose or a hint of ylang ylang added. Other oils that may be used in certain ambers include: vetiver (khus), spikenard (jatamansi), frankincense, myrrh, cedarwood, vanilla, ambrette musk, etc."

Originally amber was created by an ayurvedic physician as a mood enhancing product, but these days you would probably find it in every parfumers' secret cupboard.

A few months ago, I ground up a piece of premium dark amber and infused it in some oil. Of course, quality control has to be performed every day, so one sniffs the bottle, one puts a drop or two of the oil on a pulse point..... and then one gets totally carried away and rubs it all over one's face! Not such a good idea, lol, the delicate skin of my face protested, and turned red and hot. So, although its fine to rub amber resin on pulse points, don't rub it all over your face!

My very own amber infusion is about three months old now and smells absolutely divine. I also have an amber/vanilla infusion on the go, but I have noticed that the vanilla is not coming through much, it has only softened the amber a tiny bit. I am going to let them brew for another 3 months at least I think, and then use the amber infusion in a very exclusive limited edition range of products, including soap, lotion, bath treats etc., perhaps even a perfume.

In the meantime, I am still sitting here with a baggie stuck to my nose every couple of minutes, LOL, whilst deciding what to with this wonderful piece of amber. For the time being, it will stay in the baggie, on the nose ;-).

A New Adventure

A big warm welcome to you! I am Elisabeth, soapmaker and passionate formulator of creams, lotions and all kinds of potions.

My friends' nagging has finally done the trick, I am blogging!

So, if you would like to hear about the latest scent mixes for our creams, or would like to see the newest handmade cold process soaps, then stop by often. You may find a light hearted look at the disasters caused by the naughty soap fairies who visit occasionally, or find recipes for you to try at home. I might recommend my favourite suppliers, fellow soapmakers, or perhaps tell you about bad experiences.

Who knows what tomorrow may bring? The website might finally get finished, a new product could be launched, or perhaps I could see my soaps displayed in another local shop. Not every day is filled with excitement, however, so don't expect a daily update, lol, I would probably bore you to tears rather quickly. But do check back often, you never know, you just might find that bit of information or inspiration you have been searching for.