I think I'm a picky soap maker.
There are ingredients I'll never use, there are soap shapes that will never be appealing to me, and I'm more than stubborn when it comes to minimum curing time.
There's also something else that I'm picky about - the season. I only make milk soaps in the winter - weird, isn't it?
Well, since I have this obsession to make milk soaps as white as I possibly can without using any TD, I figure that I should avoid gel-ing the soap if I can help it. So in addition to freezing the milk and slowly dissolving lye one teaspoon as a time, I also "refrigerate" my milk soap once it's set in the mold.
Technically I can to this anytime of the year, but I prefer leaving my soap outdoors and let the Canadian winter do its trick.
I can't really explain why I like to leave them outside during winter.
Is it because I don't like to crowd my fridge with something uneatable? Is it because I'm afraid the lye being so close to something I plan on digesting? Or maybe it's just because I need to put it out of sight so I won't have to fight the temptation to take it out prematurely?
Leaving the soap in the cold doesn't really ruin it, as some might believe. These soap bars are nice and hard, and I know in a few months time, they'll charm me again in the shower!
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Maggie, your soaps look as always stunning! I, too, prefer winter soaping but not only w/ my milk based soaps. All soaps, actually. Despite super cold soaping, my sheep milk soaps always tan over time. They start out when and then meander over into a milky tan. Makes them look edible :)
ReplyDeleteGorgeous gorgeous gorgeous soaps and photos! Wow. Can you tell me all the things you think keep milk soaps as white as possible? Is it only the temps? xo Jen
ReplyDeleteI usually gel my soaps too for the same reason, they seem to turn out more .... solid. I'm sure you know what I mean. ;)
ReplyDeleteI once got brittle milk soap and i find if I mix the soap until it reaches heavy trace, that'll prevent the problem. It's been working so far!
Natalia, that's too bad! They're missing out the good stuff!
ReplyDeleteMaggi, Thanks for the tips about getting the whitest white goat milk soap! I just got a nice white one which I may post about... Can you tell me any tricks you know of to get honey soap darker? I like a nice rich dark honey soap but it only happens randomly... xo Jen
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