Goat’s Milk Soap: To Gel or Not to Gel

That is the question! Whether tis nobler to insulate such soap and allow it to gel, or to take arms against the heat of saponification and use fans to prevent gelling – that is what I am trying to discover. (Pardon me for writing another post that will only make sense to other soapmakers.)

Do you ever find yourself wondering why you use certain methods when you make soap? I can remember learning early on from other seasoned goat’s milk soapmakers that you should prevent gel – either by putting the raw soap in the refrigerator or even the freezer right after pouring, or by using a fan. I’ve been forced to use a fan since my log molds are too long to fit in a refrigerator or freezer. The reasoning was two-fold: 1. The milk heats up the soap and can cause it to volcano out of the mold, and 2. Ungelled soaps are lighter in color. You can see my tutorial on making Oatmeal, Milk and Honey soap here.

Suddenly, after years and years of making my Creamy Castile soap, I find myself questioning this reasoning because sometimes it comes out crumbly around the bottom edge. It only happens with the castile soap – not with any of my other goat’s milk soaps.

I thought I found the solution to the problem after the last batch when I decided to wait on pouring the soap until it finally reached a medium trace. This took a LONG time! I had to blend, wait 15-30 minutes, blend again, wait 15-30 minutes. I don’t even remember how long it finally took! I used to pour as soon as it reached a light trace, thinking it would heat up and start to gel if I didn’t.

Last week I tried using the same method again – waiting until medium trace – and ended up with 50 bars of partially gelled and crumbly soap. It’s either going to have to be re-batched, or sent to Clean the World. I have a feeling it will be the latter.

Creamy Castile Soap - Crumbly and Partially Gelled

This made me think – could I possibly make Creamy Castile soap and actually allow it to gel? It went against everything I thought I knew!! Lo and behold – it worked. The soap I made yesterday turned out smooth throughout. There was no volcano, and the color is just slightly darker. Amazing!

Creamy Castile Soap - Fully Gelled and Perfect!

So now I’m wondering. Those of you who make goat’s milk soap: do you let your soaps gel, or not? Any other words of wisdom you care to share are much appreciated!

Page with Comments

  1. I would love some help on this subject! I’ve always gelled my soap, but this is the first time I’m using full goats milk. My sole purpose in putting my loaves in the freezer is to prevent the uncolored natural part of the soap to stay as light as possible. But from looking at your pics above, the color difference isnt enough to bother me. I just dont want it to turn brown. I also do not want a partial gel. So… how long do i leave in the freezer? do i move to fridge? or just leave out in the open? They’ve been in the freezer for about 30mins, as of right now. Help!

  2. @Alli – There’s no right or wrong answer here. I would leave the soap in the freezer for at least few hours, then put it in the refrigerator overnight. It may take some trial & error to find the right times for your recipe. Depends on the size of the recipe, how cool the temps were when you mixed it, etc.

  3. I tend to soap in the evenings and I just stick them in the freezer and leave them there all night. Doesn’t seem to do them any harm.

  4. Hi, my very first batch of soap I made gelled in the middle. Would it be okay to use it to make powdered laundry detergent or should I rebatch? Thanks for the resource, very informative.

  5. @Heidi – Partial gel is a cosmetic issue, nothing that will affect the performance of your soap. It looks better if it’s one or the other (gelled or non-gelled) but it’s still perfectly usable! Congrats on your first batch! I’m sure it won’t be your last. 🙂

  6. I have been making soap for about a year now and really exploring gelling and whether I should do it or not. I also just started making goat milk soap and was wondering if it was possible. I did a google search and saw this post. Great to see you found success. I have been looking through Kevin Dunn’s Scientific Soapmaking book and it looks like the successful combination to making goat milk, having it gel, and not volcano is to huge a lot of goat milk and mix your lye and oils a little warmer than normal. the book suggests around 60 C, but that is for water, not goat milk, so Im not sure what would work best for goat milk, yet. Looking to experiment. Could you share any other details before I try, so I can formulate the best attempt?

  7. I keep my goats milk frozen until ready to use. I add lye to my partially frozen milk. Works great, and stays a lovely color because it does not get too hot.

  8. @Michelle – Sometimes. For example, citrus essential oils will burn off quite a bit during gel phase. I always use folded citrus essential oils to prevent this from happening. Most quality fragrance oils can withstand the gel phase quite well. If you have consistent issues, you may not be using enough fragrance or you need to find a better quality supplier.

  9. I have been making cold process soap with raw goat milk for about six months. I place my molds in the refrigerator for seven days before removing from the mold and cutting to cure. After reading this post I am wondering if this is necessary. This morning I pulled a batch out, unmolded, and sliced. I could see a very thin line around the perimeter of the soaps…ugh partial gel? In addition, to the refrigeration I try to keep my goat milk/lye mix at no more than 80 degrees and add my oils when they are roughly 100 degrees. I know this breaks the 10 degree variance but I haven’t had any issues yet! Does anyone else follow a similar method?

  10. @Kathleen – Depends if you want your soaps to stay a really light color or not. I quit messing with preventing gel just for sanity’s sake. I’m also using a strong water-lye solution (1:1) and adding the remaining liquid in fresh goat’s milk to the oils (well blended) before adding the lye solution. It means less goat’s milk in the finished product, but I no longer worry about getting the lye incorporated in the milk. Another thing that has helped my sanity!!

  11. I’m new to goat’s milk and appreciated this discussion, which I read just before soaping with goat’s milk for the very first time on Saturday. I have wood molds so decided to try the freezer method (did 24 hours in freezer then 24 in fridge) and thought everything as great until I went to cut. Bars were creamy white, solid and smooth, but did crumble a bit at the bottom just on the very edge. So my question is will they still cure up fine and be good to go in 6-8 weeks or am I going to have to start over? I have at least 5 more batches of goat’s milk in the freezer but I want to troubleshoot this first before I try again. Thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide.

  12. @Dalene – They should cure up fine if it’s just a little bit on the edge. You may want to try mixing your soap just a bit longer to make sure it’s really pulling together before putting it in the freezer.

  13. Here’s a funny thing… I was making goat milk soaps left and right never knowing you were supposed to either completely insulate or stick in freezer or fridge… So all I was doing was just leaving my mold out on the table uncovered… Only once out of all the gm batches I made did it partially gel and at the time I didnt know what that was and thought my soap was “bad.” All the other times my soap did not gel. Maybe insulating I might run into risk of the volcano thing? I’m going to try it and find out because I happen to love taking risks and science projects 😉 – some batches I’ve even put in Pringles jars as they have the “metallic” like liners inside that actually help the soap warm up a lot more than in my plastic mold and even those milk batches never gelled… So even then my milk soaps never volcanoed. But maybe it has something to do with how you mix your ingredients (temp) and what oils you use? The batch I made that partially gelled was the “same” recipe I had used before that didn’t gel. It was slightly altered the second time. I replaced 7% of other oils with Shea butter (rechecking lye of course) and that was the batch that slightly gelled on me even though I did it exactly the same as the other batch. As far as temperature goes…. I do cp soap and I’m always reading about “make sure oils are same temp as lye solution…” But I’m gonna be honest I’ve NEVER checked my temp even though I do own a candy therm. I heat my oils enough to melt them together and set it aside while doing my lye mixture. When the lye mix is totally blended (not cooled down) I slowly add my oils into the mix stirring the whole time. By slowly I literally mean a slow trickle and it can take several minutes for me to pour all the oil into the lye mix. For the first time the other day I gelled a batch but it was water not milk… It gelled in less than 24 hours. Now I want to try that with milk so wish me luck haha!

  14. @Kathleen – Shred it up and re-melt it in a crockpot, or a stainless steel pot in the oven at 250 or so. You’ll need to stir it every 30-60 mins until it’s melted down. It should be the consistency of thick mashed potatoes. It’s ok if you end up with some pieces that don’t melt down as long as most of it is melted. If it’s a fresh batch (within 1-2 days), you shouldn’t need to add any more liquid. If it’s cured, you can add more liquid – a little at a time. Depends on how big your batch is as to how much liquid you end up adding, but the end texture should still be thick mashed potatoes.

  15. Thank you for the response. When you say add more liquid are you referring to water, goat milk (which would burn), or oil. Do I add sparingly to pot until I reach the right consistency?

  16. @Kathleen – It’s up to you which liquid you want to use. I’ve definitely heard of soapmakers who successfully use milk for rebatching, but if you’d rather play it safe, use water. Definitely not oil unless you made a mistake in your measuring the first time around and need to add it to the recipe. Just a little at a time until the soap gets good and hot and you can see how the texture is going to be.

  17. I made two batches yesterday with the same recipe in the same molds. I put them in the freezer for 24 hours. I let them thaw the exact same time. I cut them and the one was perfect. The other had partially gelled. The only difference was I used liquid green color in the one that was perfect. In the other that partially gelled, I used green mica coloring. Is this something with the coloring? I had partial gelling with a batch that had no fragrance and no color. What is going on?

  18. @Cindy – Were the temps of the ooils & lye the exact same with all your recipes when you mixed them? There are so many different factors that can affect the temperature of the soap! Ambient weather temperatures… Different colors could have a tiny effect, but I haven’t tested that to be sure.

  19. Help!
    I have been a soaper now for about 5 years. My first attempt at goats milk soap turned out okay, but was dark brown. I watched your updated video on how you add the tempered milk to your soft oils, blended, then added your lye water. I made my first batch and it turned out lovely! I was so happy that I had achieved that creamy look. I made a second batch (both were 5 pound log molds), and put it in the freezer for over 24 hours. When I went to cut them, they had partial gel (Bummer!) I know that the soap is still okay…but I’m bummed out. I think my house is too drafty. So I was thinking that after my pour I would put my mold in a warmed oven (warmed up to 170 degrees and then turned off when placing mold into it). I really don’t know what to do at this point. I have scoured the internet looking for answers to no avail. I soaped at under 100 degrees….maybe soap a little higher? I have read about the 2 different camps of gelling or not to gel, and either way is fine with me….just not partial gel. Any help you could give me would be appreciated!

  20. @Carol, if you want to gel your soap, CPOP is the way to go! If you turn the oven off, be sure to turn the oven light ON while the soap is in there. Overnight is usually good. If it’s still warm when you pull it out, be sure to let it cool completely before taking it out of the mold.

  21. I use buttermilk, coconut milk and goats milk in almost all soaps now. I mix my lye in frozen milk placed in a bucket of ice cubes. My milk never scorched and after the blend, I stick it in the freezer for 6 hours or more. I have no discoloration.

  22. Jemima

    Thank you for your comment. I have a question. Is it the mold that you put in the freezer for 6 hours? Not sure about the “blend.” I am trying to decided whether or not to gel; I just don’t want partial gel.

  23. Well, all soaps end up in a mold after its been blended, that’s obvious! Yes it’s either my silicon mold or my wooden mold that I put in the freezer for 6 hours with the goat milk blend in the mold. To blend means to mix your lye water with your oils. After 6 hours, I cut it without it crumbling and leave it in the fridge for a few more hours then leave it outside in the patio to air dry.

  24. I found this thread through a search. Thank you so much for this topic. I do have a question. I literally just made a batch an hour ago. It went well, it looked beautiful. However, I did not put it in the freezer. Actually I have never put any of my Cp soaps in the freezer, and I have never had a problem (yet).
    Is it necessary to put it in the freezer, or not really? I used the freeze the milk method, and soap around 85 degrees.

  25. Ive been making milk soaps since the outset – almost seven years.
    Without wishing to tempt fate, thus far I’ve had no gelling glitches.
    Initially, I placed my soaps into the freezer then into the fridge, then the bench top/ bar area.
    From memory (albeit it would be in my very detailed notes) I only did this for at most two or three batches – it seemed contrary to me to be slowing down the saponification process- and I prefer the slight creamy – caramel colouring effect.
    In fact, in some instances I deliberately scorch the milk to achieve a certain ‘look’ ((~_\
    What I am religious about though is freezing my milk quotient prior to making – this works to tend or care for the goats’ or other milk ingredient/s.

    And subsequent to the still on-going Canterbury (N. Z.) earthquakes- I no longer have access to freezer space.

    I have a current batch in which I only semi froze the milk mix & then once I’d added the lye, I let it sit for longer than usual to achieve some colour. The batch in process turned a deeply appealing (to me) caramel colour.
    However some thirty plus hrs on, it has significantly paled. I love the colour & the natural aroma – no essential oils used. NB I only ever use aromatherapy quality essential oils for efficacy – never synthetic, irritating ( to both nose & skin : ). ) ‘fragrance’ oils.
    Hope this helps
    Once we know & understand the rices, chemical reactions& guidelines we can use them to achieve our own ideas.
    Remember always: There are no such things as failures. Simply learning processes..through which we may create some wonderful new outcome. ((~_~’

  26. I’ve made soap for a few years now. My first attempt at goat’s milk soap was in insult to goats everywhere! I like the white creamy colour and lighter scents of preventing gel by far. If you allow it to gel, the colour will darken anywhere from orange to brown and will have a strong unpleasant odour of amonia that dissipates over a few weeks, as well as a roasted or burnt sort of smell that I personally dislike, and it does not disappear completely ever. The way I do it, is will make up a recipe and substitute whatever water is called for, with goat’s milk (cows milk or any other milk really is just as good). The goat’s milk I have put in icecube trays or ziploc bags and freeze. I find the thinner ziploc frozen milk is easier to break up and mix when adding the lye. keeping things cool, I will often exceed the called for volume of liquid so that it remains thinner for longer when working with colours. I have nice silicon molds that i can then put directly in the freezer which works great. before I had those, I found wide and thin is the better way to go than thick or deep molds. this allows the entire batch volume to cool at the same time and prevent gel. Let your batch sit in the freezer over night, then move to the fridge for anywhere from a day or two to 3-4 weeks. the longer you let the batch stay in the fridge, the milder and creamier the scent. I dont have endless space in my fridge to waste, so i usually take the bactch out after 2-3 days and then rack somewhere cool.

  27. I have been having some trouble with partial gelling of my goat milk soaps. This is extremely frustrating, as I freeze the milk, add lye while it is in an ice bath and temp never exceeds 65 degrees.

    The oils were at RT (65 degrees) when mixed together and immediately went into the freezer for over 24 hours. It did take quite a while to reach trace. Poured at light to medium trace.

    Let stand at RT overnight before unmolding and cutting only to find partial gel in the center.

    Is there a way to eliminate this problem? Love my recipe, as it produces a lot of nice lather an feels good on the skin (Olive oil, Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Castor Oil, Shea Butter and Cocoa Butter). Just not liking the “look” of a ring in the center of the bars…

    Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

  28. @Kathy – Are you using silicone or wood molds? Wood molds will insulate and hold heat. Also, the larger the batch size, the more heat it will produce. If you can split the batch into two smaller molds, it will be easier to keep them cool and prevent gel.

  29. okay I made my first soap olive oil goats milk water orange essential oil and lye. everything I’ve read says wait 24 to 48 hours to unmold I let soap gel okay I was curious so I checked after only about 16 hours and my soap to my surprise was set hard and crumbled after I cut the first one. It is a beautiful color but I have chunks is there anything I can do to save it

  30. @Christina – Sounds a lot like my first soap! Did you stir with a spoon or a stick blender? Assuming that all your calculations are correct and your scale is working properly, it sounds like you may not have reached trace. You can save it by using the rebatch instructions from my video: https://youtu.be/uhsBkCx5U_w. Orange essential oil will probably not survive the process though, so you may want to stir in a different essential oil or fragrance right before you remold it.

  31. Amy thank you very much. I used both a spoon and a immersion blender I started with a spoon and then went to the immersion blender. What does trace actually look, like so I don’t repeat my mistake I will rebatch. Once again thank you.

  32. Hi.I need help too.I have just made my first goat milk soap.I used freezed goat milk and the lye was perfect.I added the exactly ammount of oils soap calculator told me.It reached trace and after i moulded it I put it in the fridge .Today,after 48 hours I cut it directly from the fridge but it seems that its licking a lot of oils!The colors and the swirlling are sooo nice.The creamy base is so beautiful!But licking oils.I put it back to the fridge on a rack,cutted pieces.What should I expect from now?When should I take it out from the fridge?

  33. @Adriana – It’s hard to say what might cause the oils to seep like that, but I would take it out of the fridge and see if they re-absorb. If the texture of your soap is crumbly also, it means that the soap got too cool too quickly. Funky things like this always seem to happen to me when I don’t put the soap through gel phase. Thus, I quit trying to fight it!

  34. Thank you very much Amy for your quick answer!!I do really appreciate it.
    My soap is not crumbly.That s what amazed me…its texture its wonderful.Creamy and beautiful colors.But after 20 minutes out from the fridge,i mean after I cut it,it became very oily.If I would touch it, I ll stay with oils on my hands.It is possibile that I needed to let it more in the fridge?!Because honest I felt it is not ready on the top.It was a little bit softer.
    Amy,please tell me how you are doing with your goats milk soap?As I understood from above,you gel it now.My question is:how you gel it?Do you cover with towels after moulding?
    Best Regards
    Adriana

  35. @Adriana – If the soap texture is perfect, then it is very likely just condensation on your soap, not oils. It needs to be exposed to the air to fully dry. Yes, I just cover with towels to insulate.

  36. Amy,I came back to let you know that my soap is doing great.I took it out from the freezer after you told me it needs air and it got just great.After three days no more oils and the soaps bar are curring.
    So.No more freezer!Just insulate it with a towel!

  37. I started making goats milk soap not to long ago. My first batch was partially gelled. The next few were perfect so I thought I had it down, but then today when I cut my loaf, I had that circle again. May I ask what temperature you have your oils and lye solution when you mix them together? Also do you insoluate your mold when you allow your goat milk bars to gel? I’ve been putting my mold in a cooler over night and it’s worked great until today.

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