Goat milk soap has become increasingly popular due to its many skin benefits. Goat milk contains high amounts of fatty acids and proteins that can hydrate, exfoliate, and nourish skin. Making goat milk soap at home is a gratifying experience and allows you to control the ingredients. You can make homemade goat milk soap that will rival any store-bought bar with just a few essential supplies.
Why Make Goat Milk Soap?
Goat milk soap offers a variety of advantages over regular bar soap:
Gentle and Moisturizing
The fat molecules in goat milk are smaller than in cow’s milk. This allows them to absorb into the skin quickly, providing excellent moisturizing properties that leave the skin feeling soft and smooth. Goat milk is rich in vitamins A, B6, B12, and E, supporting healthy skin cell regeneration.
Soothes Sensitive Skin
The pH of goat milk is similar to that of human skin. This helps maintain the skin’s delicate acid mantle, preventing moisture loss. Goat milk soap is less likely to cause irritation or dryness than soap made with harsher ingredients. It’s an excellent option for those with sensitive skin.
Exfoliates Skin
Goat milk contains lactic acid, a gentle alpha hydroxy acid that dissolves dead skin cells. Regular goat milk soap can help exfoliate and renew skin’s surface layers, unveiling smoother, younger-looking skin underneath.
Rich and Nourishing Lather
The natural fats in goat milk create a rich, creamy lather that leaves skin feeling cleansed and nourished, not dry or stripped. You’ll be amazed at how soft your skin feels after washing with goat milk soap!
Supplies Needed to Make Goat Milk Soap
Making goat milk soap from scratch requires some basic supplies.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Goat milk – Use fresh, frozen, or powdered goat milk. Fresh works best.
- Lye – Also called sodium hydroxide. Purchase from a soapmaking supply store.
- Mold – Choose a silicone or wooden mold. Avoid aluminum.
- Scale – For accurately weighing ingredients. A digital kitchen scale works well.
- Thermometer – Crucial for monitoring temperatures. Get a digital thermometer with a probe.
- Stick blender – To blend the soap batter to trace.
- Spoon or small ladle – For scooping and pouring the batter.
- Spatula – For stirring and mixing ingredients.
- Rubbing alcohol – Spray the mold to prevent bubbles.
- Essential oils or fragrances (optional) – For scent. Use skin-safe oils.
- Colorants (optional) – Such as micas or clays. Use 1 tsp or less per pound.
- Safety gear – Goggles, gloves, mask, and long sleeves/pants.
Before You Begin
Making soap from scratch, it involves using caustic lye. Safety should always come first.
Here are some tips:
- Work in a well-ventilated area. Avoid small, enclosed spaces.
- Wear safety goggles, gloves, a mask, and long sleeves/pants.
- Never leave the lye solution unattended around kids or pets.
- Have vinegar on hand in case of lye spills. Vinegar neutralizes lye.
- Avoid contact between raw soap batter and skin/eyes. It can cause chemical burns.
- Once trace is achieved, the chemical reaction has occurred, and the batter is safe.
Follow basic soapmaking safety practices, and you can create beautiful, nourishing goat milk soap repeatedly!
Step-By-Step Instructions
Let’s get to the fun part – making goat milk soap!
Here is a step-by-step tutorial for processing goat milk soap:
1. Prepare the Mold
Select a mold that will give you the size/shape bars you desire. Silicone molds are easy to work with. Wood also works well. Lightly spray the mold with rubbing alcohol to prevent bubbles.
2. Weigh Out the Goat Milk
Place your container on the scale and tare it to zero. Pour in the amount of goat milk needed for your recipe. Fresh or frozen goat milk is best, but powdered can also be used.
3. Prepare the Lye Solution
Using your scale, weigh the amount of sodium hydroxide lye needed for your recipe. Slowly add the lye to equal cold water in a heat-safe container. Stir gently until dissolved. Allow to cool.
4. Combine and Blend
When both the lye solution and goat milk are below 100°F, carefully pour the lye solution into the goat milk. Use your stick blender to combine for 1-2 minutes until emulsified.
5. Add Fragrance and Color (Optional)
Once emulsified, add essential oils, skin-safe fragrances, micas, or clays if desired. Use 1 tsp or less colorant per pound of oils. Stir well to incorporate.
6. Reach Trace
Continue blending with the stick blender until the batter reaches trace – the stage where it thickens to a pudding-like consistency. This can take 3-5 minutes.
7. Pour into Mold
Carefully pour the soap batter into your prepared mold when the trace is achieved. Tap the mold on the counter to release any air bubbles.
8. Insulate and Set
Place the filled mold safely, then cover it with blankets or towels to insulate it. Allow the soap to be fully set for at least 24 hours before unmolding.
9. Cut into Bars
Carefully turn the mold over and pop the soap out. Slice into individual bars using a sharp knife. Wear gloves to protect your hands.
10. Cure the Bars
Place cut bars on a drying rack in a well-ventilated area. Allow them to cure for 4-6 weeks before use. Turn them over periodically.
And that’s it – you now have handcrafted goat milk soap bars! With some essential supplies, safety measures, and following the steps, you can make gentle, nourishing, and great soap for your skin.
Tips for the Best Results
Looking to master your goat milk soapmaking? Here are some helpful tips:
- Use an accurate scale to weigh all ingredients. Precision is vital in soapmaking.
- Store your lye in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Lye is hygroscopic and absorbs moisture.
- Freeze small batches of goat milk to use specifically for soap. It will keep the milk from scorching.
- Mix the lye solution in an ice bath to quickly cool it before adding it to the goat milk.
- Blend your soap batter until it reaches a thick trace with a pudding-like consistency. This takes 3-5 minutes.
- Add essential oils, fragrances, or colors at trace for even distribution throughout the soap.
- Spritz silicone molds with rubbing alcohol before pouring in the batter to prevent bubbles.
- Insulate the filled mold well to retain heat and encourage the gel phase for more complex bars.
- Allow bars to cure in a well-ventilated space for 4-6 weeks minimum. This gives time for complete saponification.
- Use freezer paper between cutting batches to keep your cutting tools sharp and clean.
Taking the time to master these tips will give you the most luxurious handmade goat milk soap you can imagine!
Last Words
Goat milk soap is a rewarding homemade soap recipe that yields gentle, nourishing bars for the skin. With its creamy lather and skin-beneficial nutrients like vitamins, fatty acids, and proteins, goat milk makes an excellent soapmaking ingredient.
The basic process involves preparing a lye solution and allowing it to cool before carefully mixing it into goat milk. Blending the two causes saponification, turning the mixture into soap. Fragrance, color, or other custom add-ins can provide an artisanal touch.
With simple critical supplies and basic cold-process soapmaking techniques, anyone can craft natural, creamy goat milk soap from scratch. Taking the time to make goat milk soap yourself provides a rewarding experience and soap that rivals any store-bought bar.
Common Questions
What is the best goat milk to use?
For the best results, use fresh goat milk directly from the source. Raw goat milk works wonderfully. Frozen goat milk is the next best option if new isn’t available. You can also use dried goat milk powder reconstituted in water.
Can I use cow’s milk instead of goat’s milk?
You can, but goat milk offers more skin-nourishing benefits. The fat molecules are smaller and more readily absorbed into the skin. Goat milk is also naturally homogenized.
How long does goat milk soap last?
Properly cured goat milk soap can last nine months to a year when stored in a cool, dry place. Letting the bars cure for a minimum of 4-6 weeks is essential for longevity.
Does goat milk soap need to be refrigerated?
Nope, there’s no need to keep it refrigerated. Like any handmade soap, just store bars in a well-ventilated space out of excess moisture and heat.
Can I customize my goat milk soap with add-ins?
Absolutely! Many soapmakers customize their bars with exfoliants like oats or clay, herbs for visual appeal, honey, coconut milk, or aloe vera for extra skin benefits.
How do you make soap from goat’s milk?
Prepare a lye solution by combining sodium hydroxide and water to make soap from goat’s milk. Once this cools, you slowly pour it into goat’s milk, then use a stick blender to combine the ingredients into an emulsified batter. You blend until trace, add fragrance if desired, then pour into molds. After 24 hours of setting, the soap can be unmolded, cut, and cured for 4-6 weeks.
What supplies do you need to make goat milk soap?
The basic supplies needed are goat’s milk, sodium hydroxide lye, a mold, scales, thermometers, stick blenders, spoons, spatulae, rubbing alcohol, and safety gear like goggles and gloves. You can also use add-ins like essential oils, colors, or exfoliants.
Can you make goat milk soap without lye?
No, you cannot make true soap without lye. The chemical reaction between the lye and fats causes saponification, turning the ingredients into soap. Goat’s milk can make a creamy, moisturizing soap bar.
How do you make milk soap from scratch?
To make milk soap from scratch, prepare a lye solution as usual. Allow it to cool before slowly mixing it into milk instead of water. Whole, coconut, almond, or goat’s milk all work well. Blend, add fragrance, mold, and cure like regular cold-process soap.