How to Make Natural Goat Milk Soap

Try making natural goat's milk soap.

Goat's milk contains lactic acid, which helps to nourish and moisturize the skin when used in soap. The alpha-hydroxy acid in goat's milk soap also helps to break down dead skin cells and rejuvenate the skin. You can buy goat's milk soap commercially but it can be difficult to find at your local grocery store or pharmacy. You can make your own homemade natural goat's milk soap quickly and it will deliver the same, or better, results.

Things You'll Need

• 3 pints ice-cold goat's milk
• 2 stainless steel pots
• 12 oz. lye
• Wooden spoon
• Kitchen thermometer
• 5 ½ lbs. lard
• 2 oz. glycerin
• 2 tbsp. Borax powder
• Hand-held stick blender
• Soap molds
• Plastic wrap
• Towel
• Large paper bag
• Cookie sheet

Instructions

1. Pour 3 pints of ice-cold goat's milk into a stainless steel pot. Add 12 oz. of lye very slowly to the milk. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the lye is completely mixed in. Let the mixture sit until it cools down to 85 degrees. This may take an hour or more.

2. Heat 5 ½ lbs. of lard in a separate pot to 90 degrees. Pour the lard slowly into the cooled lye and milk mixture. Stir constantly until the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

3. Add 2 oz. of glycerin and 2 tbsp. of Borax powder. Stir the mixture with a hand-held stick blender on low speed for five to 10 minutes until it reaches trace (see tips below).

4. Add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to the mixture if you want your soap scented. Stir well to combine.

5. Pour the mixture into soap molds. Cover with plastic wrap, then lay a towel on top of it. Let it sit overnight.

Tips & Warnings

• Trace is the point of no return in soap making where there is no risk of the lye and other ingredients separating. Test for trace by turning off the stick blender, lifting it out of the pot and drizzling a bit of it on top of the mixture. If you see a trace of the soap mixture left on the top before it sinks down into the rest of the soap mixture, you have reached trace.

• Wear rubber gloves when working with lye. Although lye is caustic, by the end of the soapmaking process, there is no longer lye in the soap.

References

• Fias Co Farm: Simple Goat Milk Soap
• Organized Wisdom: Reasearch Notes on Goat's Milk Soap