How to Make Soap With Goat Milk

Kelly is the creator of SimpleLifeMom.com and author of The Natural Soap Making Book for Beginners. She’s been making homemade bath and beauty products for almost 15 years (find them in her shop) and regularly shares recipes to replace unhealthy and overly processed foods and home products with handmade and healthy items that anyone can make.

Goat Milk and Honey Soap Recipe

Goat milk and honey soap has to be one of the most popular soaps to make by hand – and for good reason!

 

First, goat milk is very high in beta-casein (milk fat). When you make soap, you can leave a small amount of the fat left over to nourish the skin. Goat milk acts as a natural moisturizer.

Not only that, but it is also high in vitamins, minerals, and is naturally anti-bacterial. Goat milk also has a lot of alpha-hydroxy acids. These are the natural acids that break down bonds between live and dead skin, helping to cleanse your skin beautifully and help your skin look stronger and healthier.

 

Honey is another wonderful ingredient. Don’t let anyone tell you that soaps are always drying. It’s just not true.  Honey is a natural humectant. A humectant can actually absorb moisture from the air and help it to cling to your skin in a light, nourishing way. It is also naturally antifungal and antimicrobial, making it great for acne prone skin as well.

 

I’m happy to share with you a recipe from my new book, The Natural Soapmaking Book for Beginners. It has over 55 recipes, tutorials, and charts for coloring and decorating soap naturally with herbs and nourishing ingredients.

Goat Milk and Honey Soap by Kelly Cable

Yield: 3 pounds or twelve 4-ounce bars

Lye Discount: 15%

Label: Moisturizing,

Start to Finish Time: 2 hours, 24 hours in mold, 4 to 6 weeks to cure

Scent: Orange

Though a Castile bar was the first soap recipe I made, I dreamed of making a Goat Milk and Honey Soap bar. Well, here it is. Using milk and honey in a recipe means you need to be aware of a few more things, but it’s pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Enjoy the many nourishing benefits of this soap!

Equipment list:

Large stainless steel pot

large spoon

scale

bowls for measuring ingredients

thermometer

stick blender

small zip top bag

glass or plastic bowl for lye water

mold

parchment paper

rubber spatula

measuring spoons

Ingredients:

•         10 ounces olive oil
•         8 ounces lard
•         8 ounces coconut oil
•         4 ounces sweet almond oil
•         2 ounces beeswax
•         4 ounces lye
•         8 ounces filtered water
•         4 ounces goat milk
•         1 ounce orange essential oil
•         1 Tablespoon raw honey

Safety First!

Remember to wear your safety equipment and mix the lye water outside.

Tell everyone you live with that where you’re working is off limits.

Give yourself enough time to complete the recipe.

Prep Ahead: Combine the water and milk in a large glass, plastic, or stainless steel container. Place milk-water into the freezer for 1 to 2 hours. It is okay if a slush forms, as long as it doesn’t freeze. The colder your milk-water, the lighter your soap will be after adding the lye.

Instructions:

1. Heat the Fats/Oils: In a large pot over medium-low heat, combine olive oil, lard, coconut oil, sweet almond oil, and beeswax. Heat until they are melted and incorporated. Remove from heat and allow to cool to 90-100°F.
2. Mix the Lye-Water: Put on protective gear including a mask, gloves, and long sleeves. Outside, very slowly pour only ¼ of the lye into the milk-water and stir until dissolved. Let cool for 20 minutes. Repeat until all lye is dissolved into the milk-water. If milk still browns, don’t worry. Your soap will just be darker.  Allow to cool to 90-100°F. If oil or lye water cool at different rates, you can use a cold or hot water bath in the sink.
3. Prepare the Mold: While the oils and lye water cool, line the mold with parchment paper.
4. Combine and Bring to Trace: When both oils and lye water are around 90-100°F, pour the lye water into the pot of oils. Use a stick blender or hand mixer to mix for 1 to 2minutes and then let the mixture rest for 4 to 5 minutes. Repeat mixing and resting until light trace.
5. Mix in Natural Additives: When soap reaches light trace, add essential oils and honey and blend for 30 seconds.
6. Mold the Soap: Pour the soap mixture into the mold, cover with a lid or parchment paper for 24 hours. Do not insulate unless your house is below 75°F, then insulate by placing a towel around the outside edges to avoid a partial gel.
7. Cut and Cure: Remove soap from the mold. If it seems too soft to remove, wait another 12 to 24 hours before removing. Cut the soap into twelve 4-ounce bars. Allow the bars to cure for 4 to 6 weeks.

Tips: Milk can scald when lye is added. Placing the milk-water in the freezer until it’s very cold helps prevent this. Be sure to add lye slowly. It is okay to really take your time, coming back every 20 minutes to add a little more. Adding milk can also make your batch get hotter than usual, so just insulate a milk recipe lightly with a towel if you’re concerned about getting a good gel for color. Honey can also make soap come to trace faster, so add it and blend really well right before pouring soap into the mold.

Soapmaking Bonus Collection

For a limited time, when you preorder my book, The Natural Soapmaking Book for Beginners,  you can also get a Collection of Free Soap Making Bonuses. Within this bonus collection is:

• Multiple how-to videos
• Herbal and Soap Giveaways
• Download soap labels
• Download a chart on blending essential oils
• A Discount to my Etsy Shop
• A Bonus Recipe!

You can learn more and get these Bonuses by going HERE.