Benefits of Goat Milk Soap
You can make perfectly lovely soap without using goat milk, but once you've tried it, you'll swear by it. It's creamy, nourishing, gentle, and ideal for those who have sensitive and inflamed skin. That means if you have eczema, psoriasis, or acne, goat milk soap could help the redness, dryness, and itching.
Goat milk contains saturated and unsaturated fats, boosting lather and gently cleaning your skin. It makes soap feel less harsh, and the nutrients and fats in the goat milk work to clean while not stripping your skin of its natural oils. Goat milk also contains a small amount of lactic acid, which can help remove dead skin cells and reduce soap scum.
Goat Milk Soap Making at Room Temperature
EQUIPMENT
Digital Kitchen Scale
Infrared thermometer / digital thermometer
Immersion blender
Stainless steel pan for melting the solid oils
A large bowl for measuring the liquid oils into
Heat-proof jug for the lye-solution
Rubber spatula for stirring and scraping
Small sieve (strainer)
Silicone Soap Mold (3.5 x 8 x 2.5 inches) or silicone cavity molds, or a slab mold
Ice cube tray
Goggles (eye protection)
Rubber gloves
MATERIALS
1x2x3x
Lye solution
107 g sodium hydroxide 3.77 oz
100 g distilled water 3.5 oz
100 g Goat milk 3.5 oz
Solid oils
200 g Coconut oil (refined) 7.05 oz
150 g Shea butter 5.29 oz
Liquid oils
400 g Olive oil 14.11 oz
50 g Castor oil 1.76 oz
Add at Trace
7 tsp Lavender essential oil Optional
INSTRUCTIONS
Freeze the Goat Milk
Pour the goat milk into an ice cube tray and freeze.
Prepare to Make Goat Milk Soap
Get organized before you make your batch of soap. Have safety equipment ready, including goggles and gloves, and that you're dressed appropriately with long sleeves and flat, comfortable footwear. Have the soapmaking equipment laid out, ingredients pre-measured, and ensure you'll be work undisturbed.
Make the Lye Solution
Put on your rubber gloves and eye protection (goggles), and set yourself up in an area with good ventilation. Next to an open window or outdoors is perfect. Pour the sodium hydroxide into the water and stir with a stainless steel spoon. Be careful not to breathe in the fumes. Stir until the lye is completely dissolved, and then set the jug aside to cool to 100°F (38°C).
When the lye solution has cooled, add all of the goat milk ice cubes to the jug. Allow the cubes to melt and for the lye solution to lower to room temperature - that's between 68-72°F (20-22°C)
Melt the Solid Oils
As soon as you add the ice cubes to the lye solution begin melting the solid oils. In a stainless steel pan, heat the coconut oil and shea butter on very low heat until just liquefied. They'll melt quicker than you think so don't be tempted to turn up the heat.
Add the Liquid Oils
When the solid oils are melted, take the pan off the heat and pour in the liquid oils. If you pour the liquid oils against a spoon or spatula held just inserted in hot oils, it will help to reduce air bubbles. Pouring it straight in is the main cause of air bubbles in your bars, but pouring it against something will help stop that from happening. The oils flow down into the other oils rather than splashing in.
Being already room temperature, they'll cool the hot oils down. Stir well and keep an eye on the temperature. You want the oils to cool to 90°F (32°C).
Pour the Lye Solution into the Oils
When the lye solution is fully melted, and the oils are at the right temperature, pour the lye solution into the oils. Again, pour the lye solution against a spoon or other implement to reduce air bubbles. It's also good practice to pour the lye solution through a fine-mesh sieve to catch any undissolved bits of lye.
Make the Goat Milk Soap
Immerse a stick blender (immersion blender) into the pan and use it (turned off) to stir the contents together. Then bring the stick blender to the middle of the pan, hold it still, and pulse for a couple of seconds. Repeat the stirring and pulsing until the mixture begins to thicken. It will take a couple of minutes, and the consistency will change to that of warm custard. If you dribble some of the soap batter from the stick blender back down, you'll also see trails forming on the surface.
If you're using the optional lavender essential oil, you can stir it in now.
Mold and Cool the Goat Milk Soap
Pour the soap into your preferred mold, whether it's a silicone mold, an empty paper milk carton, or something else. Protect the exposed part of the soap with plastic wrap and pop the mold into the refrigerator. Leave it there for 12-24 hours.
Cut and Cure the Goat Milk Soap
Take the goat milk soap out of the refrigerator the next day but leave it inside the mold. Set it someplace on the counter and leave it there for three or four days to harden up a bit. This soap is very soft when it comes out of the mold and could break or get stuck if you try to cut it too soon.
Use an ordinary kitchen knife to cut it into bars. Their thickness is up to you. After you cut them, leave the bars someplace airy and out of direct sunlight to cure for at least four weeks. The soap is safe to touch 48 hours after making it but it needs the extra time to allow the excess moisture to evaporate out.
Using your Homemade Goat Milk Soap
The lather and feel of this handmade goat milk soap is fluffy and silky. The scent is softly milky, and making the recipe just as it is will create bars ideal for sensitive and dry skin.
Once made, your soap will have a shelf-life of up to two years. Check the oil bottles that you're using though - the closest best-by date is the best-by date of your soap. That's because some of that oil is free-floating in your bars as the superfat, and it can go rancid over time.
