# Goats Milk Soap



## DaRoman (Jan 14, 2017)

Hi all, I'm new to soap making. Just made my first 2 batches last week.  One of the batches I made was with store bought homogenized Goats Milk.  After doing some research, I read that we here in Canada can't purchase raw goats milk, any raw milk for that matter.  My questions are, how do other Canadians, who make goats milk soap and don't have their own goats, make their soap.  Is it from store bought goats milk?  I also read that Canadian citizens can purchase raw milk from the US and bring it over the border, up to 20kg/ person.  Since I live in Niagara Falls going over the border is not too big of a deal but with the Canadian regulations, if I plan to sell soap a few years down the road, will I run into issues if I use raw goats milk in my soap.
Thanks
Sam


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## toxikon (Jan 14, 2017)

Hey, fellow Canadian here with convenient US border shopping! Literally a few hours ago I made my first batch of goat milk soap! I just bought some powdered goat milk on Amazon US and picked it up across the border. I do most of my shopping on Amazon US so I didn't even think about sourcing it on our side. I divided my water into two equal portions - one to mix with lye, and one to mix with the powdered goats milk. I added the goat milk liquid at trace. It seemed to work very well, looking forward to slicing it up in a few days!


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## mx5inpenn (Jan 14, 2017)

You don't have to use raw milk in soaps. I usually just use canned evaporated milk to have full milk the easy way. Are you wanting raw for a particular reason?


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## Susie (Jan 14, 2017)

If you are thinking that the heat from pasteurization is greater than the heat generated in saponification, it isn't.  You will lose no nutrients to pasteurization that won't already be lost in saponification.  So, never fear using the evaporated or even the powdered.  It sure makes making GM soap easier if you use the powder and mix it with the oils.


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## cmzaha (Jan 15, 2017)

^^^ As above. I prefer powdered because it mixes wonderfully with the oils before adding the lye water. But then I would not buy or use any raw milk


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## DaRoman (Jan 17, 2017)

hey toxicon, I've never considered using powdered goats milk.  I will look into to it.
The way I did my goats milk soap was to eliminate the water and use only goats milk.  I froze the goats milk so it wouldn't scortch when i added the lye.  i also had the container i mixed the milk and lye in sitting in a bowl of ice water.
Thanks for your reply.


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## DaRoman (Jan 17, 2017)

hi mx6inpenn, from what i read, using raw goats milk gives the best results.  I am new at this so i haven't tried or used soap with evaporated milk.
When using evaporated milk do you have to be mindful as to not scorch the milk as well?


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## DaRoman (Jan 17, 2017)

Thanks Susie. From what i read, it says raw goats milk make a better soap.  I will try the evaporated milk.
So you don't mix your goats milk with your lye?


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## DaRoman (Jan 17, 2017)

Thanks for your reply cmzaha.


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## toxikon (Jan 17, 2017)

I believe the general consensus is there is little to no difference in final product when using liquid/powdered goat milk. But it would definitely be interesting to make a batch of both methods to test! I've read the tutorials on mixing goat milk ice cubes with lye, and personally, it seems much easier to work with powdered. You can add it straight into the oils or reconstitute it with a bit of water to add at trace.


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## chibi-soap (Jan 17, 2017)

So if you're using powdered ... what rate do you add it at?


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## Arimara (Jan 17, 2017)

chibi-soap said:


> So if you're using powdered ... what rate do you add it at?



I relied on the milk's mixing instructions when I used powdered buttermilk. That saved me any excessive math I did not feel like engaging in.


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## chibi-soap (Jan 17, 2017)

Oh of course! Silly me


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## mx5inpenn (Jan 17, 2017)

DaRoman said:


> hi mx6inpenn, from what i read, using raw goats milk gives the best results.  I am new at this so i haven't tried or used soap with evaporated milk.
> When using evaporated milk do you have to be mindful as to not scorch the milk as well?



I suppose if you mix it with the NaOH, you'd need to be careful, but I don't.  I use the split method, half of my liquid is water, used to make the lye solution. I add the other half in evaporated milk to the oils.


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## toxikon (Jan 17, 2017)

I used one tbsp per pound of oil and it worked well.


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## Susie (Jan 17, 2017)

DaRoman said:


> hi mx6inpenn, *from what i read, using raw goats milk gives the best results. * I am new at this so i haven't tried or used soap with evaporated milk.
> When using evaporated milk do you have to be mindful as to not scorch the milk as well?



Define best results.  Exactly which results are you trying to achieve?

Then tell me who wrote whatever it was that you read, and what agenda are they pushing.  Do they have goats, and therefore lots of raw goat's milk?  If so, perhaps they are trying to claim that their stuff is better so they can sell more?
Are they, perhaps, one of those people who eat a "raw" diet?


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Jan 18, 2017)

Someone from the forum did an informal but interesting experiment with her testers - full milk, 50/50, powdered milk and so on, with a plain water batch as control. All of the variations were rated very similarly apart from one, which was voted the best............the plain water batch! Go figure


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## chibi-soap (Jan 19, 2017)

LOL! 

Now ... milk soap goes in the fridge right? No gel phase? Regardless of what type and when you add it?


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Jan 19, 2017)

If you want to avoid the tan colour that can come from the milk heating up, aye - it's best to avoid gel


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## Susie (Jan 19, 2017)

It needs to go into the freezer for at least 24 hours.  I would probably leave it more like 36 hours.


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## penelopejane (Jan 19, 2017)

chibi-soap said:


> LOL!
> 
> Now ... milk soap goes in the fridge right? No gel phase? Regardless of what type and when you add it?



I use the split method and I gel all my goats milk soap the same way I do all my other soaps - CPOP at 100*F and turn the oven off when the soap goes in. Not a problem.


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## shunt2011 (Jan 19, 2017)

I too use the split method and gel all my soaps.  I don't CPOP though.  I just wrap them in a towel and let them do their thing.


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## toxikon (Jan 19, 2017)

I did 24 hours in the freezer then moved to the fridge for 24 hours. Now it's hardening up at room temperature. I tried cutting yesterday but it was a bit too soft so I'm going to try again tonight. It looks absolutely beautiful, no gelling at all. Nice light cream color.


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## chibi-soap (Jan 20, 2017)

cool. Soap finished. I'll leave it outside in a towel. It's only 14C/57F outside. is that OK?
I have a heating mat we used for beer, would it be better to put the soap on that.?


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## cmzaha (Jan 20, 2017)

I now gel almost all of my soaps including beer and milk soaps. Two I have to put in the freezer are my OMH with honey, beeswax, propolis and Orange Clove EO's. The other is my Caribbean Coconut fragrance soap which is a severe heater upper
I just add in a scoop of GM powder to my oils and stick blend it in. I honestly do not find a diffence notice no difference other than lather between one made with milk or water, but customers seem to think it is the greatest soap on earth so I make it


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## DaRoman (Jan 23, 2017)

Susie said:


> Define best results.  Exactly which results are you trying to achieve?
> 
> Then tell me who wrote whatever it was that you read, and what agenda are they pushing.  Do they have goats, and therefore lots of raw goat's milk?  If so, perhaps they are trying to claim that their stuff is better so they can sell more?
> Are they, perhaps, one of those people who eat a "raw" diet?



Hi Susie, by best results I meant, (from what I read), a creamier and more conditioning soap.
It does seem that most of these websites where I read that goats milk is "better" do have their own goats.
Here are a few of the sites I read this from
http://www.roseofsharonacres.com/raw_goat_milk_benefits
http://honeysweetieacres.com/why-use-goat-milk-soap/
https://goatmilkstuff.com/Goat-Milk-Soap-Benefits.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/040766_goats_milk_soap_personal_care_products.html
http://www.stethnews.com/2157/benefits-of-goat-milk-soap-and-how-you-can-make-your-own/
http://www.creamerycreek.com/why_goat_milk

Like I mentioned in the op, I am new to soap making and still waiting to try the soap from my first batch but am very interested with your thoughts on this.
Thank you


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## chibi-soap (Jan 23, 2017)

I made my milk soap this weekend with 1/3 of the liquid added at trace as milk, plus enough powder to make up the other 2/3 of the water into milk...if that makes sense. Milk, oat and lavendar soap. Bit stinky at first, but seems to have dissapeared already. I like the look of it.


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## penelopejane (Jan 24, 2017)

chibi-soap said:


> I made my milk soap this weekend with 1/3 of the liquid added at trace as milk, plus enough powder to make up the other 2/3 of the water into milk...if that makes sense. Milk, oat and lavendar soap. Bit stinky at first, but seems to have dissapeared already. I like the look of it.



I add it to the oils rather than at trace because the GM sometimes needs a lot of mixing to get it evenly distributed. 

Hope it works for you. Don't know why it smelt bad unless you soaped hot I guess?


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## chibi-soap (Jan 24, 2017)

Oh... trace... oils... this newbie didn't notice the distinction. Thanks. Well, it seems to have worked anyway.


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## Lovin (Feb 23, 2017)

All of this advice has been great.  I have not yet tried powdered goats milk but I will be trying it this weekend (if I can find some by then).  I didn't realize that I could add the goats milk at trace.   So just to make sure I understand correctly, if I use 1/2 milk and 1/2 water, I would mix my lye with the water half and add that to the oil, then at trace, add the goats milk?  Am I getting this right?  And if I use powder, just add the powder content to the oil while heating it and mix the lye as usual then add it to my oil?


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## Susie (Feb 23, 2017)

You can buy powdered goat's milk in the grocery store.  It is generally found near the evaporated milk.


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## penelopejane (Feb 24, 2017)

Lovin said:


> All of this advice has been great.  I have not yet tried powdered goats milk but I will be trying it this weekend (if I can find some by then).  I didn't realize that I could add the goats milk at trace.   So just to make sure I understand correctly, if I use 1/2 milk and 1/2 water, I would mix my lye with the water half and add that to the oil, then at trace, add the goats milk?  Am I getting this right?  And if I use powder, just add the powder content to the oil while heating it and mix the lye as usual then add it to my oil?



No don't do that.  Use 1/2 water and mix with the lye.  Keep stirring as it heats up to make sure it all dissolves in.  Mix oils and the GM (if it is goats milk or mix the GM powder with the remaining water) with a SB to ensure they are well mixed. GM powder may need to be mixed into a paste with a little water first. No need to heat the oil (if it is a solid oil that needs to be heated wait till it cools as much as possible and mix with other oils first) THEN add the lye.  Wait for the lye to be cool or it will burn the GM and it will go brown or even smell off. 

If you end up with spots in your soap you will know where they come from.


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## IrishLass (Feb 24, 2017)

Re: splitting the liquid for your batch half and half.....Depending on your lye concentration/water amount, it may not be an equal 50/50 split. To explain, lye needs an equal amount of water in weight to be able to dissolve properly, so just make sure that when you split your water amount that you have enough water to be able to dissolve the lye, then use the remaining amount of water required as goat milk (fortifying it with GM powder as needed to bring it to the milk concentration you desire). 

Believe it or not, I actually add my goat milk directly to my warmed oils, and I'll oftentimes even heat my goat milk/oils mixture if need be in order to bring it up to my favored soaping temp (anywhere 110F-115F) before adding my just-warm-to-the-touch lye solution. This works quite well for me with no lasting adverse issues (i.e., the batter may go a little orange while mixing, but my soap still ends up creamy/off-white).


IrishLass


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