Breast Milk Soap

[AshleyR]

For all of those in the "ewwwww" category, perhaps you should stop reading now, but this friend said she accidentally got some of her milk on her rash (eczema, or whatever it was) and it went away by the end of the day. She's been suffering for weeks from this and was shocked to see how healing her milk was.

I'm still on the "eww" train if it's being made for someone else (I don't neccesarily think it's as gross if you are making it for yourself/your children with your own breast milk... even though I don't think I'd do it).

But anyway, I have heard a lot of things about breast milk being "healing". I know my sister in law used to put some of her breast milk in my nephews ears when he had ear infections and they always went away really fast!

 

[cdwinsby]

Ummmm....yeah....ewwww doesn't begin to cover it for me. I breast feed both my children and it was a very intimate experience. Between mommy and baby.

I'm sure if we had been born in a different age perhaps this wouldn't seem weird but right now I just can't wrap my head around it.

I just keep thinking body fluids. For some reason cows milk doesn't bring that thought to mind.....probably because it's an accepted (mostly) practice.

I think I'll skip this experiment...I already have too many on my list.

 

[AshleyR]

Hahaha... I just came across this on youtube:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDIyDWxXREc"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDIyDWxXREc[/ame]

 

[ChrissyB]

Hmmm
Oh Dear/ :shock:

 

[Rosey]

that's just really gross. Just like cdwinsby said, it's very intimate and honestly I wouldn't even want to wash myself with my own breastmilk.

 

[Tabitha]

OH goodness, there is a reason I do not go to utube, but I did, & I started surfing & before you know it, I found a video of a woman nursing her 8 y/o daughter.

 

[Jody]

IMHO nursing an 8 year old is a bit much. Personally, I stopped once my boys were eating real food and I beleive that once they start school would be a definate for me even though I was no longer breastfeeding long before school with mine.

 

[IanT]

it makes sense for a woman to use breastmilk on her wounds and stuff.. its got lots of antibodies and such (which are meant for the baby to build up its immune system)...

pretty cool, hey...its natural... I would never wash myself with it, and I would never sell breast milk soap..BUT... i think a woman using it on herself or her children is all good...

 

[ChrissyB]

Okay, I'm going to put myself out on a limb here.
My daughter is 2 and a half. She will be three in June. I still breastfeed her once at night, when she goes to sleep. I am well and truly ready to stop, but she is very emotionally attached. I am finding it easier to distract her with a story before bed at the moment, a month ago that wouldn't have worked, she would be tired and cranky and just not playing the game!!World Health Organisation recommends breastfeeding to at least two years of age. I personally don't think that everybody can breast feed, let alone do it for 2 years. My son just turned seven and I tried like the blazers to breastfeed him and it just wasn't working, so I had to give up and put him on the bottle, I had a screaming starving baby and I was an emotional mess because I felt like a total failure.
I have found breastfeeding my daughter to be a very rewarding experience, I do believe in all the benefits of breastmilk, however, my son who was bottle fed right from birth thrived just as much, reached all the same milestones at the same age, and does not suffer from any health issues that breastfeeding can apparently avert.
Food is a basic human need, and if we can't get it one way, then the next way will do, as long as our bellies are full at the end of the day all is well.
I like the sentiment behind the breast milk soap, but as a breastfeeding mum, and my sister is currently still nursing her bub, I would not want to make soap out of my milk and give to someone else, I could use it on my baby no worries, but it's a personal thing and I don't want it out there for anyone else. I wouldn't want my sister to use it on her baby, she could make her own soap out of her own milk and use that.
But seeing as though it's common practice to use goats milk and wash ourselves with that, maybe we should wash the goats with the breast milk soap. :shock:
Ok I'm going to have my afternoon coffee now I'm starting to babble.

 

[Tabitha]

Chrissy, we are on the same limb. I nursed my son untill he was 3. My daughter only untill she was 5 months, she did not care to be held in 1 place, she is ADHD among other things. My son is 7 now & would still be nursing if I allowed it .

 

[ChrissyB]

Yes I joke that I will still be nursing her for years to come....NOT!!!
Seriously I have had enough, but it is still comforting for her. I have no problem with anyone feeding their toddler, but I think once they've started school it's a bit much, if not for anything else, they need to learn to become a bit more independent. Also, with nursing, I wonder if I made my job as a mum a little bit harder than it has to be, I mean when I bottle fed my son I could time his routine with a stopwatch, it was predictable and I always knew when he would be hungry, tired, with my daughter when she was little she just fed when she felt like it, at first I felt like I was nursing 24 hours a day.

 

[kimdelee]

I am new here and am glad to see this topic actually. I agree with earlier posters that breast milk has many healing properties, and can be used on things like rashes and such.

I came here for just this reason, as I am a beginner soap maker and need general advice on making this special soap. I plan on keeping some bars and giving a few to only special friends. What makes this even more special and the reason I was given the idea in the first place, is because my daughter was stillborn just 6 months ago. Since then I have pumped and donated milk, but the time has come for me to wean off the pump.

I think that this will be a very special keepsake and a way to have that gift I wasnt able to give to my baby, forever. Which is actually making the whole process a bit easier when I breakdown and think this is all too hard for me to handle. At least Ive have something tangible to look at or hold, and remember the gift I gave other babies...and hoping my daughter is looking down and is proud of me.

 

[Guest]

My poor SIL wanted to breastfeed so bad but she couldn't because her milk lacked any appeciable fat. Her baby daughter kept losing weight instead of gaining and so she had to switch to formula. She (my SIL) was very anorexic in her teens and 20's and we were figuring her skim breast milk was probably because of that.

I feel sorry for your sister-in-law.... but the whole "skim breast milk" bit had me laughing so hard I couldn't catch my breath for a good 2 minutes!!!

 

[surf girl]

The only reason I don't care for the idea is that I don't really like other people's body fluids (heck, I don't even like other people's feet!). So a stranger's breast breast milk soap... no. The milk of someone I know, I could probably deal with. My own, fine. It's all in my head, obviously. Milk is milk is milk - cow, goat, buffalo, person, whatever.

 

[Jamn!]

How did your friends rash heal? Did the soap work?
I am wondering if she would get more benefit out of a lotion! I guess you could add preservatives etc... in it.

I don't find this gross at all. Donating breast milk is a wonderful thing. In my family we have had problems with formula. One of my neices was sensitive to soy milk and had to be put on rice formula! Breast milk is best!!

 

[Ganiggle]

Honestly? I probably WOULD use breast milk soap lol. I'm a strange gal though. I have no idea if I would like it or not, but I'd totally try it!

*Backs away slowly, then runs screaming into the night*

 

[hem06]

I am nursing right now and I plan to make a castille for my daughter with breast milk. At first, the idea totally skeeved me out....but since BM is all over my clothes all the time (I am a leaker!) I am used to it.

I would not give it away or sell it, though.

 

[Inodoro Pereyra]

Ok. Initially, I clicked on this thread out of curiosity, just to see what kind of weird idea somebody had come up with, and laugh a little. Then, I found myself reading all 6 pages of this thread. :shock:

Now, here's my take on it:

First, I agree with everybody that breast milk should be used, first and foremost, to feed babies. As a second use, I think feeding other people's babies (donating) is a wonderful thing to do.

Second, as a man, I have had the opportunity to see several ladies, throughout my life, breastfeeding their kids. Some of them friends of mine, some total strangers. I find that's one of the most beautiful, magical sights ever. And yes, I'm a boobs man too, however, seeing a woman breastfeed has never had a sexual meaning for me.

Third, I agree, breast milk is a body fluid. So is cow's milk, goat's milk, cow's blood, etc.
Would I drink breast milk, like I drink cow's milk? Probably not, but I couldn't say for sure. I've never been in that situation.
Would I use breast milk soap? Yes, why not? If it has any particular properties I'm looking for, I wouldn't give it a second thought. Of course, if a lady friend came to me and gave me some of her breast milk bars, that'd probably give me a whole lot of ideas that had nothing to do with soapmaking... :wink:
Would I buy breast milk soap? Probably not, unless I knew where it came from, but that has nothing to do with who it came from. I just wouldn't feel comfortable thinking that milk might be from some woman who could be starving her child to make a buck. Other than that, there's no EWW factor for me. If it's good soap, I'd use it.

Just my 0.02...

 

[Lil Outlaws]

Actually breastmilk soap is my FAVORITE soap. I had some kind of bad contact dermatitis (rash) and the only thing that brought any relief was the breastmilk soap.

The best part is, it wasn't even MY breastmilk.. a woman I didn't even know donated it to me after I posted on Craigslist looking for exotic milks (we have lots of exotic game ranches around here)..

It's lovely soap, and I can't wait to make more when she meets me with more milk

I have friends who are nursing who are going to give me milk to make them custom soaps, too.. it's great!

 

[LJA]

Yup, that's just weird....

ROTFL...