Neem and Goat's milk-is this a good idea? 🤔

[LidiaG]

Hello @AliOop
I'm making neem oil soap for the first time. I've read all the warnings about the smell so I'm a little hesitant.
Neem oil will be about 10%-13%, I'll use up the 150ml bottle in this batch.
And I'll also add some neem powder.

And I'm thinking to use goat's Milk as a water replacement. Just because love milks soap.

Does the milk make the smell of the neem worse or should I expect any reaction of the neem and milk?
Any help and guidance will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

 

[AliOop]

Hello @AliOop
I'm making neem oil soap for the first time. I've read all the warnings about the smell so I'm a little hesitant.
Neem oil will be about 10%-13%, I'll use up the 150ml bottle in this batch.
And I'll also add some neem powder.

And I'm thinking to use goat's Milk as a water replacement. Just because love milks soap.

Does the milk make the smell of the neem worse or should I expect any reaction of the neem and milk?
Any help and guidance will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

Hi there! I regularly use goat milk powder with my neem soaps and have no issue with it. I think if you follow your regular milk soap process, it should be fine.

I believe it was @DeeAnna who mentioned that neem is actually quite close to lard in FA composition. It behaves well for me in soap batter, other than the smell. I am one who actually doesn’t mind the smell that much, so take that with a grain of salt.

 

[Ford]

Buy a gas mask! I've read tea tree and lemon grass. Are FO's that help with the smell. Good luck.

 

[LidiaG]

Hi there! I regularly use goat milk powder with my neem soaps and have no issue with it. I think if you follow your regular milk soap process, it should be fine.

I believe it was @DeeAnna who mentioned that neem is actually quite close to lard in FA composition. It behaves well for me in soap batter, other than the smell. I am one who actually doesn’t mind the smell that much, so take that with a grain of salt.

Thank you so much! Really appreciate your help
Another question. When I smell the neem oil from the bottle it does not smell bad. Hopefully this neem oil is of good quality. I imagine the smell comes from the reaction with the lye?

 

[LidiaG]

Buy a gas mask! I've read tea tree and lemon grass. Are FO's that help with the smell. Good luck.

Omg! Don't scare me.
It's winter! And the heat is on. Hopefully I don't have to put this soap out in the shed until the spring

 

[DeeAnna]

I don't mind the odor either, but I do think the odor can vary. The neem I have from Soaper's Choice is fairly mellow for neem. I've had a neem-oil concentrate for use in the garden that had a strong melt-your-nose-hairs odor.

Ali is right -- I think neem compares pretty closely to lard as far as the fatty acid content. Physically hard, long lived in the bath, all that.

I've used neem from 20% up to 85% in soap as a partial sub for the lard I normally use. It's never been a difficult ingredient for me. Others say it can accelerate trace. While I've initially seen some ricing when the batter is first blended togeter, the ricing settled down and the batter behaved okay after that.

Anymore I limit neem to no more than 20% of the total fats, however. The more neem in the soap, the more horrible the soap tastes. While I don't eat soap, I can say from experience that it's not a good idea to inadvertently lick your lips if they have any tiny trace of neem lather. It's a memorable experience. I also am concerned about potential toxicity from ingestion, especially for children. Kids will put all kinds of stuff in their mouth, even if it tastes bad.

 

[LidiaG]

Thank you very much!