Question about colostrum and soap!

[Little-Bits-N-Pieces]

So kidding season is coming up shortly (5.5 weeks! :mrgreen: ) and as soon as the babies start hitting the ground I'll have fresh colostrum to freeze in place of last years that I have on hand.
At this point, since it's been almost a year, it may be starting to get freezer burnt. Is mildly freezer burnt colostrum still usable in soap? Will it change the texture any?

Also, is colostrum soap any more valuable than milk soap? I assume it would be, since it's very limited in availability, just not sure what the markup should be $1-2 more per bar?

Thanks!!

 

[Obsidian]

I've used freezer burnt coconut with no issues, I'm sure your GM would be fine. As far as value of colostrum soap, do you mean money wise? I've never seen it for sale but I've also never seen it requested. Since no one really know how much if any qualities of milk survives lye, I don't suspect it would be worth anymore then regular soap unless you have studies saying it does something amazing.

 

[LoveOscar]

I read somewhere that there scientifically isn't a difference between cows milk (sans the pasteurization process) and goats milk. I don't take much weight anymore in what kind of animal milk, since as Obsidian said, you can't choose what doesn't saponify.

I would actually assume that using colostrum would be rather pointless, since the whole point of it is the antibodies and protein available in it, and I doubt they would survive the saponification process. According to wiki, some mammals (horses and sheep) have substantially higher fat content in colostrum than in milk, but many (most?) other mammals have more fat in milk.

So unless you don't plan on super fatting high because of an assumed higher fat concentration, I don't understand the draw to colostrum. :think:

Edit:
PS: It's all label appeal. And as an animal lover, I would look at it and say no, because I would rather see newborns get the colostrum than myself as an adult. It doesn't do me any good. It's very important to them.

I see human breast milk as label appeal too, if someone just wanted a loaf of baby soap made from their own milk as a novelty. Milk is milk.

 

[shunt2011]

I agree that it all comes down to label appeal. As far as charging more I really don't see any added value so as to charge more than any other milk soap.

 

[froggybean37]

I'm very much with LoveOscar on this one - If I saw this, I'd actually think it was cruel to take the colostrum from the goat's babies just to sell soap (granted, I know nothing about raising goats, but nor does the general population that you'd be selling it to. People just know how very important it is for human babies). For me it would have much more label UNappeal. I'm sorry...

 

[MySoapyHeart]

So kidding season is coming up shortly (5.5 weeks! :mrgreen: ) and as soon as the babies start hitting the ground I'll have fresh colostrum to freeze in place of last years that I have on hand.

Hi!
If you are a bit surprized at the reactions people have about of this idea of colostrum in soap, it is because it sounded like you take something valuable from the kiddies just to use it in soap. ( as soon as the babies start hitting the ground)
And as you say yourself, the quantities is limited so that is probably why the reactions kick in.

I understand you have a more pragmatic side to this, you live close to these animals, you care for them and have a perfect overwiev of how things work on your farm, and we don`t, here we sit behind our computers and write what we think.

But, just some advice from someone who doesn`t sell soap, but love soap in any shape, form and with many different additives:
It is all about the information given. If you go ahead with this, just make sure your information is clear and honest, so people know upfront how you go about the added colostrum. Label apeal doesn`t help if people feel this even has a whiff of denying the kiddies their life-juice, so just let customers know how you go about this, and maybe you will have a market for it.

Soap is a rinse off product so personally I feel this be a bit wast of valuable colostrum that is exposed to something so strong as lye. People get benefits from eating colostrum tablets yes, but how benefitial it is in soap compared to say goatsmilksoap, that is uncertain at this point..

I would go all in with goatsmilk instead, that has label appeal!
But you probably do that allready.

 

[Susie]

I do have half a clue about why you are trying to use old colostrum from the freezer. The kids last year did not need it, so there is some left. I get that you are trying to use it somehow, rather than throwing it away. However, even knowing all of that, I am left wondering what, if any, benefit colostrum would yield to soap. There is very little, if any, milk fat in there to make the soap rich and creamy. I think I would more likely think of using it in a leave-on product where someone could conceivably benefit from what is in there.

 

[Little-Bits-N-Pieces]

Thanks for all the replies guys!

MySoapyHeart-- Yes, let me clear that up for everyone. Baby goats only need 8oz of colostrum and they are set and good to go for the rest of their life; after that 8oz they can drink full milk. My does (mother goats) produce 2-3 gallons each, per day, so when they only have 1-2, sometimes 3 kids that year, there is definitely a surplus of milk, even if I give each kid a quart of colostrum (which I do, just because there is so much of it) there is still an abundance left over from each doe. So when I have 8 does kidding, I have quite the stock pile of it. And I have a cow, possibly two cows due to calve this year as well. Just with the Holstein I will probably have 5-6 gallons left over from her.
So you can see how I have heaps of it, and most doesn't need used here so I sell a lot of it or give it away.

It may not survive the lye any better than the goats milk, but I have noticed it makes the lather denser/thicker (high butterfat most likely) and more seemingly more conditioning than plain goats milk. I'll probably still use some of it, so the old stuff doesn't all go to waste. After all 6 gallons of it would be enough sole liquid to make 230lbs of soap, and I don't even see myself making 50lbs of soap with it!

 

[dixiedragon]

Where and how do you sell? If it's on Etsy, I'd include what you typed in post #8, almost word for word. A bit more condensed, something like, "My goats produce so much milk that even after the kids drink their fill, there is still a lot left over! I freeze the extra colostrum just in case the kids need it, and once they are grown and I know they won't need it, I turn the leftovers into soap."

 

[Little-Bits-N-Pieces]

I usually just sell locally or to people I know, a lot gets given away and a lot gets used up by the family. Haven't really started selling online yet, I'm pretty small scale

 

[MySoapyHeart]

@Little-Bits-N-Pieces Just wanted to mention that when I first started to reply to your post, I ended up with so much text, so I snipped half of it. (*sigh* I seem to be so chatty, but working on it, promise!)

But in my original text I actually wrote something in the line of what you said about that the ammount needed etc. Here in Norway we also use cows colostrum as a substitute for goats, if it gets sick during or after birthing, or die.
Colostrum from other goats outisde the herd as a substitute is not allowed unless it is from a goat that has been a part of a project called Eradication of CAE, CLA & Paratuberculosis in Norwegian goats.
I just happened to know a tinybit about this topic from before but I just didn`t want to come off showy, like I knew a lot about goats, lol.
Sorry for rambling. (see what I mean? *sigh*)

Anyway, if you have experienced that the lather have been denser or thicker and more more conditioning than plain goats milk, then why not go for it, it would be a shame to waste what you allready have. Although I can`t imagine making 230lb`s of soap in one go either, lol :crazy:

 

[Lansdowne]

I'm interested in this too. The colostrum milk on hand in the freezer in case of orphan kids ect or lambs. Each year have last years to get rid of.
I would imagine that colostrum milk would be absolutely full of the best nutrients as its magic stuff !! Have you made any yet? Was it any different to making normal goats milk soap ?

 

[Little-Bits-N-Pieces]

I have made it before. I freeze a lot of mine in ice cube trays, so 1 cube is an ounce in my trays so it is really easy to measure out for kids and soap.
Odd thing is for me, the lye will not start melting the colostrum on it's own, I don't know if anyone else has experienced that if they have made it before. I stirred the lye and colostrum cubes for at least 10 minutes straight the 1st time I ever made colostrum soap. Not one bit was melting until I added a splash of water, then viola!
I've also seen a lot of complaints from people trying to use colostrum and it always curdled on them, I have never had that problem though, so maybe there was some mastitis in the milk or something going on.
Also, since colostrum has a very high fat content, it will start turning into soap while you mix it with the lye.

But it gives the soap a thick, creamy lather and seems to moisturize a bit better than goats milk soaps, I think. I like it, other people either like it or don't try it just because it's made with colostrum. So label un-appeal does factor in with colostrum soaps.