Author: I love playing around with different ingredients in my soap formulations, and goat’s milk can make a soap bar so much more luxurious. I have three wonderful goat milk soaps to share with you: a rosemary and mint soap, a creamy goat’s milk soap, and a chocolate milk soap.
Whenever I use fresh milk in my cold process soapmaking, I always choose goats milk, it’s a lot easier to use than cow’s milk and I’ve always had great success with it. Let’s take a look at how to make this.
Benefits Of Goat Milk Soap
The goat’s milk within this recipe can help with dry and itchy skin so it is a great choice if you suffer from Eczema or Psoriasis. However, if you already have healthy skin, goat’s milk soap can help to maintain this.
Goat milk is often touted as a natural remedy for dry skin. The fats and proteins in goat’s milk can help to replenish the skin, while the lactic acid helps to exfoliate and remove dead skin cells. It’s also less drying than a normal soap made with water. As a result, goat’s milk can leave your skin feeling softer and smoother.
So, if you’re looking to try goats milk on your skin, there are a few different ways to do it. Of course, you can make your own goat milk soap at home, and that’s what we are doing here. But just for your info, you could, for example, add goats milk to your favorite face mask recipe for an extra boost of hydration.
Whichever way you choose to use it, goat’s milk is an excellent natural option for improving the condition of your skin. However, if this is the first time you’re using fresh milk in soap there are a few things you may wish to consider.
Freezing The Milk First
First of all, fresh goat’s milk will more than likely change the color of your soap to a deep honey color. So it’s not very suitable for use with any pigments. It also tends to have a strong smell; thankfully this doesn’t stay with the finished soap!
The reason for this is that adding lye to your milk heats it so quickly (often to over 150°F) that it can burn the milk which produces a darker color. It also has a tendency to curdle your soap, which is never a good thing!
You can avoid these issues by freezing the milk before adding the lye. I simply pour it into an ice cube tray the evening before so that it’s frozen solid before I use it. The colder your milk is the lighter your soap will be.
Try To Source The best Goats Milk
You can buy goats milk from your local supermarket if needed. However, if you can get organic, grass-fed goat’s milk locally at a farmer’s market, then definitely give that a go. Fresh is always best in my book!
The Essential Oils I’m Using
For the rosemary and mint goats milk soap recipe, I used rosemary essential oil to compliment the goat’s milk with its soothing properties which again help with dry skin. It also brings a lovely woodsy scent to the soap.
I used mint essential oil, too, as it helps to tone the skin as well as hydrate and rejuvenate. It has a cool and refreshing aroma that blends wonderfully with the rosemary.
Luxurious DIY Goat Milk Soap Recipe
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Ingredients
- 315 grams Coconut Oil
- 360 grams Olive Oil
- 100 grams Sunflower Oil
- 80 grams Castor Oil
- 45 grams Cocoa Butter
- 256 grams Goats Milk (Frozen In Cubes)
- 128 grams Soapmaking Lye
- 15 grams Rosemary Essential Oil
- 15 grams Peppermint Essential Oil (Spearmint and Wintergreen are good too)
Equipment
- Ice Cube Tray
- Mixing Bowl (Glass, Aluminium or PET)
- Spoon or Spatula
Video
Instructions
- Freeze the goat milk overnight.
- If you’ve not made soap before, take a look at my full cold process tutorial here.Put on your protective clothing, gloves, mask, and glasses. I always find it best to then prepare and weigh all of the ingredients before starting.
- Pop the goats milk ice cubes into a jug then carefully add the lye. Once the lye has dissolved, set it aside to cool in a safe place.256 grams Goats Milk, 128 grams Soapmaking Lye
- Put the coconut oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, castor oil and cocoa butter into a large glass jug then melt in the microwave using a 30 second blast. Then set aside to cool.315 grams Coconut Oil, 360 grams Olive Oil, 100 grams Sunflower Oil, 80 grams Castor Oil, 45 grams Cocoa Butter
- Now we need to balance the oils and the lye. They should be between 120f and 90f (49c 60c)
- Once balanced, pour the lye into the oils. Do this slowly to avoid splashing
- Using a blender, stir your mixture for several minutes before switching it on. Turn the blender on and give your mixture a few short 3 second blitz, stirring between each burst. Continue until the batter thickens and leaves a thin trace on the surface of the batter before disappearing back into the mixture.
- Now you can add the rosemary and mint essential oils. Then give it another few blasts with the blender until it thickens but remains liquid.15 grams Rosemary Essential Oil, 15 grams Peppermint Essential Oil
- Next, transfer the soap to the mold. If the mixture is too thick to pour, then you might need to spoon it in instead.
- Pop the mold into the fridge for 24hrs to harden. Take it out of the fridge and leave for a further 24hrs before popping it out of the mold. Remember it will still be a bit caustic until cured so put on your gloves before releasing it. It will then need to be cut.
- The goat milk soap will need to cure for around 4 weeks before it is ready for use. Let the soaps sit and air in a cool dry place, remembering to rotate them weekly.
Creamy Goats Milk Soap Recipe
This is a creamy medium to soft homemade milk soap with lots of bubble lather and the beautiful aroma of ylang ylang essential oil. This goat milk soap recipe leaves your skin feeling so soft and smooth, it’s a must make for all soap makers.
Ingredients
Makes around 12 bars (I’ve used a cutlery bin to make a nice half moon soap shape, you can find an example of this bin here Soap Making Supplies).
- 240g (8.5oz) Shortening (vegetable fat)
- 350g (12.3oz) Olive Oil
- 350g (12.3oz) Sunflower Oil
- 60g (2.1oz) Beeswax
- 300g (10.6oz) Fresh goat’s milk
- 126g (4.45oz) Lye (Sodium Hydroxide/Caustic Soda)
- 30g (1oz) Ylang Ylang essential oil or Lavender essential oil
Method
Follow the steps below using the cold process method.
- A few hours or the day before making the soap, weigh the goat’s milk and pour it into ice cube trays for freezing.
- Gather your soap making equipment and ingredients, and put on your protective gear, rubber gloves, face mask, and goggles.
- Place the frozen milk into a pyrex jug, then put the jug into a safe place such as a sink and add the lye/caustic soda and stir until the lye has fully dissolved. Set aside and leave to cool to around 140f (60c) to 120f (49c).
- Meanwhile; gently melt the shortening, beeswax, and olive oil in a stainless steel pan on the stove or in a heatproof glass jug in the microwave using 30-second bursts. Once melted add the sunflower oil. Adding the sunflower oil at room temperature rather than warming it will help the oils to cool quicker. You are aiming for the oils to cool to around 140f (60c) to 120f (49) to match the lye solution.
- When both the lye and oils are between 140f (60c) to 120f (49) they are ready to combine. When adding the lye to the oils I always prefer to start mixing them manually with a spatula before moving on to an electric hand blender. This is just a personal preference and I only give it a few stirs before switching. The important thing here is to add the lye to the oils rather than adding the oils to the lye.
- Before putting the stick blender into the soap batter give it a quick blitz just to make sure there are no hidden air bubbles trapped in the blender. Blend the batter using 30-second bursts, stirring and checking for trace between each burst. Trace is when you can trickle a little of the soap back into the batter and it leaves behind a trace before disappearing back into the batter.
- Once the batter has reached trace, go back to using a spatula and stir in the ylang-ylang essential oil.
- As soon as the essential oil has been mixed into the soap batter, get it into the mold. The soap can thicken quickly when things are added to it, so you don’t want to hang around here. If the soap does become too thick to pour, use a spoon to transfer it, and then give the mold a couple of taps on the counter to level it out a bit. You may also need to smooth the surface of the soap with the spatula or the flat part of the spoon.
- Leave to harden for around 24 hours before removing it from the mold.
- Once the soap has hardened, remove it from the mold and cut it into bars. The bars will need to cure for four weeks before they will be mild enough to use. To cure them stand the bars upright with around a ¼ inch between them, they will also need to be turned once a week.
Photos From Making This Soap
Yummy Homemade Chocolate Soap
This homemade chocolate soap recipe contains fresh goats milk, it’s great fun and has such a wonderful rich brown color. It’s a perfect soap for cubing up and adding to other white based soaps (see vanilla choc chip soap).
On its own this soap does have a mild milky chocolate scent, but personally if I’m going to make a rich looking chocolate soap I want a rich chocolatey smell. Adding a teaspoon or two of chocolate fragrance oil gives this soap just the scent I like.
Ingredients
This recipe produces a hard soap with lots of creamy bubbles and makes about 12 bars
- 375g (13.2oz) Shortening (vegetable fat)
- 250g (8.8oz) Tallow (dripping)
- 375g (13.2oz) Coconut Oil
- 15g (0.5oz) Plain dark cooking chocolate (semi-sweet)
- 200g (7oz) Distilled water
- 100g (3.5oz) Fresh goats milk
- 150g (5.2oz) Lye (Sodium Hydroxide/Caustic Soda)
- 30g (1oz) Chocolate fragrance oil (optional)
Method
Follow the steps below using the cold process method.
A quick word of warning; when cutting into the soap you may find the inside of the soap much lighter than its outer shell, this will darken within a couple of days so don’t panic. You may also notice a strong goats milk odor in the soap, once again don’t panic this will fade away.
- A few hours or the day before making the soap, weigh the goat’s milk and pour it into ice cube trays for freezing.
- Gather your soap making equipment and ingredients, and put on your protective gear, rubber gloves, face mask, and goggles. Weigh the distilled water and place it into a good-sized heavy-duty plastic or Pyrex jug. Add the frozen milk to the water then Place the jug into a safe place such as a sink and add the Lye/ caustic soda and stir until the lye has fully dissolved. Set aside and leave to cool to around 140f (60c) to 120f (49c).
- Meanwhile; gently melt the shortening, tallow, coconut oil, and chocolate in a stainless steel pan on the stove or in a heatproof glass jug in the microwave using 30-second bursts. Then, allow to cool. You are aiming for the oils to cool to around 140f (60c) to 120f (49) to match the lye solution.
- When both the lye and oils are between 140f (60c) to 120f (49) they are ready to combine. When adding the lye to the oils I always prefer to start mixing them manually with a spatula before moving on to an electric hand blender. This is just a personal preference and I only give it a few stirs before switching. The important thing here is to add the lye to the oils rather than adding the oils to the lye.
- Before putting the stick blender into the soap batter give it a quick blitz just to make sure there are no hidden air bubbles trapped in the blender. Blend the batter using 30-second bursts, stirring and checking for trace between each burst. Trace is when you can trickle a little of the soap back into the batter and it leaves behind a trace before disappearing back into the batter.
- Once the batter has reached trace, go back to using a spatula and stir in the chocolate fragrance oil if using.
- As soon as the fragrance oil has been mixed into the soap batter, get it into the mold. The soap can thicken quickly when things are added to it, so you don’t want to hang around here. If the soap does become too thick to pour, use a spoon to transfer it, and then give the mold a couple of taps on the counter to level it out a bit. You may also need to smooth the surface of the soap with the spatula or the flat part of the spoon.
- Cover the mold with a piece of cardboard, and place a towel over it to keep it warm. This will allow the soap to gel creating a darker rich color. The soap will need to harden for around 24 hours before removing it from the mold.
- Once the soap has hardened, remove it from the mold and cut it into bars. The bars will need to cure for four weeks before they will be mild enough to use. To cure them stand the bars upright with around a ¼ inch between them, they will also need to be turned once a week.
Photos From Making Homemade Chocolate Soap
So there we have it, three great ways to incorporate goat’s milk into your soaps! I love to play around with different ingredients in my soap formulations, and goat’s milk can make a bar of soap so much more luxurious.
Another great ingredient to try is coconut milk! My coconut and lime soap uses coconut milk in a similar way to the goats milk soap recipes, and it feels amazing on your skin. Definitely take a look at it if you’re interested in using different types of milk in your soaps.
Last but not least, don’t forget to follow us on social media. Facebook and Instagram are great ways to stay up to date on everything we’re doing here on Savvhomemade.
Soap Calculator & Formulation Guide
Select your chosen oils, along with the weight or percentage. The soap calculator will then show the total weight of lye and water required. The result can be instantly adjusted by changing your preferred superfatting level or water/lye ratio.
Hi!
I’ve bought your courses and truly enjoy them. Recently, I did want to try creating goats milk products and decided to go with this recipe and followed it to the T; however, my soap separated and liquified. Any idea on how this occurred? Can I fix it?
Thank you.
Hi Juliette,
This can happen for a number of reasons, so let’s run through some of them. The two that jump to mind are additives that don’t work well with this soap recipe (e.g. pigments, extracts, fragrances). So I would first take a look at this and see if you’re using anything different from what I’ve used. Even then, ingredients can vary from one manufacturer to the next. Confirm with your suppliers that your ingredients are suitable for use in cold-process soap.
The only other thing I can think of (besides maybes making sure you’re balancing the temperature of your oil and lye before mixing) is that you’re not blending for long enough. Make sure you’re achieving a light trace before you add your additives. This can be difficult to determine, but you can take it to a medium trace if you’re not sure.
Hope this helps. Try these tips and let me know if they help. If not we can troubleshoot a bit more.
Hi there! Love these recipes and the nice and detailed way you explain how to do this for newbies like me! So I’m allergic to coconut, could I sub the coconut/cocoa butter with another oil or butter??
Hi Baily,
Absolutely you could! However, it’s not as easy as substituting like for like. Soap making requires delicate measurements and a ratio of water to lye, and this ratio changes depending on the different oils that are incorporated into a cold-process soap recipe. Therefore, I would recommend running the full recipe, with your chosen substitutions, through a lye calculator to make sure your soap is not too lye heavy.
If you’re not already, consider signing up for free membership to my blog, which includes free access to a soap lye calculator. You can also do my new free course, ‘Radiance’ which teaches how to make emulsions and micellar waters!
Love your soap recipe. Now I am being asked if I can make goat milk shampoo!! Can I and if so do you have a recipe. Look forward to hearing from you. Margaret
That’s great! I love soaping too, and my friends also love all the free soaps. As for shampoo, I’ve never tried it, so I can’t say for sure. However, I would definitely explore this, see what you can find on the web. I’d love if you could update me if you do find an answer. Thanks so much!
Hi Ann,
Many apologies, I’ve amended the method. There’s no sunflower in this recipe, so you won’t need to add it. You’ll need to wait for the oils to reach balancing temperature on this own. Hope this helps!
Hi Angela, I can’t find fresh goat milk near me. Can I use canned goat milk?
Hi Eppie, I don’t see why not. You can also use powdered, but be sure to mix it at the recommended ratio by the manufacturer.
Hope this helps
Hi Sherry,
Many apologies, the method was a bit confusing, but I’ve cleared it up for you. The Cream Goats Milk Soap actually doesn’t require any distilled water at all. Go ahead and add your frozen goat’s milk to your pyrex jug, then your lye. No distilled water needed for this one.
Hi Angela, First of all let me say that your website is a gold mine of ideas and inspiration, so congratulations!
Then I was wondering if this recipe can be made with fresh donkey milk too. Here in my area I’ve found a farm that produce organic donkey milk, so I’m willing to give it a try…
I have noticed that some people also freeze the milk before adding to the lye solution (http://www.lovinsoap.com/2012/10/how-to-make-goats-milk-soap-using-farm-fresh-goats-milk/) in order to preserve the milk properties….what do you think, this could be the case?
I would also ask what do you mean by “Shortening (vegetable fat)”? Any vegetable fat would do the job? Could I use for example sustainable harvested Palm Oil or organic Coconut Oil? Or is there a specific ingredient I have to use instead?
Thank you so much!
Do you put anything in the cutlery mold to make the soap come out easily? I got one of those molds and I can’t get the soap out without a lot of banging it on the floor?
Yours looks so smooth.
Thanks,
KK
Hi Karen, welcome to Savvyhomemade!
A quick grease round with a little solid oil from any of your soap recipes should do the trick. Check out the full cold process for more detailed info and complete steps from start to finish.