Why make your own soap
I wanted to learn how to make your own goat’s milk soap, for what seems like forever. Living on a farm, we try our best to make use of everything our farm and animals provide for us. Having goats lends itself nicely to this project.
Soap making came to us early last year, when we needed something to fill our time at home. Not to say that we don’t have enough to do around the farm with regular chores. Making our own goat’s milk soap was just one more step in the direction of attaining our goal of self sufficiency.
How to make your own goat’s milk soap is a broad topic; there are so many different directions you can choose to go. Since we live on a farm and have easy access to goat’s and sheep’s milk, it was a no-brainer for us to make a natural soap.
I am not above the temptations from all of the latest and greatest bathing accessories in my local HBA stores, but I do have the need for something more natural. I myself have been a life long sufferer of eczema and one of our daughters was told by her allergist that she needs something a little more natural based.
*Please note this post contains affiliate links. That means if you make a purchase after clicking on a link I may earn a small commission at NO extra charge to you.
Search the internet for making your own goat’s milk soap
So began our deep dive into soap making. I wanted to learn everything I could on how to make your own goat’s milk soap. I wanted something that was going to be simple to make and easy on our skin, since that was the driving force behind this new endeavor.
We had some stashed away goat’s milk from last year in the freezer. We always keep a supply of goat’s milk on hand for when lambing season begins, there is inevitably a lamb or two that can’t quite get the hang of going to mom for milk or a new mom who needs a little more time to adjust to having lambs to take care of. Goat’s milk is a universal supplement for most baby animals.
Research making soap at home
I began scouring the internet for resources on soap making, joined several Facebook groups, different ways to make your own goat’s milk soap, and after pouring over many, many recipes, I finally found a combination of several recipes that looked like it would be simple enough for a beginner like me. The recipe only required 4 ingredients; goat’s milk, lye, lard and any kind of “flavorings” we would like to add.
What you will need to make your own goat’s milk soap
As I mentioned above, I had the goat’s milk handy, but I needed to buy the other supplies for the test batch. I went with an ordinary food grade lard I found at the grocery store. The lye (sodium hydroxide) I ordered from Amazon. I decided to go with a powder form as I was nervous and didn’t feel quite confident to try a liquid lye for the first go-around of soap making.
Some kind of bowl or vessel to mix in is essential. I went with a recycled ice cream container from a local business. The container has high sides ( I was afraid of splashing) and the plastic code found on the bottom was #5.
The type of container you use is very important, as the use of lye and such over time can weaken and degrade your container. If you go with plastic, opt for containers with recycling numbers #2 and #5, as they can withstand the heat from lye and are sturdy and durable.
Getting started with making your own soap
We found the supplies we needed from various soap making websites and Amazon. We patiently waited for all of our supplies to arrive so that we could start making our own soap.
Making that first batch of soap I was a nervous wreck. I thought for sure if I didn’t have some kind of accident with the lye and blind myself, then I would surely mess up the soap so that it wouldn’t turn out. I made my first batch of soap with peppermint and orange essential oils (I use doTERRA and Eden’s Garden). It wasn’t a pretty concoction by any means; a very pale yellow and creamy color, but I didn’t need it to be.
Processing the first batch of soap
After mixing the soap and placing it in the molds, we allowed it to rest for 24 hours. The next day, I removed the loaf of soap from the mold and placed it in the cutter box. It was pretty easy to cut the loaf into bars of soap. After cutting, we put the newly minted bars of homemade soap in a cold storage room in our basement to cure of about 3 weeks. Waiting was the hardest part and that room smelled so good!
The Results of making your own goat’s milk soap
Since that first batch of soap, I have become hooked on making our own. It wasn’t nearly as difficult as I had built it up to be in my own head. We obviously need a little more practice but in time, we can make the perfect soap for our family; clean, natural and ingredients from our own farm.
You don’t have to live on a farm to make soap or have access to fresh goat’s milk. All of the supplies are available when doing a Google search for soap making supplies and on Amazon. You can easily collect everything you need and try your hand at making your own homemade soap! You can even get a “soap base” like this one https://amzn.to/3qhHSF9 and use that!
Leave us a comment and share the post with your friends and check out our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/hiddenfarmlife
Like making your own things? Check out this blog post next: https://hiddenfarmlife.com/how-to-make-your-own-sourdough-starter-from-scratch/
The Supplies:
You will need some kind of mixing bowl, I used a recycled plastic ice container from a local business.
Something to blend with, I used an immersion blender like this one: https://amzn.to/3GlZVzB
The soap mold kit: https://amzn.to/3FjlvTY
The lye: https://amzn.to/34vWqIO
Eden’s Garden Sweet Orange Essential Oil: https://amzn.to/3FbxjaY Peppermint Oil: https://amzn.to/3qjcoPb
Safety glasses: https://amzn.to/3FdhznL
I found the lard and rubber gloves in a local grocery store.
Leave us a comment and let us know if you too make your own soap, and what you think of it.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.