Breastmilk Soap Recipe (Cold Process)

Breast milk is a great additive in soap and is wonderful for sensitive skin. In this tutorial you'll learn to make soap from scratch using mother's milk (or any type of milk) step-by-step.

If you're looking for a simple way to make breast milk soap without lye? Check out my easy DIY breast milk soap recipe.

I know what you're thinking now: Will all these wonderful enzymes, antibodies and the magic pixie dust make it through the soap making process? The answer is: no, they will probably not make it through the "lye monster". Cold process soap undergoes a serious chemical process when oils are being mixed with lye that creates a PH environment where microbes (good and bad) can't live.

The good news is: breast milk is still a great additive in soap, think cows or goats milk on steroids. It contains more fats and sugars than regular milk which contributes to a smooth creamy abundant lather. And it also has lots of vitamins (A,C,D and E) that are great for your skin.

This soap recipe is another variation of a Bastille soap. Meaning a soap that is made with 75% or more of olive oil, but not a Castille soap which contains 100% olive oil. As I mentioned in my Baby Bastille Soap Tutorial, I'm not a big fan of Castille soap - the lather feels slimy to me and I have no patience for the long cure time 😉

To give this soap a nice bubbly lather and hardness boost I added coconut oil at 20%. Coconut oil sometimes feels drying to some folks, but the high percentage of olive oil and breast milk in this recipe make this soap feel creamy and gentle.

If this is the first time making cold process soap, I suggest you go back and read up on lye safety, recommended equipment and how to make homemade soap.

Adding Milk to Cold Process Soap

In this tutorial I provide a soap recipe for you, but if you'd like to use breast milk (or any kind of milk) in another recipe you can. Simply follow the same steps that I will outline here.

For this recipe we're going to replace the entire water content of the soap with breast milk. In order to do that we'll have to take some extra steps in order for the milk not to scorch when mixed in with the lye. You know when the milk starts to scorch when it turns a yellow color and gives off a strong ammonia smell.

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Instructions

1. Put on goggles, gloves and wear long sleeves
2. Freeze milk in an ice cube tray
3. Place frozen milk cubes in a medium sized container (plastic or stainless steal)
4. Place container in an ice bath
5. Measure lye into a small container
6. Little by little add lye to the frozen milk while continuously stirring. The more time you take with this the less the chance of scorching.
7. After the breast milk is completely melted stir for another minute to make sure the lye is completely dissolved

8. Melt coconut oil over low heat in a water bath or on short bursts in the microwave
9. Add olive oil
10. Add essential oils
11. Place soap mold on a cutting board
12. When lye solution and oils have cooled to about room temperature, add the lye solution to oils
13. Stick blend until medium trace (light pudding consistency) is achieved
14. Fill soap batter into the mold cavities
15. Tap cutting board with soap mold on the counter to release air bubbles
16. Place soap in freezer overnight
17. Leave out at room temperature for 24 hours and unmold
18. Cure for 6 weeks
19. Enjoy!