This milk soap recipe is extremely gentle, nourishing, and decadently creamy. Follow these detailed step-by-step instructions to make a stunning cold process soap!
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Today I'll show you how to make your own milk soap. Enhanced with essential oils and decked out with designs of beautiful soap molds. The result is a gorgeous, wonderfully rich and soothing oatmeal, milk & honey soap that everyone in your family will want to get their paws on!
If you'd rather make soap without lye using a melt and pour soap base, hop over to my goat milk soap recipe without lye. It's a great way to make soap easy!
Benefits of Milk Soap
There's been much debate about whether the skin benefits of milk are still present after the chemical reaction of soapmaking has taken place. Most reports are experience-based. Milk (be it goats milk or any other kind) lends itself perfectly as an ingredient in homemade soap and has many skin benefits:
The high fat content in milk allows for the soap to gently cleanse sensitive skin without disturbing its natural lipid barrier.
Keeping your skin's lipid barrier healthy is important since that's what helps the skin retain moisture and prevents it from getting too dry.
A lot of folks with dry skin conditions, such as eczema and psoriasis, report that their skin has improved since they started using milk soap.
Lactic acid naturally found in milk can help gently slough off dead skin cells.
Helpful Tips
- this soap-making method requires the use of lye. Always wear protective gloves, goggles and long sleeves when working with lye. Keep lye solution away from kids and pets. Avoid inhaling fumes when dissolving lye and avoid contact with eyes and mouth.
- if you've never made soap before familiarize yourself with important steps in my how to make soap at home tutorial
- always freeze milk before adding lye: milk contains a lot of sugars that will scorch, give of a bad smell and turn the soap brown if not cooled
- you can buy milk at the grocery store, you can get fresh milk from a local farm or from your own animals, you can also use milk powder (see instructions)
- this recipe works with any kind of milk, like goat's milk, cow's milk, sheep's milk or breast milk
- to avoid gel phase which will give you a darker color place soap in the freezer after it has been poured into the mold
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, you can read my full disclosure here.
Equipment
- safety equipment: goggles and gloves, long sleeves
- ice cube tray
- digital kitchen scale
- small plastic cup to measure out lye
- plastic or stainless steel container (no aluminum) to mix lye solution
- medium container or pot to melt oils
- small glass cup (exp. empty baby food glass)
- immersion blender
- silicone soap mold
- small plastic spoon
- spatula
Ingredients
- milk (frozen): 4.1oz / 117g
- lye (sodium hydroxide): 2.2oz / 63g
- olive oil (45%): 7.3oz / 207g
- coconut oil (30%): 4.9oz / 138g
- shea butter (25%): 4oz / 115g
- lavender essential oil: 17g
- colloidal oatmeal (or ground oatmeal, optional): 1 Tbsp.
- honey (optional): 2 tsp
How to Make Goats Milk Soap
- measure out 4.1oz (117g) of milk and pour it into ice cube trays (if using powdered milk: mix 0.5 oz of powder into 3.6 oz of water and proceed)
- freeze milk
- release frozen milk from the ice cube tray into a plastic container
- gear up for safety! put on gloves and goggles! wear long sleeves!
- measure out lye into a small plastic cup
- little by little pour lye over the frozen milk while pausing to stir each time until lye is dissolved (the slower you do this the less chance of the milk getting scorched)
- keep adding lye and stirring until milk is fully liquid
- set lye milk mixture aside in a safe place
- in a plastic container add coconut oil and shea butter
- melt coconut oil and shea butter over low heat in a water bath or in the microwave on 30-second bursts
- add olive oil to melted coconut oil and shea butter
- measure out essential oil into a small glass container
- add lavender essential oil, colloidal oatmeal (or finely ground oatmeal) and honey (not pictured) to warmed oils and combine with a stick blender
- place soap mold on a cutting board so that you can move it in and out of the freezer later
- let lye mixture and oil come to room temperature (you'll know if neither container feels warm touch)
- carefully pour the milk lye solution into the base oils. try to pour down the shaft of blender (not pictured)
- stick blend until lye and oils are well combined (no more oil visible and the mixture an opaque light yellow)
- continue stirring with a spatula until the batter leaves thin trailings on top (you've reached light trace)
- carefully pour the soap batter into the soap mold
- tap the cutting board with the soap on the counter a couple of times to release any air bubbles
- move the soaps into the freezer for at least 3 hours
- leave them at room temperature for another 48 hours
- release the soaps from the mold by gently tugging on all sides first and then gently pressing from the bottom
- cure your soaps in a dry cool place for 4 weeks
- store in an old shoe box for up to 1 year
FAQs
Yes, milk soap can be used as facial soap. Be sure to follow up with moisturizer after cleansing.
The extra oil in handmade bar soap can get rancid over time especially when exposed to humidity. Soap will start to show orange spots that are sticky. Please discard if you notice this.
Soap making takes a couple of times to get used to. If you follow instructions correctly it's a little bit like baking: exact measuring and mixing.
Milk Soap Recipe (Cold Process Soap Recipe)
Milk soap recipe- extremely, gentle, nourishing and decadently creamy. Follow these detailed step-by-step instructions and you'll make a stunning homemade soap!
Ingredients
- milk (frozen): 4.1oz / 117g
- lye (sodium hydroxide): 2.2oz / 63g
- olive oil (45%): 7.3oz / 207g
- coconut oil (30%): 4.9oz / 138g
- shea butter (25%): 4oz / 115g
- lavender essential oil: 17g
- colloidal oatmeal (or very finely ground oatmeal): 1 Tbsp.
- raw honey: 2 tsp
Instructions
Equipment
- protective gear: goggels, gloves and long sleeves
- ice cube tray
- digital kitchen scale
- small plastic cup to measure out lye
- plastic or stainless steal container (no aluminum) to mix lye solution
- medium container or pot to melt oils
- small glass cup (exp. empty baby food glass)
- immersion blender
- silicone soap mold
- small plastic spoon
- spatula
Instructions
- measure out 4.1oz (117g) of milk and pour it into an ice cube tray. if using powdered milk, disolve 0.5 oz in 3.6 oz of distilled water
- freeze the milk
- prepare an ice bath by mixing ice cubes with cold water in a glass measuring jar
- release the milk from the ice cube tray into a plastic container
- place plastic container in ice bath
- gear up for safety! put on gloves and goggles!
- into a small plastic cup carefully measure out lye
- little by little pour lye over the frozen milk while pausing to stir each time until lye is dissolved (the slower you do this the less the chance of the milk getting scorched)
- keep adding lye and stirring until milk is fully liquid
- set lye mixture in water bath aside
- in a plastic container add coconut oil and shea butter
- melt coconut oil and shea butter over low heat in a water bath or in the microwave on 30-second bursts
- add olive oil to the melted coconut oil and shea butter
- measure out essential oil into a small glass container
- add lavender essential oil, colloidal oatmeal (or finely ground oatmeal) and honey (not pictured) to the warmed oils and combine with a stick blender
- place your soap mold on a cutting board so that you can move it in and out of the freezer later
- Let lye mixture and oils come to room temperature - containers don't feel warm to touch
- Carefully pour the milk lye solution into the base oils (your lye solution is likely going to be thicker than usual, but that's ok)
- stick blend until lye and oils are well combined (no more oil visible and the mixture an opaque light yellow)
- continue stirring with a spatula until the batter leaves thin trailings on top (you've reached medium trace)
- carefully pour the batter into the soap mold
- tap the cutting board with the soap on the counter a couple of times to release any air bubbles
- move the soaps into the freezer for at least 3 hours
- leave them at room temperature for another 48 hours
- release the soaps from the mold by gently tugging on all sides first and then gently pressing from the bottom
- cure your soaps in a dry cool place for 4 weeks
Jill
Can the melt and pour version be made without the honey?
Celine
Yes, you can leave it out
Bekki
Is it possible to make the lye version without coconut oil? If so, what can I use as a substitute?
Celine
Yes, you can use babassu oil instead. Let me know if you have any questions.
Michelle
Do you have to use rubbing alcohol?
Celine
Hi Michelle, you could leave it out. The bottom of the soap might still have some air bubbles if you do so.
M
How many bars does this make?
Celine
6 bars