These goat milk shampoo bars have a generous helping of castor oil to promote a great lathering experience, along with a full amount of goat’s milk for an added creamy and luxurious feel. Shea (or mango) butter helps to slightly harden the finished bars while providing moisturizing properties for scalp and hair.
This recipe is one from Jan Berry’s new book, Simple Natural Soapmaking.
Before making, you’ll first need to freeze the milk. To do so, weigh the amount of milk you need for the recipe directly into ice cube trays. Freeze until solid and store the cubes in freezer bags until you’re ready to make soap.
Yield: 7 to 8 bars of soap (2.5 lbs/1.13 kg)
Lye Solution
8.5 oz (241 g) frozen goat’s milk
0.5 oz (14 g) distilled water
3.9 oz (111 g) sodium hydroxide (lye)
Oils
7.5 oz (213 g) coconut oil
3 oz (85 g) shea or mango butter
10.5 oz (298 g) olive oil
3 oz (85 g) sweet almond or sunflower oil
4 oz (113 g) castor oil
Essential Oil
1.23 oz (35 g) of lavender essential oil, optional
Substitutions & Tips
Note that all ingredients should be measured by weight. You’ll need an accurate scale to make soap.
To replace the shea or mango butter, try using lard or tallow instead. The lye amount will stay within an acceptable range for either change and will not need to be adjusted. If allergic to coconut oil, try using an equal amount of babassu oil in its place. For this replacement, the lye amount should be slightly reduced, to 3.85 ounces (109 g).
Directions to Make Goat Milk Shampoo Bars
Place the frozen goat’s milk and water in a heavy-duty plastic or stainless steel bowl. Wearing protective gloves and eyewear, carefully sprinkle a small amount of lye at a time over the frozen milk, stirring well after each addition. The entire process will take several minutes, but working slowly ensures that the milk doesn’t scorch and that the lye completely dissolves. The lye solution does not need to cool further before adding to the oils.
Melt the coconut oil and shea butter, then add to the other oils. Add the lye/milk solution to the oils. Using a combination of hand stirring and an immersion blender (stick blender), stir the soap until it reaches a very light trace. (Trace is when the soap has thickened enough so when you drizzle a small amount of the batter across the surface, it will leave a fleeting, but visible imprint or “trace” before sinking back in.) At trace, stir in essential oil, if using, then pour into a prepared mold.
Once poured into the mold, you have two options. You can keep the soap at room temperature, covering lightly with wax paper and a towel or pillowcase. Peek at the soap every so often; if it starts developing a crack, that means it’s overheating and should be moved to a cooler location. Alternatively, for a lighter colored soap, place the filled mold in your refrigerator for 24 hours, then remove and allow to stay at room temperature another day or two before unmolding. Slice the soap into bars when it̕s firm enough not to stick to your cutting tool. Cure on coated cooling racks or sheets of wax paper about 4 weeks before using.
Jan Berry recommends the Crafter’s Choice Silicone Soap Mold.
Benefits of Goat Milk for Hair
The proteins and fatty acids in goat milk shampoo bars nourish hair and makes it naturally shiny. If you have curls, goat’s milk shampoo will help to control frizz and make your curls sculpted. Also, because it’s gentle and it helps to moisturize the skin, you may find dandruff relief after using goat milk shampoo bars.
If you’re looking for more great soap recipes, I highly recommend getting a copy of Simple Natural Soapmaking. Herbalist Jan Berry offers everything the modern-day enthusiast needs to make incredible botanical soaps. Beginners can join in the sudsy fun with detailed tutorials and step-by-step photographs for making traditional cold-process soap and the more modern hot-process method with a slow cooker. Jan presents fifty easy, unique soap recipes with ingredients and scents inspired by the herb garden, veggie garden, farm, forest and more.
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Hi there, I was wondering if the goats milk had to be raw or pasteurized?
What brand of essential oil did you use for this recipe? Is using a full 1oz necessary because essential oils can be expensive.
I ran this through soap calc and it gave me a different % water
I’m pretty new but I was also told by a soaping group that the “cleansing” of this bar could be to harsh? I’m not sure what I’m asking exactly but should I be worried or is this a tried and true recipe
Is it possible to make soap without lye, or is it a necessary ingredient?
Soap isn’t soap without the chemical process between lye and the oils. It’s just oil with an added liquid. Once the soap is cured there is no more lye, and the chemical reaction is complete
Hi, I am a high school student that is using this recipe for a soap-making project and I was wondering what size mold you used for this soap and at what temperature did you heat the mixture at the first step to melt the goats milk and water. Thank you! Lovely recipe.
Hi. I know this comment is coming late, but I will answer anyway. You don’t heat the lye and goat milk/water mixture. You freeze the goat milk because when you add the lye to the goat milk (never the other way around), it heats up a lot because of the chemical reaction. It will scorching the milk easily if you don’t cool the milk. I would highly recommend starting with a recipe that doesn’t include milk, as that complicates things. Find a good book or more detailed instructions for making your first batch of soap. It’s not hard, but there are some things you do need to be careful about and it can seem complicated at first. Soap making is awesome. I’ve been doing it for about 6 years now. Best of luck!