If you have sensitive or problem skin, buying soap can be a nightmare. Most of the soaps available in the stores contain an array of harsh chemicals that can wreak havoc on your skin. An easy solution is to make natural goats milk soap at home, in the comfort of your own kitchen.
There are different recipes available online. A good recipe is one that contains goats milk and a blend of oils. Coconut oil is a good choice, as is olive oil. You can also add oils such as avocado, almond, rice bran or castor oil or even shea or cocoa butter. All of these oils have nourishing properties. A few drops of essential oil can add fragrance and may have therapeutic properties too. For example, tea tree or grapefruit oils are antibacterial while lavender is relaxing. Finally, you'll need some lye.
To start, you need to saponify the milk. This means that you need to mix it with the alkaline lye to create a chemical reaction. To do this, sprinkle a little bit of lye over the milk and mix it in. Then add some more lye and repeat the process until you've used all the lye. Be careful when working with lye, however, because it can cause severe caustic burns. It's a good idea to wear thick rubber gloves to protect your hands. Keep everything at a low temperature by placing it over ice.
When your lye mixture is ready, it's time to blend the oils. Some oils, such as coconut oil, and butters are solid at room temperature so you will need to melt them first. You can do this by placing them in the sun for a while or by gently heating them on the stove. Then add the liquid oils.
Return to the lye mixture and stir or whisk it until it is smooth and free of lumps. Then slowly add the oil mixture and stir. When it emulsifies, the two mixtures will stay mixed and will not separate. This is what soap makers talk about when they say that the mixture has reached trace.
When your soap has reached trace, you can pour it into molds. There are many different shapes available, including loaf shapes and spheres that you can buy from craft stores. Use molds that have been cooled in the fridge so that the soap won't heat up. Smaller molds are better for keeping the soap mixture cool.
For the next 24 hours, let the molded mixture set. Then remove the solid shapes and if they are too big, slice them into the size you want. They now need to cure for a minimum of four weeks, after which you can wrap them in the paper of your choice or simply tie colorful ribbons around them.
Homemade goats milk soap has several benefits. Because it doesn't have any harmful chemicals in it, it will be gentle and moisturizing rather than drying. In fact, it's great for treating redness, itchiness, eczema and acne. Because it lathers into a creamy foam, it makes a great shaving soap too. Best of all is that it makes unique, special gifts.
There are different recipes available online. A good recipe is one that contains goats milk and a blend of oils. Coconut oil is a good choice, as is olive oil. You can also add oils such as avocado, almond, rice bran or castor oil or even shea or cocoa butter. All of these oils have nourishing properties. A few drops of essential oil can add fragrance and may have therapeutic properties too. For example, tea tree or grapefruit oils are antibacterial while lavender is relaxing. Finally, you'll need some lye.
To start, you need to saponify the milk. This means that you need to mix it with the alkaline lye to create a chemical reaction. To do this, sprinkle a little bit of lye over the milk and mix it in. Then add some more lye and repeat the process until you've used all the lye. Be careful when working with lye, however, because it can cause severe caustic burns. It's a good idea to wear thick rubber gloves to protect your hands. Keep everything at a low temperature by placing it over ice.
When your lye mixture is ready, it's time to blend the oils. Some oils, such as coconut oil, and butters are solid at room temperature so you will need to melt them first. You can do this by placing them in the sun for a while or by gently heating them on the stove. Then add the liquid oils.
Return to the lye mixture and stir or whisk it until it is smooth and free of lumps. Then slowly add the oil mixture and stir. When it emulsifies, the two mixtures will stay mixed and will not separate. This is what soap makers talk about when they say that the mixture has reached trace.
When your soap has reached trace, you can pour it into molds. There are many different shapes available, including loaf shapes and spheres that you can buy from craft stores. Use molds that have been cooled in the fridge so that the soap won't heat up. Smaller molds are better for keeping the soap mixture cool.
For the next 24 hours, let the molded mixture set. Then remove the solid shapes and if they are too big, slice them into the size you want. They now need to cure for a minimum of four weeks, after which you can wrap them in the paper of your choice or simply tie colorful ribbons around them.
Homemade goats milk soap has several benefits. Because it doesn't have any harmful chemicals in it, it will be gentle and moisturizing rather than drying. In fact, it's great for treating redness, itchiness, eczema and acne. Because it lathers into a creamy foam, it makes a great shaving soap too. Best of all is that it makes unique, special gifts.
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Find an overview of the benefits of using natural goats milk soap and view our selection of natural skin care products at http://mountainworks.ca now.
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