Goat Milk Soap By Nicole

I have always loved soap.  I recently decided I should try to make some.  (I guess I wasn't busy enough?  I don't know.)  Anyway-- I am pleased with the results and thought I should dedicate today's blog post to the process.  I did very little research about making soap.  Pinterest was helpful.  The only major decision I had to make was whether or not to create a Lye soap or a simple melt and pour.  I read a couple of warnings about the Lye chemical and decided that I'd rather not burn my eyes with fumes.  

Goat milk soap base is a much safer choice!  I purchased this from Amazon, and you can get some HERE.  I liked that this is a suspension formula, which means that any additives will not sink to the bottom!  Now that you have a soap base, the possibilities are endless!

Cut it up and place it into a microwave safe bowl or double broiler on the stove.  Microwave for 40 seconds and then 15 second intervals, stirring in between.   I went the microwave route, and it took forever.  I will double broiler it next time to keep the heat consistent.

Once melted, it cools off very fast and will begin to clump.  I had to keep popping it back into the microwave.  Again, a double broiler next time.  I followed a simple recipe on Pinterest.  Add a small pile of oats for exfoliating, a couple of tablespoons of honey, and some sweet almond essential oil.  I just poured a little bit in.  The goat milk soap is already a very soft soap, it reminds me of a lotion bar.  I am researching that, next!  At this point you can add any scented oil if you want to.  My next batch will be scented.

I ordered the oil from Amazon, too.  It is also good for massage and just rubbing it on your dry hands and feet.

I used a silicone soap mold.  This is a fool proof vehicle for soap.  The soap popped right out, effortlessly.

Now, pouring the soap is what caused me the most trouble!  Anyone have a smart way of doing this?  My soap cooled so fast that I only managed to pour one, maybe two bars before I had to remelt it in the microwave.

I was flinging it everywhere!!

It was messy.

It came right off of my tupperware bowl, though.

I made a big blobby ball with the scraped remains.  If this had taken any longer, I would have given up and thrown it away.  I guess that is how my kind behave.  (My relatives will understand this completely.)

The bars completely cooled after a couple of hours.  I waited a few days until I was ready to package it all up.  The silicone mold was easy to release the soap.

I am happy with the product.  The three things I will change?  

1. Next time I will use a smaller exfoliant.  Maybe poppy seeds.  

2.  Add scent.  Something fresh like cucumber.

3. Double broil it.

To package each bar individually, I wrapped a piece of parchment paper around it.  I used a fine tip Sharpie marker to write the description.  Parchment paper will not take any other writing tool that I had available.  I wrapped a piece of hemp twine around it a couple of times and knotted it on the front.  I like to keep things simple.  Natural.  These are not for sale, but for anyone who would like one.  Come on by and take one just for fun.

We should always sign our art, right? 

♥♥♥Happy Tuesday!♥♥♥