Goat Milk Oatmeal Soap Making Recipe

One of my favorite books about milk soaps was written by Casey Makela in 1997. Milk-Based Soaps: Making Natural, Skin-Nourishing Soap contains recipes for soaps as well as benefits and reasons why milk is so good for your skin.

My copy is tattered and torn on a page or two but it's loved and well-worn. Every time I read this book some new bit of knowledge reveals itself. It's fun reading my old notes on a few pages, seeing my thought process as I was learning soapmaking.

Of all the recipes about milk soaps, my favorite is Oatmeal Soap (page 66). Oatmeal goat milk soap was the first soap I made and always keep in stock because it makes my skin feel wonderful every time I use it -- without exception. The recipe follows:

Oatmeal Soap (makes 32 4-ounce bars)
3 pounds pure vegetable shortening
17 ounces extra-light olive oil
12 ounces safflower oil
8 ounces canola oil
3 pounds goat milk (one gallon weights 8 pounds)
12 ounces pour sodium hydroxide (lye)
1 ounce borax
1/4 ounce white sugar
1/4 ounce glycerin
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 ounce almond fragrance oil
1/4 ounce vanilla fragrance oil

Special instructions. Prepare the oatmeal by putting 1/2 cup of rolled oats in the blender and grating it for 60 seconds, or until you get a medium-course powder.

Refining the oatmeal in this manner helps it to better blend into the soap, an creates a more finely textured soap.

Add the oatmeal when you run the liquid mixture through the blender for the first time, and add the fragrance oils when you run the liquid mixture through the blender for the second time.

I highly recommend getting this book if you're interested in making milk soaps. Then read it about 7 times so you'll 'get it'.

Space is too limited here to discuss PROCESS but it is critical. To learn more about process, go to the following website.

Kathy's Soapmaking Links lead to a wealth of information on soapmaking and soapmakers who share their talents and skills. These links are excellent places to begin your research on how to make soap.
http://millersoap.com/soaplinks.html

Happy soaping!

Soap Making Lessons Learned: Before and After

I remember the first time I made a batch of soaps from scratch. Uncertainties gurgled in my throat: the heat, working with lye, would my mold be big enough? Feelings of uncertainty filled my chest. Don't you hate that feeling? But, as you probably know, you just gotta BIG-UP and go for it.

All those unknown/first-time-things concerned me. Being a rookie is scary, especially if you've never worked with much chemistry. Oh sure, Kitchen Chemistry, of course I could do that. But, to me, working with lye is hard core chemistry! Sigh ... . By the way, I'm still afraid of lye and that's a good thing. Lye does major damage to everything it touches. More on that later, but for now I'd like to talk about soap making.

This yellow photo is of my first batch of bergamot goat milk soap. I remember not knowing how to figure out how much soap needed to fill the mold. So I doubled my formula. HA ... still didn't fill the mold. See how thin this bar is? Or short, if you'd prefer that word. Need I tell you how easy this batch was to cut? They were so short, any knife would go through them. (We can talk about cutting tools later, too.)

My first soaps had been made in an old wooden office drawer I purchased at a second hand store. Well, Husband Bob would have none of this second-hand-stuff-for-his-wife, so he made a log mold measuring 44 inches long, 3.5 inches wide and 4 inches tall. Actually, he made two. (Thanks Darlin'.) They're wonderfully efficient and the log molded soaps were easier to cut.

This second photo is my most recent batch of bergamot soaps. Quite a difference, huh!?! Practice makes perfect. Well, better anyway. My design swirls are better, formula is better than ever, AND I know how to figure volume so I can fill ANY mold nicely. (You guys pay attention to high school math; you'll need it!)

Yes, I know the website photographs need updating. I'll get to it soon -- very soon. We've grown in so many ways; better formulations, better labels, better designs, better packaging.

Speaking of packaging, Bucky is still the cover boy for our bergamot soaps and always will be. All of our products showcase a special goat. After all, without our goats, we wouldn't have milk products for you.

I am always looking for just-one-more technique that accentuates the benefits of milk, like blending it with a particular oil or managing its heating properties more tightly. After all, it's GOAT milk that we believe in so strongly.

More later, but for now, I'm going to take my morning bath and get this day going.

Happy soaping, Pat

Gran' Nanny's Goat Milk Soaps Retailers in Stanly County

Be on the lookout for our countertop displays at your local stores. Many retailers have the countertop display pictured on the right. It holds an assortment of soaps and lotions and talks about many goat milk benefits for your skin.

Our larger retailer stores have a full-line of our products on the Bakers Rack like the photo below.

God's Country Outfitters, Hwy 52 in Albemarle and McCoy's Feed on Hwy 24-27 at Hwy 601 have the largest displays with selections ranging from individual bars to gift wrapped packages complete with a gift tag waiting for your signature.

Select the title link above for a retailer located near you.

Happy soaping,

Pat Allen, Soap Maker

Crochet Face Cloths and Coordinated Soap Savers

These face cloths are fun and easy to make. Starting with 4-ply 100 percent cotton, I chain stitch about 30 links. Turn then single crochet in each chain. SC one then, this is where the creative part comes in. You can either single crochet the entire cloth, or you could use a half-crochet or any other stitch you want. The main thing is to make the cloth as square as possible.

The sample is the photograph has a colored trim because I wanted more color. The coordinated flower and trim on the soap saver are made with the same colored trim. Mainly because it was fun.

The soap saver is a smaller square that I close to make a tube. About one inch from each end, weave the contrasting yarn through the stitches (like a draw string) so you can close the ends, keeping your soap pieces inside the saver.

This saver is a blessing in our household. The hubster doesn't use the little pieces; they just stuck on the walls in the shower until they dissolve. This little saver has saved more than the soaps. (need I say more? … didn’t think so)

For more crochet gift ideas, visit my website. Enjoy!