Making soap out of goat milk

Capital News 9
5/7/2006 5:00 AM
By: Marcie Fraser

Do you have dry skin or eczema? Do you hate commercial, scented soaps? In today's heath report, Marcie Fraser shows us why the milk of a goat may be good for your skin.

Are you one of the thousands of people who suffer from eczema or dry skin? Do you want to avoid harsh treatments or medication? One way to go may be to use the milk of a goat.

"I have really sensitive skin and it gets dry in the winter time," said Amy.

She got it as a gift. Now she's the one giving it to her friends and family. It's a natural soap product made from goat's milk. She prefers it over commercial soaps.

"There's a lot of things put into commercial soaps that are put there for the ease of manufacture, that's not good for your skin," said Maryclaire Mayes of Alabu Soaps.

It began as a school science project for her daughter, making soap from goat's milk. It grew from there.

"I experimented with my original recipe and came up with ingredient that are really good for your skin and non-drying," said Mayes.

Mayes, maker of Alabu Soaps, said goat's milk has prosilic acid, which is great for your skin.

"The goat milk lowers the Ph in the soap. The natural fats in the goat milk is really good for your skin," said Mayes.

Goat's milk also has less allergens.

"People with eczema, people with psoriasis or all kinds of skin problems," said Mayes.

The supply is seasonal, depending on when the female is pregnant.

After the mom kids, or produces a baby, she begins to lactate, or produce milk. Once her baby is fed each day, she then produces another one half gallon of milk, which is then used for the milk soap products.

The process begins with pasteurized goat milk. Lye is added to the milk, a respirator is needed until the lye is heated. Coconut, coco butter and soy oils are heated and mixed. The fragrance, citris splash, an essential oil, is added. Molds are poured and set for 24 hours. After the soap are extracted and cut, they are racked for 4 weeks and then wrapped.

They have several unscented soaps, but do offer popular scents like lavender and vanilla. The soap has really helped Amy.

"It is much softer and not as drying," said Amy.

The soap line was so successful, she now sells shay butter sticks, lip balm and moisturizers.