I had too much goat's milk one year, so we started to make this ourselves!
And I'm glad we did.
What I have discovered about the store’s soap aisle was nearly UNBELIEVABLE...
mélksōp Milk Bath Soap - made right here
Real, Legal Soap
Warning #1 : MOST “SOAP” ISN’T REAL SOAP!
That “facial bar” or “beauty bar” or “bath bar” in your cabinet - it is really a DETERGENT. Oh yes, if it was really “soap” it would explicitly say soap on the box. (The feds won’t let them call it soap, even though it is in the soap aisle of the store, because the word “soap” is regulated by US Law and describes the ancient recipe of mixing old-fashion lye with a fat to make soap.)
Detergents are cheap to manufacture, and they’ll keep selling them to uninformed folks.
READ THE LABEL! Inspect your bathroom cabinet. Check the soap package for the word “soap.” If the word soap isn’t there, then you’ve got a harsh detergent on your hands. Who wants to put detergent on your face, or anywhere else? Throw it away, now! From now on, call this cheap junk a “DETERGENT Bar” instead of a “beauty” or “facial bar” or “bath bar.”
I sell only real, legal, soap.
Whole Soap
Warning #2: EVEN IF IT IS LEGAL SOAP, IT USUALLY ISN’T HONEST AND WHOLE
You can find some products which have “soap” printed on the label.
As I learned, soap is a federally regulated word. When you mix old-fashion lye and a fat together, you get soap and glycerine. The chemical equation looks like this:
Fat + Lye = Soap + Glycerine.
Guess what most factories do? Machines EXTRACT the naturally-occurring glycerine. Why? It is a natural MOISTURIZER. It is valuable.
It goes in hand lotions and it makes them more money. So you are forced to pay more money to get the glycerine back!
That legally-labeled “soap” is nearly as harsh as the fake “beauty bar” detergent junk.
READ THE LABLEL! While you’re inspecting your soap or detergent bars, look at your lotions also. The lotion has glycerine EXTRACTED from your soap. Soap or detergent bars also sometimes have glycerine listed as an ingredient - they add a small amount to make it a bit less harsh. Why didn’t they just leave it all in there to begin with?
We just leave all the NATURALLY-OCCURRING MOISTURIZER, glycerine.
I don’t have any equipment to extract glycerine to resell in lotions. Nor do I have to add glycerine to our soap. That provides your skin the complete and whole goodness.
Gourmet Soap
Warning #3: FACTORY SOAP IS MADE FROM CHEAP ANIMAL FATS (LARD or TALLOW)
Ok, you walk into the soap aisle. You finally find a box that has the word "soap" on it. (They're few and far between.)
Would you put grease from frying hamburgers on your skin?
I wouldn’t, it is a hard fat at room temperature and plugs up your skin pores.
Lard is CHEAP. That is why the factories use it. That is what the stores buy. But they won’t come out and say it quite that way.
On the label, they call the ingredient “sodium tallowate” - tallow is rendered animal fat.
READ THE LABEL! Look for the word “tallowate” or “sodium tallowate” on a bar of soap. This is a HAMBURGER GREASE base.
I use GOURMET, FOOD-GRADE vegetable oils.
Only the finest ingredients you would find in a gourmet kitchen are included - olive, coconut, palm, and soybean.
Safe Soap
Warning #4: FAKE COLORS AND ARTIFICIAL FRAGRANCES ARE IRRITANTS
How much perfume does it take to make that Detergent Bar or Hardened Hamburger Grease SMELL GOOD?
Are all those STRONG CHEMICALS good for your skin? No - they’re just there to fancy-up up garbage. The factory needs them to conceal the horrible ingredients of their product.
READ THE LABEL! Look at all the crazy-named industrial fragrances and colors and preservatives to cover-up the yucky origins of that Detergent Bar or Hamburger Grease Bar.
I use only the finest ESSENTIAL OILS in my soap.
They are packed with natural goodness for your skin. Essential oils have been regarded for centuries for their healing and restorative powers.
Milk (#1 Ingredient!) Soap
Warning #5: SOME “MILK SOAPS” HAVE ONLY A DASH OF POWDERED MILK.
For centuries, MILK HAS BEEN REGARDED AS GREAT FOR SKIN. The Queen of Egypt Cleopatra bathed in the stuff.
Nowadays, a wee little bit of milk powder is enough to call it a milk soap. How can you protect yourself from this sort of deal?
It is EASY. The federal government require that ingredients must be listed in order, most to least.
READ THE LABEL! If you have some other milk soap, look at the ingredient list. See where the milk (usually a small amount of powder) is listed. If it isn’t first, it probably isn’t much.
Fresh, whole milk is my #1 ingredient!
I’ll repeat that promise, just because I’m so button-bustin’ proud of my successful soap making experiments where I discovered the secret process:
FRESH, WHOLE MILK IS THE #1 INGREDIENT LISTED ON MY LABEL.
That means there is more milk than any other ingredients in my soap!
P.S. No mercury (thimerosal) in our soap.
Holy Cow! Read this article summary below:
Dermatitis - Allergic Reaction To Skin Care Preservatives
Dermatology Nursing, 2006 Apr.;18(2):130-6. Department of Dermatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
In summary, a wide variety of skin care products contain preservatives. Patients who are allergic to one of these preservatives may have either localized or widespread dermatitis. Affected patients may find it difficult to avoid thimerosal without the help of the health care provider because the use of these allergens is so widespread. Patch testing is an invaluable tool for patients who struggle with dermatitis...patients must read skin care product labels carefully, looking for the names of their allergens as identified by patch tests as well as for any synonyms and cross-reactors of these allergens. Thus, patients may feel overwhelmed by hearing the names of allergens that are long and complex. After an allergen has been identified, the nurse can play a key role in helping patients understand their dermatitis and its management. Nurses are in a unique position to spend time educating patients about how to uncover the sources of specific allergens and, subsequently, how to avoid them.
I promise I do not put MERCURY in my soap. Can you believe the factory soaps do that?
“Thimerosal” - that’s a mercury-based preservative - and it goes under the following names:
mercurochrome
merzonin merthiolate
mertorgan, sodium ethylmercurithiosalicylate
ethyl (2-mercaptobenzoato-S) mercury sodium salt
mercurothiolate
merfamin
thiomersalate
thiomersal
thiomersalan [(o-carboxyphenyl)thio] Ethylmercury sodium salt.