Saponification Sunday...Cow-a-Bunga Milk Soap

So week two of Amy Wardens Challenge to all us goofy soap makers was to make milk soap.
http://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/handmade-soap-blog/  Now you would think that with 14 milking cows on the farm I would've made tons of milk soap but truth is I have only made a few.

They did not go well.

Impatience, once again, the culprit. I hurry in too many things in my life and thusly I miss out on the enjoyment of the process. After watching Amy's video about what went wrong with her soaps, I decided to take my time and really PLAN. Thank you Amy for showing us your not-so-perfects. Anyone can show the beautiful end results but it takes someone special to share their OOPS!

So, I froze some of our raw organic milk, meaning it has never been pasteurized or homogenized. Then I mushed it up and measured it into a plastic jug.

It was about this time that the girls got wind of what I was doing with their milk. They sent a representative to investigate

Then, brilliance hit. Why stick to the plan ? Plans are for mature soapers and I am still on the immature side. So I decided to go hog wild for this soap, making it farmtastic ! I added lard to my recipe from our Red Wattle hogs and then hit the chicken coop for a donation from the free range gang. After that back to the kitchen for some honey.

Not just any honey but Buckwheat honey, full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. So, I had all my farmy stuff.

Looking again at the honey I realized it was indeed thick. So added a little hot water. Then I mixed all my oils, and added just 1/3 of the water called for to my lye making it a thick gel. Then and only then did I add the lye gel to the slushy milk which was waiting in a ice bath.

You see, I do read all your other blogs !
It stayed cold and white. Happy this midlife farmwife was.

From there I added the lye /water/raw cows milk (total milk was 10 oz for a 2 pound soap bath). It stayed nice and creamy. Then came the mixed up egg.

Followed by the watered down Buckwheat honey. 2 full Tablespoons Soap did get a tad darker but not much.

It all came to trace quickly and I thusly poured quickly into my high tech diaper wipe mold.

Did you catch that? Yup, in my haste to go slow, I forgot to add any color or scent. Oh well. Fortunately I have a fair amount of soap customers who really LIKE unscented soaps. Of course I will tell them this soap was made just for them. Hear that MBJ ? This soap was made just for you. And it will coming your way soon!

So, thanks to all the great info from all the millions of soapers taking Amy's challenge, I was lucky with this bar. I had a great time using FOUR of our farms products. Raw Cows Milk, Free Range Egg, Pastured Red Wattle Lard and Raw Buckwheat Honey. Now I'm all ready for next weeks challenge. Bring it Amy!

P.S. My wonderful husband, Keith, seeing my little soap business grow and grow, made me a REAL soap mold out of leftover wood. Check out that heavy bottom. Perfect for slamming. I am one blessed wife.