Our Soapmaking Process & Ingredients:Our basic soap recipe contains only saponified oil (sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, or water-leached ash, that is reacted with fat or oil), goats' milk, and water. To achieve various scents for each customized batch, we then add the desired essential oil, and/or fragrance. (Our unscented soaps have nothing added to the basic recipe.) The result is then poured into moulds, and allowed to completely cure. The milk's lactic acids, which normally would continue to break down biologically, are chemically bound up and held immobile by the completed reaction between oil and lye, becoming available again only when water interacts with the soap during use. Because of this, the cured soap will last indefinitely. After curing, each bar is handcrafted to a smooth, grit-free finish, and wrapped for sale. The milk is filtered but not pasteurized, thus retaining its enzymes and amino acids. We get it exclusively from our own herd of Swiss (Alpine, Toggenburg, and Saanen) dairy goats, with whom we share our farm land here in southern Oregon. We use filtered, steam-distilled water. The oil is that of melted vegetable shortening (solid fat of soybean and cottonseed), allowing a clean, dependable result. Soybean and cottonseed oils are also mild on the skin. The quality of any milk, and its potential odor, are affected by the method of handling it, and also the type and quality of the animals' feed. Our milk, and consequently our soap, has no olfactory-detectible, goat-identifiable, odor. For those concerned about lactose intolerance: Milk used in soap has no direct relation to lactose-intolerance. While the milk enzymes and acids are released into the skin during soap use, these components remain external to the human digestive system. In addition, those who cannot digest cows' milk can often tolerate goats' milk, because of the difference in lactic acids between the species; therefore, allergic external skin reactions to goats' milk soap are almost unheard of. Using our basic recipe as a foundation and modifying each batch of soap to achieve a desired scent allows us to offer three types of soaps:
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