As I mixed up several batches of this Milk and Honey soap, I was considering the different ingredients I was adding and what they contributed to the soap. Honey lays down a clear, protective film that helps skin maintain moisture. It hydrates and soothes the skin and is thought to be slightly antiseptic and bacteriostatic. It does all of this without being greasy, even contributing astringint value. Propolis is antibacterial, reduces inflammation, and stimulates the immune system.

To quote one description: “Two natural treasures in one bar of soap help repair sores, fight acne, soothe chapping, and balance uneven or oily skin.

Bee products—honey, propolis, pollen and wax—meet goat milk to clean up the toughest skin problems you can muster.

Honey cleanses dirt and impurities while smoothing wrinkles by increasing your skin’s elasticity. Propolis—a mixture of the essential oils, pollen, and wax bees harvest from plants—nourishes dry, itchy skin. Pollen, rich in enzymes and vitamins, contains the complete family of amino acids. It promotes new skin cell growth while scrubbing away built-up dead cells without stripping the skin of its natural protection.

Milk & Honey’s beeswax base is the all-natural “carrier” for other ingredients that leaves your skin feeling soft and clean.

Raw goat milk is rich in enzymes beneficial to your skin, and five natural, skin-replenishing oils balance and moisturize. This abundance of revitalizing components is topped off with a touch of sweet orange essential oil for an agreeable, bright aroma.”

Our Milk and Honey Soap has proved to work great for our customers, as noted by what these customers had to say:

This is the best facial soap bar I have tried. I use it at night time to wash off the days dirt and make up (with no moisturizer afterward since I have somewhat oily skin), and by morning time my face is smooth and clean. I love how it lathers up, and the sweet smell makes is so pleasant to use. I have stopped using the expensive clinique and estee lauder products completely since this has worked out much better in every way. It does last a long time, too. I recommend it to friends whenever I get the chance.

This soap is great. I have problem skin and have never used a soap. Actually I’ve used the same cleanser on my skin for years and just didn’t like how my skin was looking lately (lifeless and dry). I tried this soap thinking it wouldn’t make much of a difference and WOW! I was able to stop using the medication on my skin that I had used for years. My skin looks great and glowing.

Try it out for yourself! To find it, click HERE.

The gentle cleansing and moisturizing properties of the oils used in Garland Goat Soaps make them ideal for baby's tender skin.

Palm oil is another important oil for use in a natural bar soap. A gentle cleanser and moisturizer, palm oil contributes to lasting hardness in a bar of soap. Unlike coconut oil, however, it will not cause the bar of soap to become brittle, so when these two types of oils are combined together, the resulting soap lasts a long time without becoming brittle and cracked. Palm Oil is rich in palmitic acid, vitamin E, vitamin K and magnesium and is considered to be a natural source of anti-oxidant.

Last but not least, Vitamin E oil completes the well-rounded selection of oils in Garland Goat Soap of Maine’s base soap recipes. Vitamin E oil is extremely emollient, and deeply moisturizing. Because of it’s make up, it does not saponify in the soapmaking process (in other words, it does not react with sodium hydroxide to make soap, but rather remains in it’s pure form as an unsaponified oil) and acts as a natural preservative in the soap.

Is your skin needing a lift? A bar of natural soap chock full of skin-nurishing oils, coupled with the special luxeries of goat milk, will give your skin just what it needs! Check out your options here.

Coconut oil is also an essential component of Garland Goat Soap. Coconut oil is obtained from copra, which is dried coconut meat. It provides many benefits to a natural bar soap!

Coconut oil creates a hard bar of soap with fluffy lather.

When used in the right proportion, coconut oil creates a good, hard bar of soap that won’t just “melt away” in your soap dish. It also contributes generous, fluffy lather for a squeaky clean feeling. More than that, though, coconut oil is an ideal skin-care oil! Because coconut oil’s molecules are small, they are easily absorbed into skin, making it the perfect moisturizer for dry or rough skin.

It helps protect your skin from the aging effects of free radicals.  It can help to keep the skin from developing liver spots, and other blemishes caused by aging and over exposure to sunlight.  When coconut oil is absorbed into the skin and connective tissues, it helps to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles by working to keep connective tissues strong and supple. The oil is absorbed into cell structure of the skins connective tissues, limiting the damage excessive sun exposure can cause. Coconut oil will aid in exfoliating the outer layer of dead skin cells, making the skin smoother.

Coconut oil helps prevent aging in your skin!

Antiseptic fatty acids in coconut oil help to prevent fungal and bacterial infections in the skin to a certain extent when it is used in skin-care. Because of these qualities, coconut oil also helps in treating various skin problems including psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema and other skin infections. I consider it indispensable in my soap recipes!

There are all sorts of oils available for soapmakers to use. Some are commonplace, some exotic. Olive oil is one of the key oils I use in Garland Goat Soap. True, it’s rather expensive to use in large quantities, but it is extremely valuable for skin care. It helps promote a sooth, radiant completion, maintain the elasticity of the skin, heal dry, brittle nails, and soften cuticles. Olive oil performs these many functions due, in part, to the fact that it is a very good moisturizer because it attracts external moisture, holds that moisture close to the skin, and forms a breathable film to prevent the loss of the skin’s internal moisture.

Olive oil creates a superiour soap!

Unlike so many other substances used for this purpose, olive oil does not block the natural functions of the skin while performing this task. The skin is able to continue sweating, releasing sebum, and shedding dead skin cells, all necessary functions for maintaining healthy, vibrant skin. Olive oil is high in antioxidants, including vitamin E. Antioxidants are nutritional powerhouses that protect against age-accelerating free radicals. Thus, including olive oil in soap helps to protect against those damaging free radicals, as well as helping to slow aging signs such as fine lines and wrinkles. In soap, olive oil is a gentle and thorough cleanser. You might say that, as a natural soapmaking ingredient, olive oil is “worth its weight in gold!”

I got a shipment of soapmaking supplies in today, including  olive oil, coconut oil, and palm oil, some of the major ingredients I use in my soap. I wonder how many people realize what oils in soap do – or not do – for their skin. When first experimenting with soap making, I followed a simple recipe that used primarily vegetable shortening as the oil (fat), with a smattering of olive oil. It was certainly a cheap option for producing soap…and it worked for the time being, but as I began to develope my soap recipes, I began to look into other oils that would provide complete care for the skin, from moisturizing to rejuvanting skin cells, from gently cleaning baby’s face to aiding mature skin types.

After all, oils are the primary components of a natural soap bar, composing approximately sixty-five percent of the ingredients of bar soap. It would make sense then, that the type and quality of oil used in the soap drastically effects how that soap works for your skin, for the essential nature of any soap is directly related to the oils within it. The oils used in soap affect both the physical nature of the soap bar (feel, texture, hardness, etc.) and the skin-care properties of the bar (moisturizing, softening, protecting, etc.) Too much of one oil can create a bar of soap that is hard to the point of being brittle and cracking. Too much of another type of oil will produce soap that is soft, sticky, and quickly melts away in the soap dish.

Some oils are ultra-moisturizing for the skin, yet will spoil in a natural bar of soap like ours (since we don’t use the often harmful chemical preservatives found in many commercial soap) unless used in the correct proportions. Other oils will leave a greasy film on the surface of the skin. It was important, than, that I used the right kind of oils in the right proportions to get just the perfect bar of soap! I also wanted to use oils that would compliment and enhance the qualities of goat milk in my soap. In the next blog, I’ll begin to look at the oils I did choose, and why I chose them. Right now, it’s time to go get that oil stored away!

"Showgirl" produces some of the excellant milk that goes into Garland Goat Soap bars.

We’ve looked at some of the reason’s goat milk is a valuable addition to your skin-care. Perhaps this has raised a question for some of you: Why do we use goats milk in our natural soap bars, rather than cows milk? Does it make a difference? Well, as a matter of fact, it does! Although all milk, to some degree, has good skin-care qualities, goat milk is especially rich, full of nutrients for your skin.

The composition of goat milk differs from that of cow milk. Goat milk is higher than cow milk in vitamins A (helps prevent aging effects in your skin, brown spots, wrinkles, and dryness), B1 (thiamin), B12, calcium (helps clear blemished skin and revitalizes lifeless, tired-looking skin), iron, niacin, and phosphorus. Compared to cow milk, goat milk is higher in small and medium chain fatty acids (which richly moisturize your skin), including caprylic acid which helps our soap to clean without drying out the skin.

All milk contains certain amounts of natural emollients, vitamins and triglycerides that moisturize the skin. However, goat milk has a unique protein structure that enables higher absorption of the milk’s natural emollients. And of course, the higher the absorption level of the emollients, the more effective the moisturizing properties of the soap are! So while cow’s milk may also be good for your skin, goat’s milk definitely has the cutting edge in value for a great bar of handcrafted natural soap!

Time for a walk!

Four young ladies spent the past week with me for the opportunity to experience first hand taking care of all the goat kids and pitching in with the milking chores. Jessica, Julia, Sarah, and Hannah worked willingly and proved an excellent help…from bottle-feeding the kids, to milking the does, from washing soap molds to wrapping and labeling soap.

The Girls and Kids

On their last day here, the balmy temperatures and sunny blue skies beckoned us all to spend the day outdoors, and we unanimously agreed it was the perfect day to wash all the goats. Every spring, with the arrival of moderate weather, we give all our goats a thorough bath to rid them of their winter fuzz and dust. Not only is it a satisfying feeling to see them resplendent in their shinning clean coats, it is also an excellent way to avoid potential skin and hair problems in our goat herd.

Jess and Julia washing "Tatty."

For some years before we made our own soap, we would go searching at our local feed stores for animal shampoos that would thoroughly clean our goats, without the use of multiple chemicals and harsh detergents. When we did find a shampoo that fit the bill, it was often beyond our budget. With the creation of our own goat milk bar soap, however,our shampoo search was over! I quickly discovered a simple way to turn the goat milk soap into a shampoo that works wonderfully on both our goats and our dogs, leaving their coats shinning and sleek, and their skin smooth and supple.

Lots of soap suds = clean goats!

Perhaps you also have animals you’d like to treat to a spring bath. Here’s my Animal Shampoo Recipe in case you’re interested in trying it:

Grate 1 bar of Garland Goat Soap, any scent (my favorites are lemongrass, rosemary or tea tree for the animal shampoo) into fine shavings.

Add 2 cups of boiling water to the grated soap and mix thoroughly with a whisk to dissolve the soap shavings. Allow to cool before using. Enjoy!

At first, this shampoo will be quite liquidy, but will thicken as it cools. I usually mix it up right before I need it. Let me know how this shampoo works for your pets!

There are many aspects to keeping healthy, vibrant, smooth skin. Your skin needs to be moisturized, it needs to be exfoliated - the dead skin cells broken down and removed-, it needs protection against harmful bacteria, and it needs good, healthy nourishment and rejuvenation.

Two constituents in goat milk, alpha-hydroxy acid and caprylic acid, both play a crucial role in rejuvenating your skin, adding vital elements of skin-care to our soap. For instance, over time your skin looses its ability to get rid of old cells fast enough. Therefore this outermost skin layer thickens, which reduces your skin’s elasticity and fresh look. Here’s where the alpha-hydoxy acids come into play, breaking down the glue holding your dead skin cells together, and thereby providing the way for your skin to easily shed those unwanted, dead layers. This results in less wrinkles and age spots, less acne, and less dry skin. Alpha-hydroxy acids also help to plump the skin and smooth fine lines. Additionally, these acids neutralize free radicals, slowing the aging process and refreshing the skin.

Caprylic acid is a fatty acid contained in goat milk that reduces alkalinity, giving goat milk soap a pH level very close to that of the skin. This enables our soap to cleanse without stripping the skin of its protective barrier of natural, neccesary oils. Caprylic acid also soothes the surface tension of the skin, allowing it to be moisturized and to absorb the other healthy nutrients of the soap. In addition to alpha-hydroxy acid and caprylic acid, there are other fatty acids present in goat milk that are natural antimicrobials and antifungals.

It is a well know fact that in ancient times, Cleopatra, renowned for her beauty, took milk baths. Now we know why it worked so well for her!!

We mentioned in a recent post Is Goat Milk Good in Soap, the goodness of goat milk in natural soap bars. If you’re like me, though, you’ll be curious to find out more specifically just how the different vitamins and nutrients work for your skin! After all, it’s nice to know, for instance, that goat milk has vitamin A in it…but what does that do for your skin? To begin with, it may encourage youthful skin!

Vitamin A acts as an antioxidant to neutralize harmful elements in our skin, helping to prevent wrinkles, resist infection and keep your skin youthful! It also slows down the effects of aging, as manifested in your skin, and helps prevent both dryness and brown spots on your skin.

Vitamin B12, also found in goat milk, is essential for a variety of synthetic processes in the cells, including skin cells, and an absence of it can be detrimental for skin health.

Vitamin E is another of the vitamins contained in goat milk that protects skin cells from free radical damage (in other words, keeps them from aging).

Consider another component of goat milk, zinc. For some of you, zinc may bring to mind a type of metal, but in reality, zinc is an essential mineral that is a component of more than thirty enzymes. Zinc contributes to the reconstruction of collagen fibers, resulting in firmer, smoother skin (collagen fibers are responsible for your skin’s strength and elasticity, and its degradation leads to wrinkles that accompany aging). Zinc also encourages moisture retention and assists in maintaining your skin’s elasticity. Is the value of goat milk as a wonderful, natural skin-care product beginning to make more sense? There’s more yet…we’ll continue to look at more of the components of goat milk in another post!

You might wonder why we have chosen to capitalize on including goat milk in our natural handcrafted soap bars. Does it really make that much difference in the final bars of soap? Does it merely make our soap “sound special” or does it contribute to the goodness of our soap? Let me let you in on a little secret: we use goat milk as a main component in our soaps because it makes soap that is great for our skin! Our goal is to create all-natural soap that is mild, gentle, soothing to all skin types and pure enough that it could be eaten! Goat milk contributes a host of valuable, natural skin-care properties that help our soaps to be just that! And why? Why is goat milk soap so good?

Raw, whole goat milk is a virtual storehouse of nutrients that enrich and pamper all skin types! Goat milk is rejuvenating, anti-inflammatory, and moisturizing. It contains over fifty nutrients including the vitamins A, B1, B2 (riboflavin), B6, B12, C, D, E, and K, niacin, zinc, and calcium, as well as minerals, amino acids, citric acid, unsaturated fatty acid, proteins, various enzymes and many other nutrients. Many of these components of goat milk play an important part in skin-care, working in our soap to gently clean your skin without stripping and drying it, moisturizing your skin, smoothing and plumping your skin, and soothing sensitive and allergenic skin conditions. It’s true; we think goat milk soap is THE BEST kind of soap we can use, and that’s why we use goat milk in our soap!