Making soap can feel intimidating, but it’s really pretty simple if you use this hot process goat milk soap recipe. The part that makes most people nervous is working with lye, but once that skill is mastered, it’s easy to make homemade goat milk soap quickly and easily.
Homesteaders are usually DIYers, often taking responsibility into their own hands to learn the skills they need in order to create the best and healthiest life they can for their families. I know you are that way because you are here, reading this post.
In addition to being hardcore DIYers, natural living is often a common and recurring theme with homesteaders because, let’s face it, if we wanted to rely on others to do everything for us, we probably wouldn’t be homesteaders.
The problem with doing everything for ourselves is usually the shortage of time we have between growing a garden, milking goats, feeding chickens, canning or dehydrating food, and everything else we need to do on the homestead, including taking care of the family!
Today, the challenge of soapmaking will change for you because this hot process goat milk soap recipe is so quick and easy that you’ll be able to make your soap and be using it on the same day if you need to.
Gone are the days where you have to wait 6 weeks for the soap to cure, which takes so much forethought if your family is reliant on your homemade soap. Forgot to make a batch? No problem, you can do it today.
NOTE: This is where I need to share with you something I’ve recently run across: just because you CAN use the soap the next day, doesn’t mean you SHOULD. You will definitely have a safe bar to use quickly after it’s hardened, but your soap won’t be at its very best quality at that time. Allowing it to cure for a few weeks will allow the water to evaporate out of the bars, making a harder, longer-lasting bar, more lathery soap. Let me encourage you, if you are making this soap for gifts of any kind, to allow those “gift bars” to cure on the shelf a few weeks before you gift them. The recipient will be so much happier with their gift! (Source)
About Hot Process Soap
You should know that hot process soap doesn’t always end up looking as beautiful as many of the soaps you see online. Once you get this mastered, you can definitely make this recipe your own by making your soaps beautiful, but for now, your soaps will be the simple, rustic type.
Hot process soaps are generally earthy in color, and feel great on your skin, especially when you “superfat” them (more about that later). They don’t burn or dry out your skin like some people believe lye soap will do if you use the proper amount and right type of oils in your recipe.
Hot Process Goat Milk Soap Recipe
The secret weapon to making hot process soap is a crock pot. Don’t use your kitchen crock if you plan on cooking in it again, but rather, have a dedicated unit that is just for soap.
Because this process involves cooking the soap, you are basically curing it quickly which neutralizes the lye for the most part, making your soap available for use much sooner than if you were to use the cold process method like in this recipe.
With the hot process method, you won’t be paying attention to the temperature of the oils and lye mixture at any point. However, keep in mind that if you mix when both the oils and the lye mixture are too hot, your soap can seize and become hard very quickly.
No need to worry, just allow your oils and your lye mixture to cool for 5 or so minutes before mixing the two together. Because all crock pots are different, this method may need to be modified to fit yours, so be prepared for that possibility.
This recipe will make about 2lbs of soap (or 33.25 oz to be exact). This recipe has already be run through a lye calculator, but you should practice that as well with every recipe you are trying for the first time (this one is good). Sometimes recipes you get online are slightly off, and it is important that you use the right amounts of these two items to get a good soap. Getting into the practice of running recipes through a lye calculator will make you a soap superhero.
But Wait, What is Superfatting Soap?
Superfatting sounds complicated, but it’s really not. It’s simply adding more oil or less lye to your soap recipe so that there is more of a moisturizing agent in your soap. Though it isn’t hard to do, it’s best to wait before calculating your own superfatting. Practice using recipes that have some superfatting built into them so you can learn the “feel” you are going for.
This hot process goat milk soap recipe will be 5% superfatted, which just means that 5% of the oils will not turn to soap, but rather, they will be working to moisturize your skin whenever you use it. As you get familiar with soap making, you can adjust the superfatting on a recipe to get your soap just the way your family loves it.
Goat Milk, Coconut Oil, and Shea Butter Soap
Materials
Tools You'll Need:
- Safety goggles
- Neoprene gloves I use latex from the cleaning section at Walmart
- Crock pot at least a 4 qt in size
- Stick blender
- Plastic or glass bowl for mixing the lye
- Metal spoon for mixing the lye
- Silicone spatula/scraper for stirring the soap in the crock pot, and to use when molding your soap
- Soap mold large enough to hold 33.25 oz of soap click here to calculate the volume of your soap mold
- Freezer paper to line your soap mold if not using a silicone mold
- pH Testing Strips optional
Ingredients to make the soap:
- Coconut oil 76 degree, 30 oz
- Shea butter 3.25 oz
- Frozen goat milk 8-12 oz (I use 10oz)*
- Sodium hydroxide aka 100% lye, 5.64 oz
Instructions
- Gather all of your tools and supplies to your work area. Line your mold with freezer paper if you aren't using a silicone mold.
- Measure both oils and melt them in your crock pot on low. When your oils are melted, turn your crock pot off.
- Next put on your safety goggles and plastic gloves and mix your lye into your frozen goat milk, stirring gently until the goat milk/lye mixture is completely liquid. This step takes 5-10 minutes for the frozen milk chunks to melt, so it's best to start with smaller chunks so the mixture doesn't cool completely. (NOTE: ALWAYS add your lye to your water, not your water to your lye, or you might have a lye volcano on your hands, and you definitely don't want that. I always mix my lye and goat milk outdoors because of the fumes. If you do this also, and if you have outdoor pets, make sure not to spill any of your dry lye, or leave your lye mixture unattended. My cat and dog seem to always want to know what I'm doing, so I tend to lock up the dog and relocate the cat when I'm mixing lye.)
- Once mixed and the milk is completely melted, bring your lye mixture into the house and wait about 5 minutes (remember, don't leave the mixture unattended if you have indoor animals). Use this time to set up a pan of water with a splash or two of vinegar in it (vinegar is said to neutralize lye). This is where you will put any tools used previously to soak, while you are working on your soap. Instead of using a pan from my kitchen, I use a small-sized plastic cat litter box that I bought for making soap. If I don't have any dirty dishes in the sink, I sometimes use that, and sometimes I don't use vinegar. Either way, I always wash my soapmaking dishes with my gloves on so I don't suffer any lye burns on my hands.
- Next, stir your lye mixture into your oils.
- Use your stick blender to begin mixing, turning it on and off so as not to burn your motor out. It should not take long to trace this recipe, probably less than 10-15 minutes.
- Identify "trace". This is when your soap is the consistency of pudding, and when you can draw a line with your stick blender and see it in the soap. (Make sure to turn OFF your stick blender before you draw your line!)
- Once at trace, turn off and remove your stick blender and turn your crock pot on low and cover. You are watching for your soap to slowly bubble up the sides of the crock pot, and it will appear dryer on the sides than in the middle. Stir occasionally to aid your soap in cooking evenly, and watch for your soap to take on the look of waxy mashed potatoes.
- Begin testing the pH of your soap with the test strips. If you don't have them, you can do the "zap test" on your tongue (I don't use this method, myself, but many people do.) Depending on your crock pot and your recipe, the cook times vary, so make sure to stay close by during the cooking--you don't want your soap to get too hot and escape your crock pot, especially if your soap is still caustic.
- Once your soap's pH reads less than 10 (or doesn't zap you), the soap is no longer caustic. You can, at this point, take a small bit of your soap and try to wash your hands with it. If there are bubbles, even if there aren't many, it is definitely done and ready to put into your mold. (If you are using additives, make sure to allow your soap to cool for a few minutes and add them before molding.) You can keep cooking it until the pH is lower (I usually do), but there's always a risk of your soap becoming dry or flaky when you do that.
- Scoop about 1/3 of your soap out into your mold and bang the mold a few times on the counter to let out air bubbles (be careful if you are using a cylinder or column mold that has two separate pieces, because it can squirt out the sides!). Add your second and third portions of the soap, doing the same each time you add more soap. Smooth the top of your soap, if desired, and set aside to cool in the mold. Clean up all of your tools and your work area.
- After 12 hours, unmold your soap and slice into the sizes and shapes you prefer. (Or if you are me, 5 hours, because I'm impatient. Just make sure it's cool and completely hardened.) Your soap is ready to use now, but the longer you wait, the harder your bar will be, and the longer it will last.
Notes
What’s Next?
If you’ve tried this hot process goat milk soap recipe and are ready to sink your teeth into soapmaking even more, check out Heidi Villegas’ book on hot process soap making, called Hot Process Soap Making: How to Make & Customize Your Own Natural Soap. Heidi is super knowledgeable on this topic and makes the most beautiful soaps!
If you are more interested in cold process method of soapmaking, check out this article. This resource will teach you how to make not only functional, but beautiful, fragrant soaps using the cold process method. Jan teaches on a very easy level how to use colorants, essential oils, fruits and vegetables, grains, and many other ingredients to make soaps that will wow your family and friends, and keep your skin and body healthy!
Thanks for the recipe, I have been wanting to make soap for a long time. I think you should make a video tutorial. 🙂
He he, maybe I will! I haven’t done a video tutorial in ages and I think it shouldn’t be too hard! I’ve been meaning to add photos to this post for such a long time, but I haven’t made soap in a while. Next batch, I’ll either take photos for this post, or video the process. 🙂
Are the measurements done by weight (using a scale) or by liquid measure (reading lines on a cup)?
Hi Lindsay! I measure mine out by weight, this way there’s no room for error, and the science can be most precise. 🙂
Thanks so much! Can’t wait to try this!!!
You’re welcome, Lindsay! I’d love to hear how it goes! 🙂
I am so excited to try this recipe. However I am curious to know what kind of additives are good with this mixture? I am trying to make several different kinds of soaps but want to use this as a base. I think I would like to add botanicals, oatmeal, ground coffee and I was curious to know if these would be in the category of additives. Also essential oils for a scent, would I add them the same time as the rest of the additives and mix it up then place it in the molds? Sorry for all the questions. I am new to soap-making so all of this is new and I just want to make good soap!
Well, this is a really basic recipe for sure. I have not used those particular items as additives, so I’m not sure if I can speak very well to that question. I have used powders like clay and other things to color my soap, but nothing to actually change the texture. I would think they would go in at the same time as the colorant. If you use essential oils to scent your soap, you will want to allow your mixture to cool for a few minutes, or the oils will burn off and your soap will have no smell and your EOs will be wasted, unfortunately. But yes–right before you add your soap to the molds!
Can potassium hydroxide be used instead of sodium hydroxide ( lye)?
I’ve never made soap this way before- sorry if this is a stupid question… Also, where does all of the ingredient weight go? The oils, milk and lye combined are nearly 50 oz. but you say the yield is 33.25?
No, I don’t think so. The excess ounces cook out of the recipe while you have it in the crock pot. It takes 30-60 minutes or so.
What does 76 degree oil mean? Does it have to be at 76degrees?
Somewhere around there is just fine. 🙂
Hi there,
My soap got dry and crumbly and very hard to spoon into the mold. Did I let it get too hot? Also, when I used a lye calculator after the fact (bramble berry’s) with the same amount of oils and superfat, it called for more liquid (12.26) and less lye (5.48) than this recipe. Just wondering if it is perhaps lye heavy and that influenced my final texture?
Hi Caree! That I’m not sure of, but I think also it could have to do with your mixture getting too hot. Each crock pot is slightly different, and if you are using an older model, it may run hotter than the newer ones.
I had a similar experience, and wondered the same thing. My soap looked like the perfect “waxy mashed potatoes” probably within 2 minutes, then resembled dried candle wax. However, I was using a double boiler since I didn’t have a crockpot. How long does it generally take for the soap to get the waxy mashed potatoes consistence with a crockpot? Did I see you say 30 min-1 hr? Do you think its possible to do this with a double boiler? I had it on low, turned it off for a few minutes, turned it back on low, etc…
Thanks!
It does take about 30-60 minutes, yes. I’m not sure about a double-boiler, partially because it would be harder to keep the temperature steady like you could in a crock pot. Usually when it goes to the “candle wax” consistency, it’s because it got too hot. That has been my experience anyway. Another thought–if you allowed it to cool, that could have changed the consistency as well.
Mine did the same, thinking it may be too hot and to use warm setting next time instead of low. Went to waxy mashed potatoes in probably 10-15 mins.. but I was able to salvage some and the soap is amazing, good lather and very hydrating, can’t wait to master this recipe and move onto more..
I will be trying this too, and ran this recipe through the Calculator. It also gave me the same numbers for Lye and water. Ill be using that amount and will report back.
Where can I find frozen goats milk? Or do I just buy regular goats milk and freeze it myself?
Well, I suppose you can buy it and freeze it, yes! That would work nicely, I think!
Hello, I am Daisy from Florida,
I enjoyed reading you tutorial for Goat’s Mil Hot Process soap.
I will be making it today as I am freezing the goat’s milk as we speak…lol…
I am really excited about trying the hot process because, YES, patience is not my best virtue; therefore,
I will try any way to expedite the process.
Well, here is a new friend.
Will inform you how it came out.
Ciao
Hi Daisy! I’d love to hear how it goes! Good luck to you!
Bonjour ,
Moi aussi j’ai envie d’essayer avec du lait de brebis bien gras , car j’ai une ferme non loin et que mon lait est congelĂ© depuis octobre , dernière fois oĂą les brebis Ă©taient traitĂ©es.
Faites vous un surgraissage de 10% j’ai la peau très sèche.
Merci de votre partage
Salut Ambre,
Merci pour votre commentaire. Je n’ai pas utilisĂ© de lait de brebis, mais je ne vois pas pourquoi vous ne pouviez pas l’utiliser. Il semble que la teneur en matières grasses du lait puisse ĂŞtre excellente pour votre peau sèche. Bonne journĂ©e!
what temperature is it best to have the oils and lye at before mixing them? i think I had mine too hot last time I made this. Ready to make another batch soon.
thanks in advance!
Hi Denise, I answered this a few days ago, but my site did something weird. Sorry about that.
I would shoot for somewhere around 110. It doesn’t have to be exact, just somewhere around there.
Can you hold back a couple of ounces of milk to add at the end of the process to make soap little more liquid prior to placing in the mold?
Hi Barbara, I’ve never done that before, so I can’t speak to that. If you want your soap to be liquid, you would use a different type of lye, I believe.
When do I add the superset 5%? At the end of the process prior to adding to mold? Or is it built into the receipt?
Hi Kristi,
I was up making goat milk soap and I bumped into your website, Thank you so much for sharing! Thank
I am just starting making soap. I wanted to see if I could add honey in this recipe or use honey instead of Shea butter. This is the simplest recipe I have found to start with. Thanks!!. I don’t want to use 5 different oils to start and spend alot of money and mess it up. lol
Hi Misty! I wouldn’t use honey in place of the shea butter. If you need to replace the shea butter, you can use mango butter, avocado butter, or shea oil. The shea butter has different properties than honey, so you want to substitute something that does the same thing or it will change the recipe. Shea butter increases the hardness of the soap, as well as the life span of the soap. Also, it produces gentler soaps than other ingredients.
If you want to add honey, do so at trace at about 1 Tbsp per lb of soap you are making. Honey is used to increase lather and add a light scent.
Another thing I want to mention is that if you change any of the ingredients, you will want to run your recipe through a soap calculator to make sure that you have the right lye and water measurements needed for saponification.
Thank you. One more question. I have read using grams is more accurate than ounces and alot of the recipes are grams. Does it make a lot of difference? And can I half the recipe for my 1st try at this?
Hmm. I’ve only ever used ounces and my soap turns out fine. I haven’t used grams, but I know that most digital scales have that option, so it would be easy enough to switch over if you are concerned.
You can half the recipe if you’d like, but go ahead and run the ingredients through a soap calculator for good measure on the lye and water. Do that and you’re good to go! 🙂
You said to turn off the crock pot once the oils are melted. Do you turn it back o. When you add the lye?
Hi Marsha! No, you can leave it off. You won’t turn it back on until you are ready to cook it (hot process only). When your soap reaches trace, you can add your fragrance and colorant (according to my instructions), then either turn it back on to hot process, or pour into a mold for cold process!
Same thing happened to me as a few of the others. After 20 minutes I got the waxy mashed potatoes. I quickly added my E.O. and some color and plopped into my mold. Will the soap be ok even though it only cooked for 20 minutes, or should I wait the 6 weeks to cure (as in cold process)?
Here’s an update, when i washed my crockpot after taking the soap out, there were lots of bubbles. This morning I took it out of the mold to cut, it was nice and hard. I’m thinking the lye did its job and saponified the oils in that short time. What is your opinion?
You say to stir the lye and milk but the milk is supposed to be frozen. You also say to pour the lye into the water not the water into the lye…what water?
Hi Ann! Okay, so when you put the lye into the frozen milk, as you stir it together, the lye will heat and melt the milk. It’s magical! When using frozen milk, though, you’ll want to break it up a bit before adding the lye to it. I should have said “liquid” instead of water, I’m sorry for the confusion. Water is often used to make the lye mixture, but in this case, milk was used in place of the water. I hope that makes sense!
How would I use your recipe, but as a cold process?