By Dr Jolly Kabirizi
Humans have used milk to improve their skin for ages. Here is how to make your milk soap.
Materials
- 2 12-quart stainless-steel pots
- spoon for stirring
- soap mould
- Thermometer that ranges 80 to 160 degrees F
List of ingredients you will need:
- 255 grams of milk — you can use any whole milk, not just from cows.
- 122 grams lye (sodium hydroxide) — this is your milk base.
- 1.5 teaspoon sodium lactate — to help harden the soap.
- 624 grams olive oil — moisturizes the skin and improves your complexion.
- 227 grams of coconut oil — reduces inflammation.
- 28 grams of castor oil — stimulates the production of collagen.
You can use a different soap base if you prefer. Just find out how much of it you need to use and all the details about its shelf life as well as the way it might react with other ingredients.
Soap bases are usually universal and easily interchangeable, so you shouldn’t have any problems with swapping lye for some other soap base.
STEP 1: Freeze the milk so that it has a slushy consistency. The best way to do that is by pouring the milk into ice cube trays for faster freezing. This will protect the sugars in the milk from scorching.
STEP 2: Add the lye (sodium hydroxide) to the milk, bit by bit and begin to melt it. Don’t rush this step. You want the lye to melt into the milk and get distributed properly. The milk might become yellow or get a funky smell during this step. That’s completely normal. Once you’ve added all the lye, stir the mixture from the bottom to ensure that the lye is evenly distributed. Check for particles. If there aren’t any, put the mixture aside.
STEP 3: Mix all the oils in a separate bowl or container. Make sure they are combined very well. If the coconut oil is too solid for this, heat it very briefly just to melt it. All the oils should be at room temperature.
STEP 4: Sodium hydroxide is very dangerous, so make sure to use safety gloves, and glasses and work under the hood to avoid getting these particles on your skin or in your eyes. Slowly pour the milk and lye mixture into the oil mixture. You can use a hand blender with a whisk tool for this. Just be careful and switch to manual mixing from time to time to prevent the incorporation of air into the mixture. There should be no bubbles in it. Work the mixture very well until the oils are completely incorporated and you can’t see them. At this point, you can also add a couple of drops of your favourite essential oil. Just be careful when it comes to adding more scents to soap because milk has its own distinct smell.
STEP 5: All that’s left to do now is to pour the mixture into molds and let it set. There is no need to cure this soap. It will harden by itself. If you want your soap to look whiter, put it in the freezer for 24 hours and then take it out and leave it at room temperature for 24-48 hours. For a browner shade, just leave it out at room temperature for 24 hours after pouring it into the moulds. Your homemade milk soap is now ready!
