About Sheep Milk Soap
The Recipe
Starts with sheep milk! Milk is naturally soothing, and adds nutrients that are nourishing to the skin. Many skin loving oils are used in every bar soap. Then other natural ingredients are added to make each type of soap unique.
There is no Palm Oil in the ingredient list. The production of Palm Oil has encouraged the destruction of some of the earths most biodiverse rain forests and has caused the indigenous people of those areas to be pushed off their home lands by big industry. Some Palm Oil is marketed as "sustainably produced" which may or may not be true, so I just avoid it.
The first ingredient in my bar soap is Babassu oil, which is very mild and produces large bubbles. Many soaps start out with either Palm oil or Coconut oil as their first ingredient. Babassu oil is a much milder oil and is grown sustainably (at present). It has the same bubbly effect of Palm or Coconut oil, but is much less drying to the skin.
Lanolin, which is more sheepy magic, is added to some soaps. When I was young I was told that lanolin (the oil pulled out of wool before it is spun into yarn) was one of the most healing oils in nature. It is still the first choice for hospitals to send home with nursing mothers to heal very tender skin.
Honey is antimicrobial and has been used for healing purposes for centuries. Honey is depicted in stone age paintings and was used to heal wounds by ancient people in Egypt, China and what is now Europe. Today we use medical grade honey as a wound dressing in the medical setting.
Another natural additive in my soap is kaolin clay which has been used both to prevent acne and manage dry skin. Kaolin clay adds a slip to the soap which makes it good for shaving.
The Story
I am a Registered Nurse and wash my hands constantly. I discovered the healing power of Milk Soap long ago. In 2018 when I purchased my first sheep, I was so excited to start making soap with creamy sheep milk that I purchase several gallons from a near by sheep farm. The milk was frozen in plastic bags. I had trouble with the first batch which became a curdled mess. But the next batch went better. After a lot of trial and error I finally achieved the luxurious feel and bubbly soap I was hoping for!
As explained on the home page, I and some of my family members have had trouble with eczema. Sheep milk soap is very healing and mild to the skin. It is creamy and moisturizing but not oily.
Commercial soap has many of the natural ingredients removed and manmade products added to replace them. My Sheep Milk Soap has all the natural glycerin left in the soap along with the natural creaminess of milk.
At first I only used essential oils to scent my soaps, thinking essential oils were more mild than fragrance oils. One problem with essential oils is that the fragrance is often burned away in the saponification process. Another problem is that if the scent makes it through curing, it still fades quickly.
Some essential oils such as Sandalwood, are delicious and healing when used in aroma therapy, but come from trees that are very slow growing and are being used at a faster pace than they can be replaced. Sandalwood oil can also be irritating to the skin. I personally get the same response using Sandalwood fragrance oil in my soaps as using actual Sandalwood oil in a diffuser. I include small amounts of Sandalwood powder in some of my soaps for mild exfoliation and coloring.
I continued using only essential oils in my soaps for quite a while, but then I was given some "Christmas Scent" soap that had very irritating essential oils in it. After using it I broke out in a rash.
I studied more about essential oils and found that Cassia (Cinnamon) and Peru Balsam (Vanilla scent) are two of the most irritating substances on the planet. "Balsam Peru" is actually used in ointment to increase circulation and prevent pressure injuries in the elderly and those who are bed bound. It works by initiating an allergic response. Inflammation to the area increases circulation, but also causes pain and redness (not something I want from using soap).
After experiencing my own reaction to essential oils, I realized that most fragrance oils are formulated to be mild and non irritating. They come with recommendations as to their use and the amounts needed to scent products without causing skin irritation. Fragrance oils in small amounts are used in some of my soaps and impart lasting mild fragrance that is non irritating to most skin types. I always try new products out on my own very sensitive skin before recommending them to others.
For some people, unscented soap is still the only way to go. Unscented does not mean the soap has no aroma, or that it smells like glue or other unpleasant things. My unscented oatmeal soap has a warm pleasing natural oatmeal fragrance.
Most of my bar soaps have oatmeal included to sooth skin irritation. Back in the day, when children had chicken pox, it was customary to pour dry oatmeal into a sock and tie it shut, then float the sock in the bath tub while the poor, pock covered child was bathing. The oatmeal would calm the skin, stop the itching and make it possible for the child to sleep and recover.
Liquid Soap
When I started giving bar soap to my family and friends to try, I found that most of my family had liquid soap next to their sink in the kitchen. Liquid soap is very drying! I have a hard time tolerating it. So I came up with my own recipe using a base of Coconut Oil, Babassu Oil, Castor Oil, Shea Butter, and Tallow. The result is much more gentle than most liquid soap. And it has the convenience of a mess-free pump.