Milk and Honey
by Heather
(North Texas)
Our family loves homesteading and farm life! We began by purchasing a couple of small goats to clear the poison ivy off our property. They did a great job.
Eventually, we purchased two more large goats (Saanan and Alpine) for fresh, raw milk for our own use. After learning how to make cheese, ice cream and yogurt, we still had more milk than we knew what to do with. So, instead of feeding our pet dogs all the excess milk, I decided to learn how to make soap!
I was on a quest to not be wasteful and make good healthy soap products for my family. I bought books and searched the web to turn my excess into something useful.
With my first batch of soap, I was terrified of the lye, so I cautiously ventured into the unknown with my first batch of cold-processed soap. Greatly encouraged by my first success, I coudn't wait to try again! I soon discovered that I could make soap to use immediately by using the hot-process method. I figured that, this way I didn't have to wait four weeks for the soap to cure. We could use it the next day!
I purchased a crock pot, specifically, for hot-process soap making and away I went. My husband is a bee keeper, so I wanted to try using some soap recipes, with goats milk and honey.
That's when I discovered the "natural-goat-milk-soap.com" website with great recipes and tips for using honey in soap. I have tried the recipes she posted and love them! So, my very next step is to purchase a big roaster oven, so I can make larger batches of soap!
Thank you, Susan, for sharing your knowledge. I'm sure it's helping a lot of other people like myself.
I will be checking your site often! Keep up the good work.
"Honey can be added at VERY light trace in any soap or shampoo recipe. BE AWARE that honey accelerates trace a whole lot, so use it sparingly. It's difficult to get it well mixed into soap. Very often, you'll find the last part of your soap, (pouring out of the pot), contains the majority of the honey. This honey will then sink to the bottom of your mold and make a really ugly spot on the soap. That said, honey is a great skin conditioner and its addition to your bars of soap is well worth the trouble it causes in the production."
