About Ellen's Goat Milk Soap and Etc.

Several factors played into my decision to begin making my own goat milk soap; Moving to the desert and my previously oily skin turning suddenly dry and sensitive to my old standby, Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap; my dissatisfaction with the "moisturizing body washes", laden with toxic chemicals and a slimy feel; and a surplus of goat milk from our very productive girls!  I have enjoyed sharing my goat milk soaps with family and friends through the years.  They are nothing fancy, just good-for-you, non-toxic, skin care.  

Many people besides myself have found that my goat milk soap doesn't dry their skin like many commercial soaps do.  The reason for that, I believe, is twofold; the extra fat incorporated into the recipe by using goat milk in place of water gives it more emollient properties; also, handmade soap retains natural glycerin, an expensive byproduct of the saponification process, generally extracted from commercial soaps to be sold separately.  Glycerin is a humectant - it absorbs ambient moisture.  That means if you put it on your skin, it will attract moisture from the air and hold it on your skin.  The extra glycerin enhances the cleaning properties of soap, too.  I so enjoy the clean, soft feel my soap leaves that I wanted to share it. I hope you enjoy it too!

While goat milk is the “magic” ingredient in Ellen’s Goat Milk Soap, I have also extensively researched the properties of other ingredients I use.  The formula I have developed balances the fatty acids of various fats and oils to achieve an optimum balance of cleansing and moisturizing properties with a rich creamy lather and long lasting hardness in the bar.

*ALOE & CUCUMBER (Peppermint EO): Cooling

  * BALSAM PINE/Bentonite Clay (Scent): Like a sunny day in a pine forest

*CALENDULA (With yellow kaolin clay & lemongrass EO)

  * CEDAR AND SAGE (Scent and EO blend)

*CITRONELLA/NEEM/(EO) Shampoo & Bath Bar

*CINNAMON (EO): Warming for Kapha & Vata Constitutions

*EUCALYPTUS (Pure Essential Oil): Used traditionally to alleviate stress, mental fatigue, and congestion in respiratory tract.

*FRENCH GREEN CLAY (EO) Refreshing Fir Needle

*FRENCH PINK CLAY/Peppermint (Essential Oil) 

*HEMP/PATCHOULI (EO): Said to smooth wrinkles and destroy odors. 

  * HONEY-ALMOND-OATMEAL (Vanilla EO): Mildly abrasive, extra humectant. Skin soothing oats, honey, ground almonds) 

 *  LAVENDER FIELDS W/ CLAY (Scent): Softer lavender with creamy cleansing bentonite clay.

*LAVENDER/TEA TREE (Pure Essential Oil): Lavender used traditionally for anxiety, headaches, insomnia, depression.  Tea Tree antibacterial

  * LILAC (Scent): Light floral.  

  * NAG CHAMPA (Scent): Sweet, Earthy, grounding scent.  

*NORTHWOODS (EO) Fir, Cedarwood & Pine Essential Oils

*PINE TAR: By special request... hubby and I love it! Soothes skin issues

 * SANDALWOOD/PATCHOULI (Scent):  Warm spicy, musky 

  * SHEA BUTTER (Scent):  Flowery, feminine

* Sulfur & Activated Charcoal: Detoxifying for skin issues

(Clay adds extra cleansing and "slip" for shaving benefits)

Bars are approximately 4.50 oz. and last long if kept dry between uses.