Goat milk newbie

[RoguePastures]

Hi everyone!!! I am new to goat milk and soap is something my daughter and I would like to make to help raise funds for her competitive dance fees!! Here at Rogue Pastures we have goats, pigs, cows, and chickens that we all pasture raise organically. We are pretty new so we are trying to learn as we go! We also raise Goldendoodles in order for me to stay home with our 4 kiddos!! I am also new to any type of forum so this is all a learning curve for me! I had a specific question and found this forum so thought I’d give it a try!

 

[dmcgee5034]

Hi and welcome! I think you’ll love the forum - everyone here is so helpful. I also make GMS, but use powder. Your pasture and animals sound awesome. Can’t wait to see what you create.

 

[TheGecko]

Welcome. I make Goat Milk Soap...feel free to pick my brain.

 

[lsg]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[AliOop]

Welcome! Here is a great thread to read about the steps to take if you want to sell soap.

The only slight point of clarification I would make to that post is not to create a business entity right away. It's expensive and not always necessary; good liability insurance is much better protection than an LLC, for instance. But if your financial advisor does recommend an LLC, creating that is pretty much the last step to take after you have done all the others (recipe formulation, testing, learning how to properly label, etc.). You don't want the extra hassles of maintaining an LLC, with separate bank accounts, etc., until you are actually selling. And there is a LOT of work and testing ahead of you before you get there - probably a year or more.

One cool thing about that thread is that there was another member from Nebraska who talked (in the third or fourth post in the thread?) about her experience. Hopefully that will be very helpful to you. Good luck, and don't forget to post some pictures of your soaps. We love pictures.

 

[MellonFriend]

Hello there! I raise goats too. When you say you raise them organically on pasture, do you mean you are milking goats who are eating 100% pasture, no grain? This is a field I'm interested in. (Pun intended. )

 

[stanekster]

Hi,
We have goats and use their milk in soap too. As you read the forums, pay attention to oil temperatures and also % milk (vs water) in your recipe. These two things will make the most difference in preventing your soap from overheating. I would also recommend a couple of things:
- put molds in fridge or freezer after you pour them (for 24 hours)
-freeze the milk so when you mix it with the lye, it does not scorch. This is not needed if you add the milk at trace though.
-start with small batches to get your recipe and process down…then you can scale up.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I am also new to any type of forum

 

[Shelley D]

Hello and welcome!
I would like to say that if you are going to use fresh goat's milk (not powdered), then I think there are 2 options for adding it to soap:
1) To your lye solution. I personally prefer to freeze it into ice cube trays (regular and minis, makes it easier to measure) and add lye to frozen milk so it doesn't scald. Some people like to keep the milk liquid, add the lye, but set the bowl in another bowl of ice water to help keep the temp low, but I find that to an awkward setup.
2) Adding fresh goat's milk to the melted oils & butters. When doing this, you basically take the total liquid needed for the lye solution amd half it. Use half the liquid as water to mix th lye solution, and half as goat's milk and mix into oils & butters.
So be sure to take everyone's advice, take notes, research, research, research! Watch youtube videos specifically on how to make goat's milk soap ~ there are a bunch! That was actually my starting point
But most importantly, Have Fun!

 

[Marie_with_an_e]

Welcome! Goat milk soaper here, too .

 

[Ech0s]

Made my first (successful) fresh goats milk soap last night- I'm in love with it