Goat's Milk Soap and pH Levels

[TomS]

I would really like to understand more about pH levels in CP soap generally, and in goat’s milk (gm) soap in particular. I have read that the pH of the average person’s skin is 5.5, and most fall in the range of 5.2 – 6.2. The pH of a typical CP soap is in the 9.5 – 10.5 range. The pH of gm milk is 6.4 -6.7. The pH of water is 7.

Is the pH of a gm soap any different than one made with water. The pH of gm is only slightly more acidic than water to begin with. Once you mix the gm and oils with lye, wouldn’t the chemical reaction be such that a small amount of lye goes to neutralize the gm, resulting in a soap that has a slightly higher surperfat level (due to both the neutralizing effect and the fats in the gm) but the same pH level as a soap made with water. I am certainly no chemist, so if I’m missing something I would really like to know.

I would like to start making a gm soap. There seems to be real benefits in the lather and creaminess due to the fats in the gm. However, I have looked at many websites of CP soap makers that say that their gm soap has the same pH as skin or is closer to the pH of skin. Does it bother anyone when they see this type of thing.

 

[Half Caper Farm]

The proof is in the pudding, as they say. :wink: I don't concern myself with the chemical stuff, just how the soap feels on my skin.

And I have to say, my homemade gm soap is the first cleanser of any kind that I've been able to use on my face without it feeling like it shrank two sizes. Also, with running a farm, and washing my hands many, many times a day, I don't have dry hands, even in the winter. That matters far more to me than the pH of my soap.

 

[carebear]

skin has a coating called an acid mantle which is (obviously) slightly acidic, i.e., a low pH. all real soap has a high pH and it doesn't matter if it's GM or not - the pH is going to be above 9.

no worries on matching the pH of the skin - even water alone disrupts the acid mantle but it's very temporary and the pH returns to it's slightly acidic state very quickly.

 

[IrishLass]

Is the pH of a gm soap any different than one made with water.

Dotto what Carebear said.

I'm not a chemist, but I have gleaned a lot of good info on the many different forums from those with chemical backgrounds (Carebear being one of them whose knowledge I respect), and according to all I've read, especially by those fortunate enough to have access to a lab with the proper equipment and to have been able to test various CP soaps in the lab, there is no difference in pH. They still cure out in the alkaline range, even those soaps that are highly superfatted. It's just the nature of the lye beast. There's no way of lowering the pH below 9 in CP soap without creating a mess.

I have looked at many websites of CP soap makers that say that their gm soap has the same pH as skin or is closer to the pH of skin. Does it bother anyone when they see this type of thing.

Oh, yes, many of us are bothered by that type of thing (among many other ridiculously false things that are claimed). It's very frustrating to us that know the truth, but there's not much we can do to effectively put a stop to it except to determine to be honest in our own advertising and to educate wherever we can.

IrishLass