Can I use cow's Milk Butter in soap?

[Rachmaris]

Can I use cow's milk butter in cold process soap? I have access to fresh, non pasturized cows milk and make soap. Can I use either the butter or the milk in soap? or will it get rancid? Thanks

 

[lizflowers42]

Yep. Lots of people use milk in soap. I would freeze it though so you don't burn it when you add the lye!

Lucky to have access to that! My farmers market has fresh jersey cow milk and it is INCREDIBLE!

 

[Moonshea Botanicals]

Yep. Lots of people use milk in soap. I would freeze it though so you don't burn it when you add the lye!

Lucky to have access to that! My farmers market has fresh jersey cow milk and it is INCREDIBLE!

I think she was asking about the butter from a cow, not the milk

 

[Crocoturtle]

soap calc has an entry for butter.
Edit: I was mistaken, it's the sage that has butter on their lye calculator.

 

[chicklet]

I think butter would be great in soap, although just using the cream as is without going to the trouble of making the butter would probably work just as well. I make homemade yogurt and cultured buttermilk from raw milk for a lot of my soap. That does involve extra steps, but I feel (at least I have convinced myself) that the yogurt and buttermilk cultures are adding something to the soap. I usually skim the cream off first and sometimes I make butter with that but had not thought about using it in soap. My brother and sister-in-law provide me with the fresh milk - he likes to act like he does all the hard work but I know it's my sister-in-law who does the milking. This post reminds me that he told me Friday he has about 5 gallons in his fridge that I need to get. I freeze both the yogurt and buttermilk in pre-measured amounts.

 

[DWinMadison]

I wonder how Greek yogurt would do in soap?

 

[chicklet]

It might make you do the Zorba dance.

 

[lizflowers42]

I think she was asking about the butter from a cow, not the milk

I don't mean to sound snarky, but she asked either butter or milk.

 

[birchcoulee]

Yogurt works, makes nice soap. Butter makes stinky soap, check out ghee, it is supposed to work but I have never tried it.

 

[Sunny]

Not cow's milk butter. It goes rancid and smells awful from what I have read.

You can use milk or yogurt if you like, including greek yogurt.

 

[chicklet]

Well thanks, Sunny, now I'm just going to have to try it and see for myself.

Butter's in the churn! (Or at least in the mason jar I use to make butter.)

 

[Pepper]

I made soap with ghee a few years ago. It definitely had a "different" smell, but I didn't find it too off putting, and I got used to it, but I haven't made any more. Please don't ask what else I used with it, as I don't remember, and have mislaid my old recipe book. I keep having "clean ups", and spend weeks trying to find what I've tidied away!

 

[hoegarden]

I wonder how Greek yogurt would do in soap?

I quite like yogurt in soap.

 

[birchcoulee]

Did anyone try butter in soap??? Just wondering what the results were.

 

[crisastalcup]

I over processed ( burnt) some butter while making ghee. It has sat for months without spoiling, but we are not going to eat it. Any idea what calculator would do butter fat?

 

[AliOop]

The smell of cow’s milk butter in soap is awful - like vomit.

 

[DeeAnna]

I over processed ( burnt) some butter while making ghee. It has sat for months without spoiling, but we are not going to eat it. Any idea what calculator would do butter fat?

Many calcs have it. Look for milk fat. Alternative names would be butter fat or ghee.

For those wanting to do this, keep in mind that ghee is pure fat, but a stick of butter is not pure fat.

You only want to enter the weight of the milk fat into the list of fats for your soap. If you enter the total weight of the butter as if it's 100% fat, your soap may be lye heavy.

 

[crisastalcup]

Thanks! It is helpful to be reminded about the butter vs. ghee!