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Mother’s Milk Soap Recipe
32 (4-ounce) bars

Recipe:

3 lbs. vegetable shortening
17 ounces dark olive oil
18 ounces Safflower oil
6 cups thawed breast milk
(you can use any amount of breast milk you like and substitute the rest,
just make sure your total fluid volume reaches 6 cups).
12 ounces pure sodium hydroxide (lye – Red Devil brand works)
1 ounce Borax
2 TLBS honey
1 ounce Essential oil – optional
Ice Cubes

Tool List:
Stainless steel pans
Wooden or stainless steel spoons
Newspaper to cover counter tops
Candy thermometer
Measuring cup
Scale
Blender

***Wear Gloves and protective eye-wear when making soap…lye burns!!
****Use only stainless steel pans for making soap – DO NOT use aluminum!!

Procedure
Melt the veg. shortening in a sauce pan (about 8 quart size)and add the oils. Bring temp up slowly until the shortening is all melted. Don’t over heat or scorch the oils.

Plug your kitchen sink. Fill half way with water and add about 3 dozen ice cubes.

Put thawed cold breast milk in a sauce pan (about 3 quart size). Place the sauce pan into the water. You *must* keep the milk cool when you add the lye to it or the lye will burn it and make it unusable, not to mention real stinky!

Slowly stir in the sodium hydroxide (lye) stirring constantly and occasionally circulating the outer ice water. The lye is going to heat the milk up as you stir it in. Avoid breathing the fumes by working in a well ventilated area.

Adding the lye should take at least 5 minutes, any faster and you will burnout your milk. If you accidentally splash any on yourself, rinse immediately!

Once combined, continue to stir the milk/lye mixture for just a few more minutes (3) and then remove from the water bath and set aside. You will notice that the milk/lye mixture steadily becomes yellowish in color. That is normal.

Add the honey and borax to your melted oil which should still be warm but not hot (115 degrees or so).

Now, slowly and carefully pour the milk/lye mixture into the pan of oil. Stir constantly until it is all mixed together.

This mixture must now be whipped in a blender (2/3′s full at a time for safety sake). Run the blender (with the lid on) at whip speed for 60 seconds each time. Pour off into a clean pan.

Repeat the blender process a second time. This is when you will add your essential oils.

Once the mixture has been blended twice, it will be ready to pour into a mold where it will saponify and be ready to cut after 24 hours.

**Make sure to set a few bars secretly aside for that someday when it could make a touching “Treasured Memory Gift” maybe when your child is all grown up. The soap will never go rancid (no matter what you may have read elsewhere), it will only improve with age. Mothering Soap has the unique potential of becoming something extra, special as the years roll by. But that’s just this mothers thought!

Any how, if you’re not familiar with the benefits of placenta, it is believed to help relieve post-partum depression, increase milk production, replenish iron stores, lessen post-natal bleeding, as well increased energy. Some women also choose to ingest a small portion of their placenta raw immediately after birth to prevent or halt hemmorhage. Some have it in a smoothie, or others just pop a piece in their mouth. I was up for it if I experienced a lot of bleeding, but that did not happen.

So, I am reading a lot more about this process, and looking forward to trying it out!

I am also excited to say that I am going to offer handmade breastmilk soap, made from client’s (or non-clients! I don’t discriminate!) own milk. I have made batches from my own breastmilk, and loved how it turned out. Very sudsy and clean feeling. Each batch makes about 25 bars of soap, and they last forever. I will be putting up some information about both of these services under the “Other services” tab.