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Goats Milk Soap

Mouette

Member
I was up at Wauchope on the weekend attending the inaugural Wauchope Highland Gathering which was run in conjunction with the Saturday morning markets. One of the stalls was selling Goat's milk soap and they had some shaving soap there and of course I had to buy some to try it out. After all it was only 4$ for a small puck.

I got chatting with the nice lady selling the soaps and she was telling me how it's all natural and they don't use any of those nasty chemicals, or palm oil. I asked did she use the usual sodium hydroxide as well as potassium hydroxide as it was a shaving soap. Oh no was the answer, they aren't good for your skin. mmm I thought. Anyway it was four bucks so I grabbed a puck. The label said it was manufactured locally at Wauchope and the ingredients had goat's milk from our free grazing goats, saponified fruit and oil and white clay. I am wondering if she actually made the soap or is an agent for someone else.

To be honest, I was a fair bit sceptical that it would be any good. I tried it out yesterday morning. Face lathered with the puck in my hand. Razor was a Gold Dollar 66 straight (this one is a good shaver) and the brush was a Yaqi synthetic.

Disappointed was the first word that comes to mind. It lathered ok, but the the lather dissipated very quickly. Slickness was good but the shave was really rough. As it was only $4, this puck will end up in the bin. I don't think I will even bother trying it again.

So far, the last three soaps I have bought have been duds. A whisky and bourbon puck from a shop in Bowral, Highland Soap Company Whisky and Honey from the outlet in Fort William in Scotland, and Saturday's bargain.

From my research (Dr Google) it seems that the common factor in these three soaps is olive oil. Apparently it doesn't make for a good lathering soap. It didn't say olive oil on the paper tag that came with the goat's soap, but I would bet that's what they used.

cheers
Andrew
 
Further to my post the other day, here is a link to the website for Mountain Goat Soap, the people who make the goat's milk shaving soap and other soapy products. Couldn't find the shave soap on the website, but it is available around various markets on the NSW North Coast.


cheers
Andrew
 
Most of these people making "shaving soap" as a local craft don't know what it is, let alone what it needs to be. We have a lady just down the road who does this (name withheld to protect the guilty), and her soap is crap. I threw it in the fire. It burns OK. 😐
 
You'd be surprised how much olive oil can be incorporated into shaving soap without impacting lather.

The biggest culprit with these types of shaving soaps is the lack of potassium hydroxide.

Without Potassium hydroxide, it's not going to be shaving soap, but actually just bath soap with bubbly lather which will dissipate.
 
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