TheGoatFarmher

I raise Nigerian Dwarf Goats on my farm, and I love everyday with them! When I was researching breeds, I settled on these tiny goats, and they have exceeded expectations! These lovely ladies maybe small, but their milk really packs a punch! Nigerian Dwarf Goats' milk has the highest butterfat content (which is what give us that luxurious lather, and moisturized skin), of any goat breed breed-even surpassing cattle! Each goat has their own personality, but they share friendly dispositions and funny antics, making "work", feel like anything but!
I raise my goats naturally, without antibiotics or medications, on green grass pastures. They are milked twice a day by hand, and they always look forward to their turn on the milk stand. I look forward to milking them too, it is definitely one of my favorite parts of the day. I love the sound of the milk hitting the pail early in the morning, there's nothing quiet as relaxing!
Originally, I got goats as companions and for milk to consume. As I milked and realized how much I loved working with the goats, I decided to branch out and try to make things with their milk. I currently make, cheese, yogurt, caramels, and of course, Goat Milk Soap! Talk about versatility in these little goats!
When handcrafting my goat milk soap, Goat Milk is always the number one ingredient! I believe it is the shining star of my soaps! I pair the goat milk with skin loving oils and butters to give you a luxury skin treatment, that will leave your skin feeling hydrated and protected, never greasy or dry.
To make a batch of my goat milk soap, it starts with....grass! Yes, grass! The goats consume high quality grass and natural forage to produce milk.
I hand milk the goats twice daily, and then I bring the milk inside to rapidly filter and chill. I then slowly (over about and hour to an hour and a half) bring the temperature of the milk down so low it creates a slush. Once we have reached the slush stage, I begin to warm the luxury oils. I slowly add sodium hydroxide to the goat milk to preserve the integrity of the product-this takes around 2 hours. Once the goat milk, and luxury oils are at optimum temperatures, I begin to add them together to start the saponification process. At this time, I create swirls, design, or anything I feel like would be beautiful, and pour my soap into molds. After waiting 3 very long days, I remove the soap from the mold to see how things are looking. I then wait another 3 days, and hand cut the soap into bar sizes. Then I allow to the soap to cure on a wire rack 2 months-it is so hard to wait, but so important! I want a nice hard bar that will last as long as possible!
3 hours of handcrafting a batch+2 months of cure time=skin perfection!