The latest edition to my botanical soap collection is made with coconut milk and hibiscus flower petals. It is made with all vegetable oil, even with a touch of sesame oil too!

Since I’ve learn so much about the benefits of coconut for our skin, I’ve been wanting to add this to my soap.  The coconut milk  are usually used for cooking and baking.

I let all my soaps cure for about three to four weeks before using it.  I have been using this for about a week and really love it.  It’s a very luxurious and creamy soap.

Instead of water, I replaced it with coconut milk.  Both the addition of coconut oil and coconut milk is very moisturizing.  Coconut is full of antioxidant, and the oil protects and nourishes the skin.

I also added ground hibiscus.  This hibiscus flower is normally used in making tea.  Hibiscus flower is full of Vitamin C and would also be great for your skin.

I thought the bright color of the petals would seep into the soap, but it didn’t.  The best part is the ground hibiscus petals added a nice exfoliation of the skin too. 

Ingredients:  Coconut milk, Safflower oil, Canola oil, Palm oil, Coconut oil, Sesame oil, and Hibiscus petals.

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I’ve been wanting to make goat milk based soap for over a year now.  Especially goat milk soap, but since I don’t have any of that I decided to make milk soap using “half & half” instead.

I do have goat milk powder and thought of just adding water to it.  But Casey Makela author of Milk-Based Soaps doesn’t recommend goat milk powder at all, she said all the fat has been removed so it would not be good for soapmaking.  But I have used goat milk powder in one of my soaps and find it to be just as nice and creamy.  Although Makela’s book was informative, it seem to stretch out this process more then necessary!  And also make you NOT want to make any milk based soap ever.

Here is the milk & cream soaps.  Some say it smells more like sweet oatmeal.  I think that smell may fade in 3-4 weeks time when it’s done curing.  I can’t wait to give this soap a try!  I can feel how creamy and rich it is while I was cutting it up.

Now that I’ve successfully made my first batch of “milk soap” it wasn’t much different then regular CP soaping. Well there are some differences, but not much.

Updated: The sweet smell is still there. Something I can’t describe, but like sweet cookies. I have given this soap the shower test and it’s great! Very nice and creamy bar of soap. Thick and hard bard too. I think it will last a long time in the shower. Just keep it dry in a nice soap dish.

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Coconuts have always been a big part of my diet and life growing up. My mother would make curry and desserts using coconut milk. And when we were kids, my father would bring us young coconuts as a treat. We would all gather around and watch him pour out the sweet coconut water. Then when were done, he would crack it open so we could enjoy the meat inside. The white meats were soft and nutty and we would scoop it out with a spoon. The coconut water is really the best drink ever.

Usually when I am at the Asian market, I can pick out young fresh coconut. They are not expensive at all, prices ranging from 99 cents to $1.50. So every time I drink the juice, it brings me back to my happy childhood. The drinks are really nature’s soft drink.

At caloriecount.com, they gave coconut water a nutritional analysis and it got an A! The water has no cholesterol and contains natural sugars and salt. Coconut water is high in many vitamins and minerals, especially potassium. The most important nutrient found in coconut water or milk is lauric acid. Lauric acid is believed to have antimicrobial properties and is found naturally in mother’s milk, cow milk, and goat milk.
Pictured here is of “Melissa’s Fresh Young Coconuts” sold thru Amazon.com, they are very pricey!

A friend of mine said his father (the physicist) used to work with Dr. Mary Enig. She even sent him a signed copy of her new book- Know Your Fats. I have yet to read the book, but I know just where to find it. Dr. Enig has classified coconuts as a “functional food,” which provides health benefits over and beyond the basic nutrients. She has specifically identified lauric acid as a key ingredient in coconut products.

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