Here’s an idea for all you cosmetic “Do-It-Yourself-ers” out there: According to Traditionalmidwife.com, you can make your own soap using breast milk. 
Not having kids of my own yet it’s hard for me to decide if this idea is appealing or appalling. It could be appealing because there is something natural and wholesome about using mother’s milk. And it could be appalling because this feels kind of like a gimmick that may not necessarily be better for your skin.
The science of soap
The recipe from the website is for a type of lye soap, which is made by neutralizing oils and fatty acids with high pH sodium hydroxide. (Lye is another name for sodium hydroxide, it’s also sometimes called “caustic.”) Lye soaps have been used for thousand of years and while they do the job they can be very harsh in drying to your skin. For this reason they’ve largely been replaced by modern soap bars which are in, in fact, made with synthetic detergents. These are much milder on your skin. Modern soap bars use synthetic detergents that do not strip as much natural oil from your skin so they leave it better moisturized.
While I give the midwife a lot of creative credit for coming up with the idea, I’m not sure it’s better for tender baby butts or not. And here are a few other concerns you should be aware of if you’re planning on making soap from breast milk.
- Be aware of the bio-hazards associated with using someone else’s breast milk for soap making.
- Use precautions when handling raw, unpasteurized human milk.
- You will need to pump and store your milk in the freezer until you have at least one cup or as much as 6 cups. Add a little beer to your diet, it might help production!
- The quality and texture of frozen milk may vary after it’s thawed.
What do YOU think about the idea of breast milk soap? Leave a comment and share your soapy thoughts with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
–Mid Brain
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Cindy Helgason Says:
Soap is not soap unless it is made with lye, fat and water. “Bars” cannot be labeled soap unless they have been made with lye. To say that “modern soap bars use synthetic detergents” is to misstate what soap is. If it not soap, it is detergent. A true soap made correctly with the glycerin left in (as Ivory and other commercial soaps do not) is much more mild and gentle on your skin than a detergent is.
Anna Says:
The human milk soap sounds kind of gross. Not to mention that many women don’t make enough of it for their own babies, let alone soapmaking!
Sandy Says:
I wonder what they will think of next…
Casey Says:
All I can say is eeeewwww. I can’t say whether there are health benefits or not, but it really doesn’t matter…yucky.
kpriss Says:
oh! I haven’t even tasted my own breast milk. Soap-it is just beyond any imagination I could’ve direction into beauty treatments.
Daily Bits « Lipschtick Says:
[...] Breast Milk soap - good, bad, or ugly? I say ugly. The concerns you have to watch out for alone are [...]
Soapmaker Says:
I will be making breastmilk soap for a dear friend from her excess pumped milk. I think its a neat thing to have as a memory of this time and it is very natural.
I think its funny that so many people are fine drinking cow milk, bathing in goatsmilk, but freak at the idea of mother’s milk. No wonder breast feeding is not as popular as formula in America.
I also wanted to add old Lye soaps were lye heavy and not as good for your skin. Now with new recipes and new oils (old soap was made like some of what you get in the grocery stores of animal fats), homemade soap is very gentle to the skin and far better for you then those detergents. You won’t ever see Olive oil tied to cancer (unless its as a why to keep it away!)!
Kate Sarginson Says:
I think the idea is disgusting and I would never buy it. Breast milk should be fed to babies and not used to make
any beauty product. The woman who thinks
that it is a neat idea and great memento of her breastfeeding should give her head a shake. Her memento is her baby!!
Michelle Says:
I have to say that I wouldn’t use a bar of breast milk soap but I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s disgusting. I agree with soapmaker that people shouldn’t freak at the thought of a mother’s milk.
It’s milk after all! There are far worse beauty treatments like the bull semen for hair that the beauty brains posted about before.
Now that’s disgusting!
Charlotte Says:
I don’t see why you’d bother - just because something is natural doesn’t mean it’s better for you (tree frog poison is natural, just as a really obvious example…) On the other hand, I don’t think there’s anything particularly disgusting about it, it’s just yet another mammal’s milk. There are other products that would probably work as well/better though as far as cleaning yourself goes, natural or not, & it’s true that soap does have a higher pH than some synthetic detergents.
SusanReneeFisher Says:
Remember in the late 80’s when Mary Kay went through loads of legal trouble when the details of using umbilical cords in their makeup to make it softer came out?
I sort of feel like this comes close to bordering along the same lines…
Judith Says:
If a soap is superfatted or further purified as are commmercial soaps, the excess lye is either neutralized or removed. Therefore, contrary to the statement in the post, most soaps are not caustic. The exception to this is Castille soap which is made from olive oil, this is often quite alkali.
As Cindy in the first comment states, cleansing products made from detergents are not necessarily better and can be harsher than a good soap.
soapgirl Says:
You are obviously speaking from complete ignorance when you say that synthetic bath bars are better for your skin. They are absolutely drying chemical packed, and stripped of all things good, including the natural glycerin. With regards to Lye soaps, once the soap is fully saponified, there is no trace of lye left in the soap, just the bi-product, glycerin, which is very moisturizing.
Where in the world are you getting your info from? I make cold process olive oil lye soaps, and they are absolutely soothing, moisturizing and fabulous. I would never use a synthetic, drying bath bar. I rather use just water.
By the way, ALL soaps are made with lye. All of them.
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[...] The Beauty Brains ask a very important question: Is breast milk soap appealing or appalling? [...]
This Week in Style Blogging » Smarter Fashion Blog Says:
[...] The Beauty Brains ask a very important question: Is breast milk soap appealing or appalling? [...]
Laura Says:
It’s nothing but appalling.
Joy Says:
I just don’t understand why anyone would EVER use breastmilk for anything other than FEEDING A BABY. How can you possibly have so much that you can make soap out of it? I had a huge freezer stash, and I donated it to the mom of a preemie who wasn’t making enough milk herself. And if I hadn’t donated it, I would have given it to my own child in a sippy cup long after I stopped nursing/pumping. PLEASE someone tell me why you wouldn’t give it to a child instead of making soap?
KC Says:
I would make breast milk soap. Here’s why: a recent report of out Australia claims a scientist has discovered the presence of stem cells in human breast milk. Now some of us with years of experience breast feeding know that mother’s milk has healing properties. It’ll clear up pink eye in a day or two. It’s great on diaper rashes. Take that statement right there — diaper rash. If my baby has a skin condition like a rash, washing his little butt with breast milk soap would lead me to believe there would be healing properties. It’s amazing that some of you find it appalling — yet have no problem washing your face or hair with other species’ milk. To each her own I guess. To me the idea of mother’s milk soap is appealing.
Nichole Says:
I think it is a great idea. I have excema and I haved suffered from all types of rashes, and breakouts from house hold cleaning products and products supposedly made for sensitive skin that broke me out and left me skin weeping, sore, and itching. I would embrace anything that gives me relief. I make soap to and I can tell a big difference in my skin when I use my soaps which are made with milk. My skin feels soothed and its not as itchy and dry. I think it is beautiful idea to use breast milk. My cousin had abdominal surgery and her wound would not heal. She had just had a baby and used some of the breast milk and soapy water to wash her wound and it immediatedly healed. If its okay to use cow, goat, coconut, and soy milk, what’s wrong with human milk. Its not a waste product. The person won’t be drinking it. These people sound like someone is using human urine or something worse. The soap is cooked long enough to kill any germs. Think about it. I would try it in a heart beat.
michelle Says:
Im going to make the soap this week! I love the idea! I have breastmilk in the freezer that i didnt get to fast enough (it only stays good in the freezer for a few months, then you have to toss it) instead of tossing it, i can use it for the milk. The benefits of breast milk is absolutely AMAZING. When i started breast feeding of course like any breast feeding mother knows that the sucking power of an infant is VERY STRONG. The latch caused cuts on my breasts, instead of using lanolin i was told to use the milk. It cleared up right away. Same thing as when i had a pimple or fever blister or when my son scratched himself with his nails… they cleared up 10 times faster than using neosporin! Like the previous person said the milk is boiled at such a high temperature which would basicly purify it, plus I dont have any illnesses that would make me concerned with using it. I overheard my sister talking about her acne and offered her some soap when i make it, she was estatic that i would share it with her! funny how cows milk is healthy enough to drink but moms milk isnt good enough for soap, wondering if any of you appallers were breastfeed even once…Nichole I will send you a bar if you like. Breastmilk has sooo many uses it crazy just look at this site: http://www.freedompondmoonworks.com/pb/wp_2e517814.html
Jen Says:
I don’t think it is gross at all. I think if you have breastmilk in the freezer that is too old to feed, it is a great way to use it up. Lots of people make soap from goats milk, what is the harm in making breastmilk soap for your own family?