French green clay is a popular additive in beauty products. It has a fine texture and light green color that comes from decomposed plant matter and iron oxides. It’s known for its fantastic oil absorbing properties. In this French Green Clay & Milk Soap, the clay adds a subtle color and skin-loving properties.
Rather than water, this recipe uses raw unpasteurized cow milk. You can also use pasteurized in this recipe – we just happened to have raw unpasteurized cow milk on hand. If you’ve never made milk soap, there are a few extra precautions to keep in mind. The lye can scorch the milk if it gets too hot, which can produce a dark color and unpleasant smell. Learn more about how to add lye to milk here.
This soap can be used on the face. It’s best suited for combination to oily skin. Learn more about which clay is right for your skin here. The recipe is made with a refreshing blend of lemongrass essential oil and tea tree essential oil. If you’re planning on using this as a facial soap and you have sensitive skin, you may consider removing the essential oil or using a lighter usage rate.
What You Need
Silicone Scalloped Round Mold
Impression Mat – Flowers and Spirals
4.3 oz. Borage Oil (25%)
4.3 oz. Coconut Oil (25%)
5.1 oz. Olive Oil (30%)
3.4 oz. Palm Oil (20%)
2.4 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
5 oz. Milk (10% discount)
0.6 oz. Lemongrass Essential Oil
0.4 oz. Tea Tree Essential Oil
French Green Clay
Titanium Dioxide
Click below to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!
MILK PREP: When lye is added to milk, the temperatures heat up to 200 ° F. This scorches the milk, causing it to smell bad and develop a dark yellow color. Keeping the temperatures as cool as possible helps prevent that scorching. Our preferred technique is to freeze the milk into cubes before adding the lye. To keep the milk extra, extra cold, you can place the container of frozen milk into a larger container with ice.
First, measure out 5 ounces of milk and pour into ice cube trays. Allow the milk to fully freeze. Next, empty the milk ice cubes into a container appropriate for mixing lye. When adding the cubes to the container, place the container on a scale to make sure you have the correct amount of milk. Although it was measured previously, some milk might be lost in the freezing/transferring process. If you’re short, pour cold milk into the container to supplement what you have. Adding distilled water to supplement works too.
MOLD PREP: To create the flower shape on top of each bar, we used the Flowers and Spirals Impression Mat. Use a sharp pair of scissors to carefully cut out individual flowers from the mat. Then, place them pattern side up into each cavity of the Silicone Scalloped Round Mold. Set aside.
SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices. That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, other distractions, and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.
LYE PREP: With safety gear on, slowly add about 1/4 of the lye flakes directly to the frozen milk. Use a non-reactive spoon to stir the lye flakes and milk together. Slowly, the flakes will begin to melt the cubes. After a few minutes of stirring, add another 1/4 of the flakes and continue stirring for several minutes.
Continue this process until all the lye flakes have been added to the milk. The milk will continue to melt as more lye is added and stirred. Once the milk has fully melted, continue to stir to make sure all the lye flakes have completely dissolved.
Because the temperatures are low, the lye flakes do not dissolve as quickly. Listen and look for lye flakes on the bottom of your container; lye flakes can take a lot longer to dissolve in cooler temperature liquids. Patience is key. Any undissolved lye in your soap could cause skin irritation or even lye burns, so take extra time to make sure all the lye is dissolved.
If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the milk solution. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add 1 teaspoon sodium lactate.
COLOR PREP: Disperse 1/2 teaspoon of titanium dioxide into 1/2 tablespoon of lightweight liquid oil, like sweet almond oil or sunflower oil. Then mix 2 teaspoons of French green clay into 2 tablespoons distilled water. Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps.
NOTE: To ensure that the titanium dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Please note this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide clumping in the soap. To micronize colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to blend the colorant to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable, stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning.
FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 0.6 ounces of lemongrass essential oil and 0.4 ounces of tea tree essential oil into a glass, essential oil safe container. Set aside.
ONE: Fully melt and combine 4.3 ounces coconut oil, 3.4 ounces palm oil, 5.1 ounces olive oil, and 4.3 ounces borage oil (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (the milk lye solution will be on the cooler side, that’s okay), add the milk and lye solution slowly to the oils. As you add the milk, begin pulsing your stick blender. Because the milk and lye solution is on the cooler side and the recipe contains hard oils that solidify at cooler temperature, adding the lye and milk solution gradually can help prevent false trace.
TWO: Once all the lye solution has been added, continue to blend until thin trace. As you stick blend you may notice some very slight graininess – that’s okay. That’s common for milk soap and disappears as the soap becomes more emulsified.
THREE: Once the soap is at a thin trace, whisk in the essential oil blend.
FOUR: Add all of the dispersed French green clay. It will be a thick texture – that’s okay. Pulse the soap with the stick blender to get rid of the clumps. Add 1 teaspoon of the dispersed titanium dioxide. If your soap is still a thin trace, stick blend in the titanium dioxide. If it’s becoming thick, use a whisk to fully mix in.
FIVE: The soap needs to be a thin enough texture to pour into the mold cavities and to fill the small details of the silicone flowers. But very thin soap can take a long time to remove from a silicone mold. Stick blend the batter until it’s a thin to medium trace. Just be careful to not over blend.
SIX: Once you’ve reached a good texture, slowly pour the soap into each cavity. This batch makes enough soap to fill each cavity to the very top. Once each cavity is full, tap it gently on the counter to help even the soap and get rid of air bubbles. Spritz the top with alcohol to prevent soda ash.
SEVEN: If you live in a very hot climate, place the soap in the fridge for several hours to keep temperatures cool and prevent the milk from scorching. If your area is not very hot (70° F or lower), you can keep the soap out at room temperature. Doing so will allow the soap to unmold slightly faster.
EIGHT: Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 1-2 days. Check the soap by gently pulling away the silicone mold from the sides. If it releases without any tearing, attempt to break the airlock on the bottom by gently pushing the soap out. Once the soap is out of the mold, it’s time to pull away the silicone flowers. We found the soap released from the flower detail the best when the soap had hardened outside the mold slightly. If your soap still feels a little soft, give it one more day. The details in the flowers will hold their shape better.
We found the best way to remove the flowers was to use a Clean Up Tool to gently “pull” each petal away from the soap to break the airlock, then use the tool to pull away one petal, then the entire flower. Continue this process for each bar. Allow the soap to fully cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy.
French Green Clay & Milk Soap Tutorial
Ingredients
- Silicone Scalloped Round Mold
- Impression Mat – Flowers and Spirals
- 4.3 oz. Borage Oil 25%
- 4.3 oz. Coconut Oil 25%
- 5.1 oz. Olive Oil 30%
- 3.4 oz. Palm Oil 20%
- 2.4 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
- 5 oz. Milk 10% discount
- 0.6 oz. Lemongrass Essential Oil
- 0.4 oz. Tea Tree Essential Oil
- French Green Clay
- Titanium Dioxide
Instructions
MILK PREP: When lye is added to milk, the temperatures heat up to 200 ° F. This scorches the milk, causing it to smell bad and develop a dark yellow color. Keeping the temperatures as cool as possible helps prevent that scorching. Our preferred technique is to freeze the milk into cubes before adding the lye. To keep the milk extra, extra cold, you can place the container of frozen milk into a larger container with ice. First, measure out 5 ounces of milk and pour into ice cube trays. Allow the milk to fully freeze. Next, empty the milk ice cubes into a container appropriate for mixing lye. When adding the cubes to the container, place the container on a scale to make sure you have the correct amount of milk. Although it was measured previously, some milk might be lost in the freezing/transferring process. If you’re short, pour cold milk into the container to supplement what you have. Adding distilled water to supplement works too.
MOLD PREP: To create the flower shape on top of each bar, we used the Flowers and Spirals Impression Mat. Use a sharp pair of scissors to carefully cut out individual flowers from the mat. Then, place them pattern side up into each cavity of the Silicone Scalloped Round Mold. Set aside.
SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices. That means goggles, gloves, and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, other distractions, and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.
LYE PREP: With safety gear on, slowly add about 1/4 of the lye flakes directly to the frozen milk. Use a non-reactive spoon to stir the lye flakes and milk together. Slowly, the flakes will begin to melt the cubes. After a few minutes of stirring, add another 1/4 of the flakes and continue stirring for several minutes. Continue this process until all the lye flakes have been added to the milk. The milk will continue to melt as more lye is added and stirred. Once the milk has fully melted, continue to stir to make sure all the lye flakes have completely dissolved. Because the temperatures are low, the lye flakes do not dissolve as quickly. Listen and look for lye flakes on the bottom of your container; lye flakes can take a lot longer to dissolve in cooler temperature liquids. Patience is key. Any undissolved lye in your soap could cause skin irritation or even lye burns, so take extra time to make sure all the lye is dissolved. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the milk solution. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add 1 teaspoon sodium lactate.
COLOR PREP: Disperse 1/2 teaspoon of titanium dioxide into 1/2 tablespoon of lightweight liquid oil, like sweet almond oil or sunflower oil. Then mix 2 teaspoons of French green clay into 2 tablespoons distilled water. Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps. NOTE: To ensure that the titanium dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Please note this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide clumping in the soap. To micronize colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to blend the colorant to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable, stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning.
FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 0.6 ounces of lemongrass essential oil and 0.4 ounces of tea tree essential oil into a glass, essential oil safe container. Set aside.
- Fully melt and combine 4.3 ounces coconut oil, 3.4 ounces palm oil, 5.1 ounces olive oil, and 4.3 ounces borage oil (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (the milk lye solution will be on the cooler side, that’s okay), add the milk and lye solution slowly to the oils. As you add the milk, begin pulsing your stick blender. Because the milk and lye solution is on the cooler side and the recipe contains hard oils that solidify at cooler temperature, adding the lye and milk solution gradually can help prevent false trace.
- Once all the lye solution has been added, continue to blend until thin trace. As you stick blend you may notice some very slight graininess – that’s okay. That’s common for milk soap and disappears as the soap becomes more emulsified.
- Once the soap is at a thin trace, whisk in the essential oil blend.
- Add all of the dispersed French green clay. It will be a thick texture – that’s okay. Pulse the soap with the stick blender to get rid of the clumps. Add 1 teaspoon of the dispersed titanium dioxide. If your soap is still a thin trace, stick blend in the titanium dioxide. If it’s becoming thick, use a whisk to fully mix in.
- The soap needs to be a thin enough texture to pour into the mold cavities and to fill the small details of the silicone flowers. But very thin soap can take a long time to remove from a silicone mold. Stick blend the batter until it’s a thin to medium trace. Just be careful to not over blend.
- Once you’ve reached a good texture, slowly pour the soap into each cavity. This batch makes enough soap to fill each cavity to the very top. Once each cavity is full, tap it gently on the counter to help even the soap and get rid of air bubbles. Spritz the top with alcohol to prevent soda ash.
- If you live in a very hot climate, place the soap in the fridge for several hours to keep temperatures cool and prevent the milk from scorching. If your area is not very hot (70° F or lower), you can keep the soap out at room temperature. Doing so will allow the soap to unmold slightly faster.
- Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 1-2 days. Check the soap by gently pulling away the silicone mold from the sides. If it releases without any tearing, attempt to break the airlock on the bottom by gently pushing the soap out. Once the soap is out of the mold, it’s time to pull away the silicone flowers. We found the soap released from the flower detail the best when the soap had hardened outside the mold slightly. If your soap still feels a little soft, give it one more day. The details in the flowers will hold their shape better. We found the best way to remove the flowers was to use a Clean Up Tool to gently “pull” each petal away from the soap to break the airlock, then use the tool to pull away one petal, then the entire flower. Continue this process for each bar. Allow the soap to fully cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy.
Hi
I made the soap 5 days ago and the mold is still not releasing it. The soap looks like dough still, it’s not dry.
Any suggestion ?
Thank you very much
Milene
Your soap sounds like it just needs a little bit of extra time to let go of its moisture. You may want to consider running a fan over the soap while it sits in the mold to keep air circulating. When you can pull the mold away from the soap cleanly, it’s ready to come out.
I would like to make this using a Quick Mix and water instead of water. Which Quick Mix would be best ?
Meant instead of milk
You can use distilled water instead of milk. You don’t need to prepare it like the milk – just add lye to room temperature distilled water.
Without the milk the bars won’t be as moisturizing, so I would recommend Swirl Quick Mix. It’s made with oils like sweet almond and olive that will hydrate the skin: https://www.brambleberry.com/Swirl-Recipe-Quick-Mix-P5526.aspx
For your French Green Clay & Milk soap, which clay should be substituted as I have sensitive and dry skin
Kaolin clay is a good option for dry skin. It’s less oil absorbing than French green clay and it has a nice silky texture.
Kaolin clay: https://www.brambleberry.com/Kaolin-Clay-P3235.aspx
Learn more in the Which Clay is Right for Your Skin post: https://soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/which-clay-is-right-for-your-skin/
This looks great, I love using milk in soap. Thanks for sharing how you cut up the imprint mat, I would not have thought to do that!
You’re welcome Liz, glad you enjoyed the tutorial.
I am uncertain of what is meant by milk (10% discount). Could you kindly explain?
Thank you
Yes, when you plug your recipe into our Lye Calculator it suggests a liquid amount: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Lye-Calculator.aspx
You can add less liquid to help speed up the unmolding and curing process. This is called “water discounting.” In this case, we added 10% less water so the soap hardened more quickly and came out of the mold cleanly.
Learn more about water discounting here: https://soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/water-discounting-cold-process-soap-how-why/
Can goats milk be substituted for the cows milk? Any adjustments needed if so?
Yes, you can swap goat milk for the cow milk at the same amount. Just make sure to keep it cool using the method shown above.
This post has more on working with milk as well: https://soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/how-to-add-lye-to-milk-for-cold-process-soap/
I am wondering if this method using the impression mat and mold would work for lotion bars?
We haven’t tried that so I’m not entirely sure. Depending on the recipe, the bars may be too soft to hold the shape of the flower. I would recommend making a small test bar to see how it works. If it’s too soft, you may try adding more beeswax or a hard oil like coconut or cocoa butter.
Yellow beeswax: https://www.brambleberry.com/Yellow-Beeswax-P4206.aspx
Coconut oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Coconut-Oil-P3196.aspx
Cocoa butter: https://www.brambleberry.com/Cocoa-Butter-Pastilles–P3218.aspx
Can this Mat and mold be used with melt and pour soap?
Yes, it works with melt and pour soap too.
Flowers and Spirals Impression Mat: https://www.brambleberry.com/Impression-Mat-Flowers-and-Spirals-P6482.aspx
I’ve made milk soap and used frozen milk, just as described on soapqueen and the lye/milk solution was cool and creamy and the soap turned out just fine. The last batch I made was not my favorite in the shower (still good, but not my favorite). I wonder if the extra fat was the problem. I superfatted at 5% like I almost always do and used buttermilk with 4% fat. Thanks, everybody!
You can definitely use a lower superfat with milk soap. A 2-3% superfat will work, as the buttermilk is adding extra milk fat so the recipe will stay nice and moisturizing.
Cows’ milk soap 😀
I haven’t experienced a problem to date. I always have frozen milk on hand, and weigh it prior to adding the lye. It turns out fine for me.
I’m curious if anyone has had a problem doing the method I use, or if there is a reason to weigh prior to freezing. I usually am not able to prepare in advance of soap making. It was either freeze or dump, since it was something that wouldn’t be used for consumption purposes (animal or human). Nothing wrong with it otherwise, it was simply extra milk that couldn’t be used. I would have made soap with milk anyway, and this gives me a supply that’s always handy.
You can freeze extra milk and just weigh out what you need for your recipe. That works just fine, especially if you’re making multiple batches.
What would be a good substitute for the borage oil?
I would use any or a combo of Apricot Kernel Oil, Avocado Oil, Hazelnut Oil, and Sunflower Seed oil, plus 4-5% cocoa butter & Shea butter – just make sure it comes to 25%. And run it all through the lye calculator, of course.
Yes, all those work. Thanks Sly.
Lye Calculator: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Lye-Calculator.aspx
Apricot kernel oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Apricot-Kernel-Oil-P3206.aspx
Avocado oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Avocado-Oil-P3198.aspx
Hazelnut oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Hazelnut-Fixed-Oil-P3197.aspx
Sunflower oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Sunflower-Oil-P3208.aspx
Would it be okay to substitue plant-based milk in recipes calling for animal-based milk?
Yes, you can use any milk you like in this recipe. Just make sure to freeze it first to prevent scorching.