Blind Milk Soap Test Results

About 3 weeks ago I called for 8 milk soap blind testers and I sent them each a package containing 4 individually numbered and wrapped soap samples like the set in the photo above.  If you have not read the post yet, you might want to read it first: Calling for Milk Soap Blind Testers
3 out of 4 samples are very similar in color, only #2 is much lighter.  All testers had been given simple instructions to clean their hands with soap or detergent first before testing my soap just to be more accurate.  Then they were asked to answer a few questions from me:
1). Which on lathers the most?
2). Which one produces the creamiest lather?
3). Which one is the most moisturizing 5 minutes after wash?
4). Please take your guess on which soap is made with what milk.
Some testers just answer my exact questions.  Some actually took time and gave me comparison informations far beyond what I asked for!  Thanks a whole bunch!
Now a lot of information I received are disagreeing with each other, but I can clearly draw 2 conclusions:
1). Most of testers prefer coconut milk soap, it wins the overall performance category, yay!
2). Fresh goat milk soap is not more superior, it's a myth, just a label appeal because of the price and perception.  BUT, it does produce more big bubbles and suds more than other milk soap.
Ok, let's talk about breast milk.  In my opinion breast milk quality is hard to control, it really depends on the person's diet.  Apparently my donor is too skinny, her milk contains very little fat!  Haha.

Anyway, here are the correct answers!  Did you guess them right?!
#1 Goat milk (full fat)

#2 Coconut milk (70% concentration milk)

#3 Cow milk (full fat)

#4 Breast milk

Calling for Milk Soap Blind Testers!

IT IS THE TIME!

READ ONLY IF YOU ARE OKAY WITH BREAST MILK SOAP

Awhile back I wrote a post about making breast milk soap, read here if you have not yet: Controversial Milk Soap

I have always wondered the actual difference between all milk soap, ok, not all, but I'm talking about "fat" milks like cow and goat milks.  Amount all the plant "milks" only coconut milk has enough fat to compare to animal milks.  I used same recipe, same lye discount, same lye concentration... etc., to make 4 batches of milk soap: goat milk, cow milk, breast milk, and coconut milk.  Now they are ready to put to blind test!

I'm looking for 8 US testers.  I will mail all 4 samples with numbers on them to selected testers.  Since this is a blind test, I won't reveal the answers until I get everyone's report back.  I will include a simple steps of how I want them tested and a couple questions for testers to answer back to me.

PLEASE, only if you are willing to test breast milk soap, if not, do no apply.  If you wish to test, please leave a comment and email me at: shiehdesignstudio@gmail.com 

Controversial Milk Soap - Part 1 of 2

WARNING!!!

If you are not comfortable with human breast milk please accept my apology and skip this post entirely.

Ok, if you decide to read on, this is obviously talking about my experiment of human breast milk soap.  People either love it or hate it when talking about using "human fluid" to make soap!  I get extreme reactions from both sides of the fence.  To me there's no difference between all mammal milk.  I do see why people worry, they are afraid of the possible contamination in milk.

Breast milk is hard to come by anyway, especially from a source I know and trust.  So when one of my good friends offered me her extra milk in the freezer I gladly took a small box!  Her baby is just not consuming all the milk she can pump, rather than throwing it away, she gave it to me knowing that I'm always curious about making soap with all kinds of ingredients.  I have used a bar of breast milk before from a soaper in Taiwan.  To be honest I was not impressed at all.  But I can't say it's because of the breast milk.  For one reason, I do not know the method she used nor do I know exactly what % of oil/butter or superfat she used.  For awhile there's no way for me to draw a conclusion on breast milk soap, well, until now!
I made 3 small batches of breast milk soap for this experiment.  I did one totally naked, no scent or colorant added; one with some FO and half colored with a little yellow mica; then last one fully scented with FO and colored just like what I would do with all my other soap.  Also, I used the same recipe as I make my other naked milk soap (coconut milk, cow milk, soy milk... etc.) and same superfat %.

   Photo is very self-explanatory, you can see how the milk affect the coloration.  Now I have to let them cure and start my sink testing with water.

See you all in Part 2!