Using Powdered Goat Milk for Beauty Is… Different

 As always, I have been trying something new with my hair. I've been keeping it cut short because it's so much easier to take care of but there's a problem.  It seems so much drier than when it was longer.

After using all my old standby products that used to work for keeping my hair soft and moisturized, I had to get a little radical. I am now adding powdered goat milk to some rinse-out conditioners. 

I got the idea after seeing that so many hair and skin products include goat milk in the ingredients. The thing is, most of those products tend to be pricier than similar products (face creams, curl creams, body lotions, etc.) so... what's up with that? I searched around to see why goat milk is supposed to be so awesome when used topically.

• This page talks about goat milk benefits for skin.
• Beekman 1802 has a Goat Milk Hair Conditioner - uh, for $1.35/oz. - per OUNCE... What?!?!?!?
• The Ziaja storefront has a Goat's Milk Milky Face Wash, and...
• ... A whole line of goat milk products.
• I saw that Curly Nikki makes her own hair mask

Goat milk? Really?

Hmmm...

I was really intrigued so looked at several more goat milk hair products and skin products. I was really interested in the hair products but the prices got higher and higher so I decided to copy Curly Nikki. Kind of.

Curly Nikki is a genius and you can see how she did a whole from-scratch thing with her conditioner. She also had access to fresh goat milk. Me? I had to go off in a little bit of a different direction.

I don't have access to fresh goat milk. I mean, I might could get some (because I do live in Iowa) but it's much easier to get the powdered product from a reliable source. I also don't have the patience or brain energy to put together a bunch of the ingredients Curly Nikki used.

What I did was use some powdered (but 100% and whole-fat) goat milk from Hoosier Hill Farm. I already use and trust that brand for other dairy products to save money and cut back on waste. 

Separated into 1 & 2 oz bags and vac-sealed 
before storing in the freezer

To make a rinse-out conditioner, I put together some of the 3 store-bought conditioners that I already have on hand. I didn't really do a lot of measuring. I just put equal parts of the conditioners into a glass pump bottle and mixed up about 2 tablespoons of goat milk made with filtered water to add to that. I mixed the goat milk and water in my milk frother before adding it to the conditioner then I did the shake, shake, shake dance and called it good. There was enough of that first mix for 2 conditioning masks.

I got in the shower, washed my hair with my usual shampoo, then applied my goat milk conditioner and let it stay on for about 3 or 4 minutes. I noticed immediate softening as I was massaging it into my hair. It made my hair feel really soft and easy to detangle - so much more so than when using just regular conditioner. Looking into the shower mirror, I could see that my curls were popping! Normally, my wet hair is very blah, flattened, and kind of scraggly looking. It's not until after I towel-dry and start adding my products that my curls perk up. And my hair was just so freaking SOFT!

As I rinsed, I was just amazed at how nice my hair felt. As I said, it was also much easier to detangle it with my fingers. It was after I applied a little bit of oil and some curl cream and let my hair completely dry that I was convinced that the goat milk had done something. I went very light on the oil and cream because I wanted to check the lasting effects of the goat milk.

For TWO hours or so after my hair was dry, I kept waiting for it to start feeling the way it does if I don't soak it with creams and moisturizers. Still good. Three hours, and it was still good. By the time I went to bed, I was totally convinced that I'd been missing out.

Now, come the morning, my hair had lost a lot of the initial softness but it was not nearly as dry as usual. I used some more of my regular curl creams and moisturizers but really wanted to get back to the initial softening from the goat milk. (As the day wore on, my hair got drier and drier. I realized that I should have done the usual sealing and heavy moisturizing after using the goat milk. I know for next time!)

I went online and checked up on how long goat milk stays "good". The powder (which I vac-seal and freeze in small quantities) keeps for longer than I will ever need it to. Once it's made into a liquid, it's to be refrigerated - just like any kind of dairy.

Hmmm...

My plan is to experiment with adding goat milk to some of my curl creams. My hair did retain a lot of the curl definition from when I used the conditioner. I'm just concerned with contamination. I suppose I can try the goat milk in a small amount of one of my cheaper leave-ins and keep the concoction in the fridge. I will have to think about it for a while. In the meantime, I did play around with some tiny amounts of the milk to see how it works as a face cleanser and lip scrub. (I'm too cheap to go wild using up the milk powder!)

For a lip scrub, I added a tiny bit of the powder (sans water) into some apricot oil. The powder is slightly gritty (but a lot more gentle-feeling than salt or sugar) so it did exfoliate my lips. The oil worked well with the powder. I didn't even have to rinse the scrub away because it came 

 off with a baby wipe.

 

I also made a highly diluted face wash using filtered water, a teeny-tiny bit of goat milk, a gentle soap, and some oil. I'm not one to use soap on my face because I find it very drying. After using this DIY face wash I have to say that it was a nice change from just using oil and baby wipes. I won't need to use the face wash often - maybe after wearing makeup? - but it was refreshing for a really deep clean.

You can see the texture of the lip scrub on my finger and spread onto the back of my hand - slightly gritty but so mild.

By the way, I wish I could find some of those tiny empty round containers in glass. These plastic ones came in a pack of (I think) 20 and have lasted me for about 2 years. I fill them with petroleum jelly, colored cosmetic powders, and pigments that I get from Making Cosmetics (to customize my makeup). I got the jars from Amazon but see that these particular ones are no longer available. There are several similar ones though. I want glass ones for the goat milk scrub but... glass ones are much more expensive than the 6 bucks I paid for 20 or 25 of the plastic version! LOL

Anyway. I don't mind having the tiny amounts of lip scrub (in plastic) even though I can use up a jar in a week. 

Of course, after success with the conditioner and the lip scrub, my crazy brain was buzzing with ideas for how else to use the powder. For body scrubs, foot soaks, scalp exfoliations, oh my! However, I am restraining from all that. Right now, I am happy enough to have a good conditioner. Maybe one day I will figure out a way to incorporate the powder with some leave-in hair products - but all that will require some research and possibly getting some preservatives over at Making Cosmetics. and...

...Yeah, Nah. I'm trying to save money, not find new ways to spend it! For now, the conditioner is good. At the most, I will see about doing a light leave-in rinse of conditioner/goat milk. The one good thing about this particular goat milk powder is that it does not stink. I've heard horror stories of goat milk funk and I'm not trying to get into that. As for this, dry or watered, it has a very mild, fresh, and oddly sweet scent. I like the smell.

As a beverage, I didn't think I'd like it but I did try a bit by itself as milk and added (just the powder) to my hot tea. I haven't had cow milk in so long that I can't really compare this. I can say that this is pleasant to drink (if you are into dairy) but it is different from cow milk. I'll say that is closer to slightly sweet soy milk. It's touted as being more nutritious (and easier for some people to digest) but it also has more fat and calories than cow milk. It's certainly more expensive in the grocery store. Pros and cons, people, pros and cons. 

Speaking of the pros and cons, there is a ton of debate about whether cow or goat milk is better. This is just one page I picked of the many thousands that came up in search results. (As a CKD patient, I notice that goat milk has a lot more of the stuff I need to monitor - phosphorus and potassium - so there's that.)

But back to the topical uses. If I do get around to trying this in some other way - for my hair or body or feet - I will surely do an update. In the meantime, I've got to think of a way to do a leave-in rinse!

Peace

--Free

P.S.: The price of the goat milk powder I get from Amazon varies wildly. It has gone up by at least $1.50 since I got it. I don't know why but you should shop around for goat milk. Prices vary for powder, liquid, canned, etc. Check the big box stores but don't forget to look for sales at local grocery stores.