Homemade Goat Milk Lotion Recipe | The Rustic Elk (2024)

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Simple, easy, and luxurious this homemade goat milk lotion recipe will hydrate and nourish your skin. Made with rich goat milk, shea butter, coconut oil, and sweet almond oil it’s a perfect homemade moisturizer.

We brought home our first goats to our little homestead a few years ago. We absolutely love their antics and their delicious raw milk.

But, we have so much milk and it’s so nourishing to the skin that we decided to make plenty of homemade goat milk soap and goat milk lotion, too.

Of course, even if you don’t have your own goats, you can often find goat milk at your local grocery or health food store. In fact, you can even use canned goat milk that is readily available online!

Benefits of Goat Milk Lotion

Goat milk is incredibly nourishing to your skin. It has a pH similar to that of your skin, is full of Vitamin A through Vitamin E as well as contains Alpha-Hydroxy Acids (AHA) derived from the milk’s lactic acid and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).

Vitamin A– evens skin tone, reduces inflammation, improves skin elasticity, and reduces the appearance of fine lines.

B Vitamins– Vitamin B1 helps red, irritated skin, B2 helps balance your skin’s natural oils, B3 reduces inflammation and acts as a barrier, B5 hydrates and nourishes, and B12 increases cell regeneration.

Vitamin C– has antioxidant effects, boosts collagen, and can reduce hyperpigmentation and the signs of aging.

Vitamin D– provides a protective barrier against the sun, boosts collagen, and has antioxidant effects.

Vitamin E– moisturizes, improves firmness of the skin, and reduces fine line and wrinkles.

AHA– provides a more even and smooth skin tone by removing dead skin cells, and lightening dark spots.

CLA– promotes cell regeneration and has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Easy Goat Milk Lotion Recipe Ingredients

Disclaimer: This lotion recipe issolely intended for personal use and may not, under any circ*mstances, be used for commercial purposes.

All ingredients are measured by weight using a kitchen scale and the weights can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

You may use different oils than the oils listed below and in the recipe at a total volume of 3.5 ounces.

Distilled Water– yes, you must use distilled water which will not have the metals, microorganisms, and salts contained in tap water.

Goat Milk – use pasteurized goat milk, if you have raw goat milk, pasteurize it first as this helps with shelf life. Canned goat milk or frozen goat milk (thawed) will work as well. You can also use goat milk powder properly mixed with distilled water according to package instructions.

Emulsifying wax – emulsifying wax helps bind the oils with the water to create a smooth lotion.

Fractionated Coconut oil – liquid, or fractionated coconut oil is a natural emollient that will moisturize the skin without clogging the pores.

Sweet almond oil – almond oil is full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fatty acids that can help hydrate and nourish the skin.

Shea butter – I use shea butter in this recipe, but cocoa butter is a great alternative. While they can be used interchangeably, you may have to play around with it a bit for the right consistency.

Optiphen – I use Optiphen because it is a great broad-spectrum preservative making it great for preserving milk-based lotions. If you choose a different preservative, make sure you put it into a calculator. You can read through the comments for how much germall plus to use.

Essential oils or fragrance oils – using essential oils are optional, but I like to blend Lavender, Clary Sage, Ylang Ylang, and Bergamot for a calming fragrance or Sweet Orange, Lemon, Lime, and Grapefruit for a pleasant citrus scent.

You could also use fragrance oils like this lovely warm vanilla sugar, another of your choosing, or use no fragrance at all.

You will also need some equipment to make your lotion.

• Immersion Blender
• Stainless Spoons
• Digital Scale
• Measuring Cup
• A Large Pot
• Jars, Tins, or Bottles (to store your lotion)

How to Make Your Own Goat Milk Lotion

1. Begin with sterilized equipment, making sure you wash and sterilize your immersion blender as well.

2. Place the goat milk and water in a glass measuring cup or glass jar and heat it slightly (no more than room temp) in a pan of warm water. Set to the side. Note: if using raw goat’s milk pasteurize it first to help reduce bacterial growth.

3. Measure out the weight of the coconut oil, almond oil, and shea butter using a kitchen scale and place them in a large pot. Heat over low heat until the fats are just melted.

4. Add the emulsifying wax to the melted oil mixture and heat until the wax melts and remove the pot from the heat.

5. Combine the oil mixture with the liquid and using a stick blender blend for 4-5 minutes or until the mixture is slightly thickened.

6. Check the temperature of the ingredients with a digital thermometer to be sure the mixture is below 140°F before adding in the Optiphen and any fragrance or essential oils. Blend for an additional minute. The mixture will thin back out at this point, that’s okay.

7. Pour the lotion into containers and allow it to cool completely before putting the lid on. This mixture thickens into a nice thick lotion as it cools.

Note for a thicker lotion, you can try using more emulsifying wax as this will thicken the lotion.

How long does goat milk lotion last?

Many people have asked me about the shelf life of milk lotions over the years and I’ve always said no more than 6 months.

I do store this at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, but we’ve never had it around more than 6 months. With the proper preservative (I highly recommend using Optiphen) and pasteurized milk, it should be shelf-stable for 6-8 months.

If you want to store it in the refrigerator, it will extend the shelf life, more around 10 months.

If you find the lotion is growing mold, smells off, or is separating it likely was not blended properly, was too hot when you added the preservative, or maybe it is being subjected to fluctuating temperatures. Throw it out and try again.

If you choose to omit the chemical preservatives completely and make a homemade lotion with natural ingredients and preservatives, the lotion will require refrigeration and needs to be used up within 2 weeks.

How Much Lotion Does this Recipe Make?

This recipe will make approximately 3 8-ounce bottles or twenty-four ounces.

More DIY Natural Skincare Recipes to Try:

• How to Make Cold Process Soap
• Homemade Tallow Balm for Natural Skincare
• Homemade Comfrey Ointment

If you try this simple recipe for goat milk lotion, I’d love to hear about it in the comment section below! Be sure to follow me on Pinterest and Facebook for more homemade skincare and natural living inspiration!

Yield: Makes 24 Ounces

Active Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Thick, luxurious, and nourishing this simple recipe for homemade goat milk lotion is easy to make and perfect for your DIY skincare routine.

Materials

• 10.2 Oz Distilled Water
• 10.2 Oz Goat Milk
• 1.2 Oz Emulsifying Wax
• 3.5 Oz Liquid Oils of Choice (below is what I use):
• 2,7 Oz Fractionated Coconut Oil
• .8 Oz Sweet Almond Oil
• 1.2 Oz Shea Butter
• .3 Oz Optiphen
• .2 Oz Essential Oils or Fragrance OIls (optional)

Tools

• Immersion Blender
• Stainless Steel Spoons
• Digital Scale
• Measuring Cup
• Large Pot
• Jars, Tins, or Bottles to Store the Lotion

Instructions

1. Wash everything in hot, soapy water, including your stick blender.
2. Measure all ingredients out using a digital scale.
3. Place the milk and water in a large measuring cup and heat slightly. For best results, pasteurize the milk and allow it to cool if it isn't pasteurized.
4. Combine fractionated coconut oil, shea butter, and almond oil in a large pot. Heat slow until shea butter is melted.
5. Add the emulsifying wax to the pot of oil and continue heating until the emulsifying wax is melted. Remove from heat.
6. Combine liquid with oil and wax and blend with a stick blender for 4-5 minutes or until slightly thickened.
7. Use a digital thermometer to ensure the mixture is below 140°F before adding in the preservative and essential oils (if using) and blend for 1 additional minute.
8. Pour lotion into containers of your choice and allow to cool completely before lidding.