A Gift Of Love – Breastmilk Soap

My son is 7 years old. I stopped pumping when he was 15 months old, and yet, I still have a freezer full of breastmilk. When he was one, I tried donating it to a milk bank. The first milk bank that I called wouldn’t take it because I pumped it when he was over a year old and they wanted milk pumped when the baby was an infant. The 2nd milk bank that I called wouldn’t take it because I took an acid-reflux medication when I was pregnant. They could take it if I had only taken my medication every other day, but since it was something that I took daily, they weren’t allowed to take my milk. Boy do I wish I had known about mom-to-mom donations back then!

So there my milk sat…in my freezer….year after year.

I didn’t have the heart to throw it away but it was too old to do anything else with. Finally, a friend showed me a recipe to make soap from my breastmilk. I was so excited! This would be a perfect thing to do with all of the left over breastmilk that I have (there must be 50-100 ounces sitting in my freezer). But as I read and re-read the recipe, I knew that this wasn’t something that I was comfortable doing myself.

Finally, I asked around and got a referral to a wonderful woman who was willing to make the soap for me. Cathy is a former LLL leader, has 5 children of her own and has been breastfeeding herself for the better part of two decades. And – she makes soap from goats milk all the time – so she’s an expert soap maker! I contacted her, we settled on an a scent and price for my soap and then I shipped out some of breastmilk to her. About 6-8 weeks later, she delivered the most beautiful box of 32 bars of soap that I have ever seen. With a note that said

“May your breastmilk nourish your skin in the same way that it nourished your baby”

It took my breath away! It was beautiful and it was something that I could do to make use of my freezer full of breastmilk. I have been using it for a few weeks now – and the texture is very different than traditional soap – it is much creamier. I love it so much that I am ready to have her turn more of my liquid gold into solid gold!

Have you ever made soap from your breastmilk? Would you like to? Just leave a comment on this post and I’d be happy to pass along Cathy’s contact info.

3 comments to A Gift Of Love – Breastmilk Soap

  • Jacqueline

    I wish I knew about this before when my freezer door was accidentally left open overnight and my milk either thawed or tasted funny :( I have seen breastmilk soap recipes but wasn’t comfortable with trying it at home either.

  • Elizabeth

    I am interested in learning more. Could you please send me her contact info? Thanks!

  • Oh wow, this is really cool! I’ve never heard of breastmilk before. I donated milk to my local milk bank but I kept a stash in my freezer for emergencies. It’s too old to donate now (and my son has no need for it.) I’m going to ask my soap-maker mom if she’ll make it into soap for me. Thanks so much!

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