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This blog post was written by Bend Soap Company co-founder, Marilee Johnson.
So now that you've switched over to using healthy, all-natural skincare products (like our goat milk soap, goat milk lotion, or even our 100% natural deodorant!) you may be wondering what other measures you can take to help keep your skin and body healthy. Well, let’s start with what we wash our clothes with.
Is Your Laundry Detergent the Reason for Your Dry Skin?
Many people have complaints of itchy skin and their first thought is that their skin is dry and that they just need to apply some lotion. Or, they assume they're allergic to that new soap or body wash they've got in the shower. But consider this: if you're experiencing an itching sensation all over your body, not just on your hands, then the problem may just be with your laundry detergent!
The detergent you used to wash your clothes gets in the fabric and can rub off the clothing onto your skin. You would think this wouldn’t really affect your skin, but it could be the cause of your skin irritations. If your skin is extra sensitive to certain ingredients, it doesn't take much to irritate it.
"...If you're experiencing an itching sensation all over your body, not just on your hands, then the problem may just be with your laundry detergent!"
Don't worry... We've got a solution for you! I've made my own homemade concoction of laundry soap that is natural, sensitive, and kind to your skin. On top of it all, it'll leave your clothes feeling and smelling fresh! Sound like a win-win? Read on for my full recipe.
Mama Marilee's Goat Milk Laundry Detergent Recipe
What You'll Need:
- 6 cups shredded goat milk soap (you can buy our pre-shredded goat milk soap here)
- 6 cups Borax (a mineral)
- 6 cups washing soda (1 box)
- 2 cups baking soda
Directions:
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Add all of the ingredients together in a large container.
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Mix thoroughly.
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Pre-spot any hard stains on your laundry as usual.
- Then, add the goat milk soap detergent to your load. Use between 1-3 (heaping) tablespoons per load, depending on the size and dirtiness.
Tips & Tricks
Dealing with hard water? If you have hard water, add extra Borax or shredded goat milk soap.
Have extra smelly clothes? Add a tad (1 tablespoon) of white vinegar to your load if your clothes are extra smelly. I find that I have to add the white vinegar with microfiber/fleece rags or blankets as they seem to hold odors for some reason.
Want your laundry to smell amazing? Add extra essential oils for a stronger scent to your laundry. Lavender, Peppermint, Lemongrass, and Tea Tree are some of my favorites. Tea Tree and Lemongrass actually have cleaning and anti-bacterial properties!
Don't have time to shred your own goat milk soap? We don't blame you! Grating goat milk soap can be time-consuming work. Check out our pre-shredded goat milk soap aka Milk Bath instead! You can even buy the Milk Bath in bulk 1lb bags - perfect for this recipe. Each bag contains approximately 3 to 4 cups of shredded soap. To make a full batch of goat milk laundry detergent, make sure to buy two pounds.
A Word of Advice
Be careful not to use too much soap, especially with front-loaders, since they use less water. You want to make sure you don't add too much detergent as it will not be able to dissolve completely. This will make your clothes look dingy (from still having soap on them!)
If you end up making Mama Marilee's Laundry Detergent, let us know what you think by leaving a comment below! We would love to hear about your experience. And don't forget to sign up to receive our Monthly Newsletter to get notified about more DIY projects we come out with.
Other Posts You Might Enjoy
- Blog Post: How to Use Goat Milk Soap as Shampoo
- Blog Post: DIY Natural Dish Soap
- Blog Post: What We Did to Help Our Son’s Eczema
- Blog Post: The Dangers of Aluminum in Your Deodorant
- Blog Post: How to Live a Healthy, Toxin-Free Life
243 comments
Beverly — We can’t wait for you to give this DIY recipe a try! 7 oz. won’t level out to a full cup which is why we recommend buying our milk bath in bulk (it’s available in 1 pound bags). Just find a scent of milk bath you want to use here and then change the size to "Bulk Shredded (1 pound) and you’ll be good to go! Here’s a link to check out all of our available milk bath scents: https://www.bendsoap.com/collections/goat-milk-bath-soap
How many cups of shredded soap are in 7oz of milk bath? I’m trying to figure out how much to order to make your laundry detergent recipe?
Connie — you could definitely our soap shreds (also known as our milk bath product) to soak your dishes! That would be an effective alternative to using a sponge but still being able to adopt our goat milk soap as an all-natural dish washing detergent.
In terms of how much milk bath to use, try using half of a handful of milk bath shreds first and see if that helps you clean the dishes effectively. If not, add another half handful and that should do the trick!
In case you’re interested, we wrote a full blog post about using goat milk soap as an all-natural dish soap replacement here on our blog: https://www.bendsoap.com/blogs/sudsy-scoop/natural-dish-soap
I do not use sponges, so I was wondering if the soap shreds for dish washing. My thought is that I would run a sink of water and add the shreds while the water is running. Then another question would be, How much would I use ? Thanks so much for answering my questions. I got more lotion today so now I can have a container at each sink in my house! Love the Island Coconut!
Ann — Great question, Ann! Yes, this laundry soap can be used in high-efficiency washing machines. Add this laundry soap as you would any other detergent. Once the water is added to the machine during the regular washing cycle, the soap will dissolve and get to work washing the load of laundry as usual. :)