Goat Milk Soap

 Goat's Milk Soap (All-natural Unscented) Fragrance Free - Legend's Creek FarmCheck Price

A while back I wrote a series called Natural Skin Care For Meat Eaters. Basically, it was about animal fat in natural skin care products. Through trial and error I've found that -- for me -- animal fat is the one thing that keeps dry skin at bay. It may not be for everyone, but I'm just trying to keep my skin from crawling away.

I've opted out of buying commercial soaps and now go with goat's milk soap and lotion. Handcrafted soaps are easy enough to find at local farmers' markets, health food stores, and nowadays online, but before you go forking over your cash let's look at the best choices for dry skin.

Goat's milk by no means has the highest fat content, but who's going to milk a seal? Besides, goat's milk has some other things going for it that make it ideal for those of us with dry skin.

• Goat's milk contains caprylic acid - a substance that makes it close to the pH of human skin.
• Goat's milk contains lactic acid - a natural exfoliant which helps smooth skin.
• Goat milk's high fat content and creaminess gives soap these same qualities.
• Comercial soaps generally remove glycerine which is a natural humectant. A handcrafted bar of natural goat's milk soap contains all of its natural glycerin.

Goat's milk products are being rediscovered by the beauty industry so you may find a wide variety in pricing. If you're concerned about price, an inexpensive way for your skin to benefit is to add powdered goat's milk to your bath water.

There are many causes of dry skin, but dry air and harsh weather are the most common causes. As humidity levels falls, the skin's layer's are not able to hold on to moisture. The result is dry flaky skin. Also, if the air inside your home is dry, this has an effect on your skin as well. Adding a humidifier to your home may help out some.

After air and weather, the most popular causes of dry skin are long hot showers and the chemicals in soap. Although your muscles may appreciate long hot showers, hot water strips essential lipids from your skin. Try cooler water and shorter shower duration to preserve some of your skin's moisture. Also, commercial soaps are known to dry out skin. They are often detergent based and have have no humectants in them.