\”Donkey Milk Soap?? Why would you make soap from \’Ass Milk\’?!\” This is a common question posed to us. But there is method to our apparent madness! Donkey Milk has long been famed for its benefits to both skin and health in general. The Egyptian Queen, Cleopatra, was known to keep 700 donkeys which were milked so she could take baths in Donkey Milk each day. The milk itself is very gentle and moisturising on the skin and also a natural exfoliant.
We combine donkey milk in a soap with other ingredients. Activated Charcoal is a great exfoliant and also soaks up toxins from the skin to cleanse and rejuvenate. Natural cosmetic clays are added to our soaps to give colour and also fragrances and essential oils for scent. We then take this donkey milk soap mixture and hand-pour into molds to create artistic works that are completely different to the normal handmade soaps you will find on the market. People often tell us our soaps are maybe too beautiful to be used as soap! Our answer to this dilemma is to buy two of each soap, one to wash with and one to keep on the shelf as a beautifully scented sculpture
How can you milk a donkey?
Another question we are always asked! Donkeys have foals and produce milk to feed them. When a donkey has a foal, it provides up to a litre of milk a day for 6 months or so (a cow produces 10-20 litres a day). The donkey has two teats, whereas a cow has 4. You can see a donkey being milked in this video clip.
Although donkeys have a reputation for being stubborn and likely to bite/kick if they don\’t get their way, they are happy to stand and be milked if their udders are full, it gives them some relief. Donkey Milk is known in many countries for being a very health drink. In fact it is closer in constituency to human breast milk than cow\’s milk is and hence is more easily digested by humans. Cow\’s milk is more common because it is easier to commercially produce (10-20 litres a day versus 1 litre from a donkey).