Jill Neely-Smith helps extract milk from a goat’s udder, but that milk does not go toward eventual consumption. Rather, it is used to improve one’s skin.

The co-owner of Udder Indulgence, based in Ignacio, found good reason to put goat milk to such use, transforming it into an unorthodox ingredient in body soaps and lotions.

“Goat milk is known to be very moisturizing. Goat milk itself, it contains fatty acids and vitamins and minerals and proteins,” Neely-Smith said.

She said those nutrients help nourish, soften and exfoliate skin.

“It’s been known to help with acne. It’s been known to help people who have eczema, skin irritation, people who have really sensitive skin,” Neely-Smith said.

The goat milk soaps include lye, which helps convert oils to create handcrafted products like physical soap bars, but do not contain harsher chemicals commonly found in other over-the-counter soaps, Neely-Smith said.

“You have to use lye, which is sodium (hydroxide). All true soaps will contain lye in its ingredients. ... You need it to make the soap,” she said.

Combining goat milk oils and lye with things like fragrances, which gave soaps their unique scene, those properties are boiled at between 130 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit, which help complete the final product without draining the natural minerals, Neely-Smith said.

Neely-Smith and her business partner Vickie Robinson oversee the product line, which launched about 10 years ago, but in January merged Udder Indulgence and Goken Ranch together.

Udder Indulgence sells its soap and lotion products at the Durango Farmers Market.

mhollinshead@durangoherald.com