What Is an Oil-to-Milk Body Wash?

A body wash that begins as an oil can sound a little contradictory.

Oil is something we usually associate with the end of a shower — something smoothed over clean skin to seal in moisture. Cleansers, on the other hand, tend to begin with water and lather.

An oil-to-milk body wash lives somewhere between the two.

It begins with the silky glide of a cleansing oil, transforms when it meets water and rinses away like a cleanser. The result is a completely different kind of shower experience — one built around oil, skin and, yes, plenty of lather.

WHAT IS AN OIL-TO-MILK BODY WASH?

An oil-to-milk body wash is a concentrated, oil-based cleanser designed to transform when water is introduced.

Unlike a traditional body wash, which typically begins with a water-based formula, an oil-to-milk cleanser starts with oils and cleansing ingredients that allow those oils to disperse when they meet water.

Massage it over damp skin and the transformation begins.

Oil becomes milk. Milk becomes lather.

The oil gives the formula its silky glide. Water triggers the milky transformation. Continued massage — particularly with a shower pouf — builds lather before everything rinses cleanly away.

It’s one product moving through several textures in the course of a shower.

HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM A CLEANSING OIL?

This is where things get interesting.

A traditional cleansing oil is primarily designed to use oil to help dissolve and lift away oil-soluble debris before emulsifying with water and rinsing away.

Oil-to-milk body wash borrows that beautiful first step but takes the experience further.

You still get the glide and richness of an oil cleanser, but the formula continues into a creamy milk and, eventually, lather.

For someone who loves the feel of body oil but still wants the sensory satisfaction of actually washing, it sits in a rather lovely middle ground.

DOES AN OIL-TO-MILK BODY WASH LATHER?

Yes — although the amount of lather depends on how you use it.

Worked directly over wet skin with your hands, an oil-to-milk cleanser produces a softer, creamy, close-to-the-skin lather.

Add a shower pouf and a little more water and you can create considerably more bubbles.

That versatility was important to me when I was developing Naked Goat Oil to Milk. I love beautiful oils, but I also love a good lather. I didn’t particularly want to choose between the two.

Apparently my solution was to formulate a product that does both.

CAN YOU SHAVE WITH AN OIL-TO-MILK BODY WASH?

This may be one of my favorite ways to use it.

Because the formula begins with oil, it creates a silky cushion and slip over wet skin before it ever begins to lather. That makes it particularly lovely for shaving.

Instead of cleansing, rinsing and then reaching for another product, you can work the oil over damp skin, shave where you’d like, add more water to create milk and lather, then rinse.

Cleanse. Shave. Soften.

One product, fewer bottles hanging around the shower. I’m very much in favor of that.

WILL IT LEAVE MY SKIN OILY?

It shouldn’t.

The transformation is what separates an oil-to-milk cleanser from simply washing your body with oil.

When water is added, the cleansing system allows the oils to disperse into that characteristic milk and rinse from the skin rather than leaving behind a heavy, greasy coating.

The goal isn’t skin that feels coated.

It’s skin that feels clean, soft and conditioned.

HOW DO YOU USE AN OIL-TO-MILK BODY WASH?

Start with wet or damp skin and one or two pumps. Remember that this is a concentrated formula, so you don’t need the handful of product you might use with a traditional body wash.

Massage the oil directly over your skin.

Then add water.

You’ll see and feel the texture begin to change as the oil becomes creamy and milky. Continue working it over the skin with your hands for a softer lather, or use a shower pouf if you’re in the mood for more bubbles.

Then rinse.

And perhaps don’t rush quite so much.

WHY I WANTED TO MAKE ONE

For a long time, I knew I didn’t want to make another traditional body wash.

I wanted something for the days when a shower is less about getting in and getting out and more about taking a little time for yourself.

I wanted the silky glide of a body oil, the cushion I love for shaving and — because I will always love a good lather — plenty of bubbles. And I wanted all of it to rinse away cleanly.

So I started playing with the idea of bringing some of the beautiful oils I use in my body care into a cleanser.

After months of formulating, testing and tweaking, Oil to Milk was born.

Made with sunflower, meadowfoam, coconut and castor oils, it begins as a concentrated cleansing oil before water transforms it into milk and lather.

And because this is Naked Goat, the experience doesn’t stop with texture.

Lychee and bright citrus bloom in the warmth of the shower before melting into delicate florals and a soft, close-to-skin drydown designed to layer beautifully with whatever fragrance you reach for next.

MILK. SKIN. SCENT.

EXPLORE OIL TO MILK
Oil to Milk Body Wash