Something interesting is happening in the skincare world, and it's showing up in the data.
A 2025 study published in the Journal of Integrative Dermatology analyzed five years of Google Trends data and found that searches for "goat soap" now exceed searches for "eczema soap" in the United States. The trend isn't subtle—search volume for goat milk soap nearly doubled between 2018 and 2023, peaking around August-September 2022 and remaining consistently elevated ever since. When researchers calculated the trend trajectories, goat milk soap showed a positive growth rate of +0.61, compared to +0.16 for eczema soap.
The researchers concluded that this shift represents a "growing interest in alternative cleansers" among people managing conditions like atopic dermatitis. But what they didn't fully explore—because it wasn't their research question—is why this is happening. Why are people with the most demanding, sensitive, reactive skin gravitating toward goat milk when they've likely already tried dozens of products promising relief?
The answer lives at the intersection of biology, frustration, and finally finding something that makes sense.
The Eczema Paradox: When "Gentle" Products Burn
If you've dealt with eczema, you know the particular cruelty of the condition. Your skin barrier is compromised, which means it can't retain moisture properly. Transepidermal water loss creates chronic dryness. But here's the paradox: the very products designed to restore that moisture often make things worse.
"Picture eczema like an open wound," one skincare community member wrote on Reddit. "Now imagine pouring alcohol over it. This is exactly what you're doing when you apply creams with harmful ingredients."
The frustration is real and widespread. In analyzing thousands of customer complaints across major skincare platforms, one pattern emerges more than any other: products labeled "gentle," "dermatologist-recommended," and "for sensitive skin" frequently cause burning, stinging, and redness in people with eczema and related conditions. This isn't occasional—it appears in 35.7% of negative reviews for supposedly sensitive-skin products.
The culprits typically include niacinamide, cetearyl alcohol, synthetic fragrances, and products with pH levels that don't align with compromised skin. Water-based lotions cause burning in approximately 65% of cases involving broken skin. Even the most celebrated drugstore brands—the ones dermatologists routinely recommend—have left customers describing their faces "like they were on fire" and making emergency trips to urgent care clinics.
"CeraVe Moisturizing Cream is the holy grail for eczema lotion," one user wrote matter-of-factly. "It can sting when you put it on."
That sentence captures something profound about the current state of eczema skincare: people have accepted burning as normal. They've been conditioned to believe that relief requires enduring initial pain, that "working" means "stinging first."
It doesn't have to be this way.
What Goat Milk Offers That Conventional Products Miss
The shift toward goat milk skincare isn't happening because of marketing. It's happening because people are experiencing results after years of disappointment, and they're telling others. Consumer endorsements online consistently describe improvements in skin health, hydration, and appearance—claims the medical community is now investigating more seriously.
What researchers are finding supports what those consumers have experienced intuitively.
Goat milk addresses eczema through multiple biological mechanisms simultaneously, creating a kind of synergistic effect that single-ingredient solutions can't replicate. Understanding these mechanisms helps explain why so many people are making the switch—and why those Google search numbers keep climbing.
The Alpha-S1 Casein Difference
One of the most significant discoveries in dairy allergy research involves a protein called alpha-s1 casein, which is the primary cause of allergic reactions to cow's milk in humans. Here's the critical data point: goat milk contains just 5.6 grams of alpha-s1 casein per 100 grams of total casein, compared to approximately 38 grams in cow milk. That's an 89% reduction in the most allergenic protein fraction.
This matters enormously for topical applications. When skin is already inflamed and reactive—as it is with eczema—applying a product containing high levels of allergenic proteins is like inviting additional immune responses to an already overwhelmed system. Goat milk's naturally lower alpha-s1 casein content means it's far less likely to trigger these reactions.
French clinical studies spanning over 20 years tracked children with cow milk allergies who were treated with goat milk products. The results showed 93% positive outcomes. One study documented improvements in 49 out of 55 children treated with goat milk, leading researchers to recommend it as "a valuable aid in child nutrition because goat milk had less allergenicity and better digestibility compared to cow milk."
Research by Lara-Villoslada and colleagues took this further, comparing the allergenicity of goat milk and cow milk in controlled conditions. Their findings were striking: cow milk significantly increased markers of inflammation including cytokine interleukin-4 (IL-4) and antigen-specific immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1)—key markers in hypersensitivity reactions that promote histamine release and allergic symptoms. Goat milk did not induce this allergic response.
Fighting the Bacteria That Triggers Flares
Eczema isn't just an inflammation problem—it's also a bacterial problem. Staphylococcus aureus colonizes the skin of approximately 90% of people with atopic dermatitis, compared to less than 5% of healthy individuals. This bacterial overgrowth doesn't just coexist with eczema; it actively worsens it. S. aureus produces toxins that trigger immune responses, increase inflammation, and damage the skin barrier.
Effective eczema management, therefore, requires addressing this bacterial component. And this is where goat milk demonstrates remarkable properties.
Goat milk contains lactoferrin, an iron-binding protein with documented antimicrobial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. Lactoferrin has been specifically studied in psoriasis and acne treatment, where it reduces inflammation and alleviates clinical signs of skin lesions. But perhaps more importantly for eczema sufferers, lactoferrin has been shown to reduce Staphylococcus aureus colonization—directly targeting one of the primary triggers for eczema flare-ups.
Beyond lactoferrin, goat milk contains lysozyme, immunoglobulins, and lactoperoxidase, all of which demonstrate antimicrobial properties. Research has confirmed that goat milk lactoperoxidase is effective against a range of pathogenic bacteria, including those causing food poisoning (Staphylococcus aureus), cholera (Vibrio cholerae), and pneumonia (Klebsiella pneumoniae).
A study by Triprisila and colleagues specifically tested the antimicrobial activity of casein proteins from goat milk against common pathogens. Their results showed significant inhibitory effects against gram-positive bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Bacillus cereus—the exact organisms that tend to colonize and inflame eczema-prone skin.
When you apply our Face Cream to eczema-prone skin, you're not just moisturizing. You're delivering these antimicrobial compounds directly where they're needed, creating an environment less hospitable to the bacteria that trigger flares.
The Filaggrin Connection: Rebuilding From the Cellular Level
Perhaps the most compelling research on goat milk and eczema involves a protein called filaggrin. If that name sounds unfamiliar, it shouldn't be—filaggrin deficiency is the strongest known genetic risk factor for developing eczema.
Filaggrin is a structural protein in the outermost layer of skin. It performs several critical functions: aggregating keratin filaments, helping flatten cells in the stratum corneum, and breaking down into natural moisturizing factors that maintain skin hydration. Without adequate filaggrin, the skin barrier becomes permeable, loses water rapidly, and allows allergens and irritants to penetrate. This is essentially the definition of what goes wrong in eczema.
Genetic mutations in the filaggrin gene dramatically increase eczema risk. But filaggrin expression isn't purely genetic—it can be influenced by topical treatments. This is where conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, enters the picture.
Goat milk contains approximately 25 milligrams of CLA per 100 grams, and this fatty acid has been the subject of intensive dermatological research. A landmark 2021 study by Tang and colleagues investigated CLA's effects on atopic dermatitis using a model that reliably mimics human eczema symptoms.
Their findings were remarkable. CLA significantly alleviated dermatitis-like lesions. It significantly inhibited pro-inflammatory cytokines—the signaling molecules that drive the redness, itching, and barrier disruption of eczema. It improved skin hydration by addressing the transepidermal water loss that characterizes the condition.
But the most important finding was this: topical CLA application led to epidermal regeneration and increased the quantity of filaggrin in the skin. The researchers observed that CLA-treated skin wasn't just less inflamed—it was actively rebuilding itself. The protein essential for skin barrier function was being produced in greater quantities.
This isn't symptom masking. This is fundamental repair at the cellular level.
Why Fresh Milk Changes Everything
Here's something the skincare industry would prefer you didn't examine too closely: not all "goat milk" products contain the same thing.
Many brands—including some of the most heavily marketed ones—use reconstituted goat milk powder. This means the milk was dried, shipped, stored, and then rehydrated before being added to the formula. The process is cheaper and easier for manufacturing at scale. But it comes with a cost.
A 2021 comparative analysis published in Food Chemistry examined the differences between fresh and powdered goat milk. The drying and reconstitution process degrades bioactive compounds, denatures proteins, and reduces the concentration of the very components that make goat milk beneficial for skin. The natural lactic acid, the enzymes, the delicate proteins like lactoferrin—all are affected by the heat and mechanical processes involved in creating powder.
You can often tell the difference by reading ingredient lists carefully. If goat milk appears low on the list—especially after fragrance—you're likely looking at a product using minimal amounts of reconstituted powder for marketing purposes rather than genuine skin benefit. As one frustrated customer wrote about a popular brand: "With all the hype about the goat milk and how it matches the pH of human skin, I expected it to be high on the list of ingredients. Nope! It's listed after the perfume. It's just regular soap folks, with a lot of chemicals."
On our Washington State farm, we approach things differently. When Lisa formulates our Face Cream, she works with fresh, non-reconstituted goat milk from our own herd. The milk never becomes powder. It never sits in warehouse storage. It goes from our goats to your skin with its bioactive compounds intact—the lactic acid, the proteins, the enzymes, the fatty acids all preserved in their natural state.
This isn't a marketing distinction. It's a functional one. Research shows that fresh goat milk's lactic acid works synergistically with naturally present alpha hydroxy acids and vitamins to create what researchers have termed a "natural skin conditioning complex." When goat milk proteins break down, they release bioactive peptides with documented antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and moisture-binding properties. These benefits diminish significantly when the milk has been processed into powder and reconstituted.
pH Alignment: Working With Your Skin, Not Against It
One of the most underappreciated factors in eczema skincare is pH. Healthy skin maintains a slightly acidic "acid mantle" with a pH of approximately 4.5-5.5. This acidity serves multiple purposes: it inhibits pathogenic bacteria, supports beneficial skin microbiome, maintains barrier integrity, and optimizes enzyme function.
Eczema disrupts this acid mantle, often shifting skin pH toward neutral or alkaline. Many conventional skincare products compound this problem with formulas that don't respect skin's natural acidity. Soaps, in particular, tend to be alkaline, which is why dermatologists recommend soap-free cleansers for eczema management.
Fresh goat milk naturally has a pH of 6.5-6.7, slightly acidic due to its lactic acid content. This positions it closer to skin's natural pH than many conventional skincare ingredients. More importantly, the lactic acid in goat milk helps support the restoration of the skin's acid mantle rather than disrupting it further.
This pH alignment is one reason people with eczema report less burning and stinging with goat milk products. They're not fighting against their skin's chemistry—they're working with it.
The MSM Foundation
Every Artisan product, including our Face Cream, contains MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) as a foundational ingredient. This isn't arbitrary. MSM is a naturally occurring sulfur compound with well-documented anti-inflammatory properties that complement the benefits of fresh goat milk.
For eczema sufferers, inflammation is the constant enemy. It drives the itch-scratch cycle, damages the skin barrier, and creates the conditions for bacterial colonization. MSM provides an additional layer of anti-inflammatory support, working alongside goat milk's bioactive compounds to create an environment where inflamed skin can finally begin to heal rather than simply being managed.
The combination of fresh goat milk and MSM represents our philosophy at Artisan: ingredients that work together, each amplifying the other's benefits, creating results that exceed what any single ingredient could achieve alone.
From Skepticism to Search: Understanding the Shift
The Google Trends data tells a story of collective learning. People with eczema didn't wake up one day deciding to search for goat milk. They arrived there after trying everything else.
They tried the "dermatologist-recommended" products that burned. They tried the "gentle" formulas that caused breakouts. They tried the expensive prestige brands that promised transformation and delivered disappointment. They learned, often the hard way, that marketing claims and ingredient lists don't always align.
And then they started talking to each other. Online communities for eczema sufferers became laboratories of shared experience. Someone would mention that goat milk worked for them. Others would try it and report back. The positive experiences accumulated.
The medical community is catching up to what consumers have discovered. The Journal of Integrative Dermatology study explicitly called for "further research in this area so that providers within the dermatology community are able to offer well-informed recommendations to atopic dermatitis patients."
A 2025 genomic analysis published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences identified specific genes and proteins in goat milk—including LALBA, LTF, IL10, TGF-β1, and COL7A1—that are directly involved in immune regulation, skin barrier function, and wound healing. The researchers concluded that these genomic factors "highlight goat milk soap's potential for managing skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis."
The science is validating what experience has demonstrated: goat milk isn't a gimmick or a fad. It represents a genuinely different approach to skin health, one based on biological compatibility rather than chemical intervention.
What This Means for Your Skin
If you've been searching for solutions to eczema, rosacea, or persistent sensitivity—if you've felt your skin burn when applying products that promised to be gentle—you're not alone. The surge in goat milk searches represents millions of people who understand your frustration because they've lived it.
Our Face Cream was formulated with this population in mind. Fresh goat milk from our Washington State farm provides the bioactive foundation—the lactic acid for gentle exfoliation, the lactoferrin for antimicrobial protection, the CLA for barrier repair, the proteins that release beneficial peptides as they interact with your skin. Hyaluronic acid adds intensive hydration. Organic jojoba and argan oils deliver additional nourishment. Green tea extract provides antioxidant support.
The formula is fragrance-free, paraben-free, and cruelty-free. It's designed for all skin types but particularly for skin that's been told it's "too sensitive" for other products—and proven that description accurate through painful experience.
The goal isn't to mask symptoms or provide temporary relief that fades within hours. The goal is to support your skin's natural repair mechanisms, to provide the raw materials for barrier reconstruction, and to create an environment where healing becomes possible rather than perpetually deferred.
Beyond Google Trends
The numbers in that Journal of Integrative Dermatology study represent real people—parents searching desperately for something that won't make their child's eczema worse, adults who've resigned themselves to chronic irritation, athletes whose skin barrier is constantly challenged by sweat and environmental stress.
They're not searching for goat milk because of clever advertising. They're searching because word spreads when something actually works.
We've been part of that word-spreading on our Washington State farm since 2013, when our first goats arrived during a family health crisis. What started as comfort animals became the foundation for a skincare approach that prioritizes genuine results over marketing claims.
We know what it's like to deal with sensitive skin because we've lived it—Lisa through decades of formulating, our NCAA athlete children through the demands of competitive sport, and through countless customers who've shared their stories with us.
The Google Trends data isn't just interesting research. It's validation of something we've witnessed firsthand: when you give reactive skin ingredients it can actually use, when you work with skin biology rather than against it, healing becomes possible.
For skin that's been through everything, that's the only promise worth making.
References
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Yaldo, M., Mansour, M. R., & Potts, G. A. (2025). Increased Popularity of Goat Milk Soap: Analyzing Five Years of Google Trends. Journal of Integrative Dermatology. Published online August 28, 2025.
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Tang, S., et al. (2021). Conjugated linoleic acid alleviates atopic dermatitis-like lesions by improving skin hydration and increasing filaggrin. Dermatologic Therapy, 34(6).
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Lara-Villoslada, F., et al. (2004). Allergenicity of goat milk in mice: Influence of processing. Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 25(3), 477-488.
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Ncube, K. T., et al. (2025). Genomic Tools for Medicinal Properties of Goat Milk for Cosmetic and Health Benefits: A Narrative Review. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 26(3), 893.
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Molik, E., & Kotowicz, G. (2023). Health-promoting properties of goat milk. Roczniki Naukowe Zootechniki, 50(1), 1-15.
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Triprisila, L., et al. (2021). Antimicrobial activity of CSN1S2 protein from Ethawah goat milk against pathogenic bacteria. Food Chemistry, 342, 128349.
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Voloshyna, I. M., Soloshenko, K. I., Lych, I. V., & Shkotova, L. V. (2021). Practical use of goat milk and colostrum. Biotechnologia Acta, 14(5), 38-48.
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Sabbah, A., et al. (1997). Goat milk in the treatment of cow milk allergy: 20 years of clinical experience. Allergy, 52(Suppl 38), 167.
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Kazimierska, K., & Kalinowska-Lis, U. (2021). Milk proteins—their biological activities and use in cosmetics. Molecules, 26(11), 3253.
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Chen, Y., et al. (2021). Comparative analysis of bioactive compounds in fresh vs. powdered goat milk. Food Chemistry, 342, 128349.
