Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, nor do I pretend to be. This is just a story of my journey to becoming a soap-making fool. Our products are not intended to treat, nor cure medical conditions.
People often ask me at farmer markets how a 40+ yr old guy got involved in making soap. I would love to have some super-cool origin story like one of the comic heroes… but I don’t. This is my story….
It all began over 25 years ago…. I started to suffer from a skin disorder called Psoriasis. Psoriasis appears on the surface of the skin as red, inflamed patches. As it worsens, the skin will start to scale, crack, and bleed. Psoriasis is not only painful, but it an leave those afflicted feeling embarrassed to show their skin public (keep your mind out of the gutter). Over the years, I tried all kinds of over-the-counter and prescription products but nothing seemed to really help eradicate it. The best I could do is limit it from spreading to other areas, but the red inflamed patches still remained.
To complicate things, most off-the-shelf soaps, lotions, and shampoos would irritate my skin and cause the Psoriasis to flare up like in the photo above. Sometimes the products were too harsh, other times the artificial fragrances would sting and inflame my skin. I was forced to use baby wash & baby shampoo as it was the only product that would not cause a negative reaction.
Flash forward 20 years, our family had an excess of goat milk from our little herd of Nigerian Dwarf goat friends. I was trying to figure out what the heck to use all this milk for since my family had tired of all the yogurt, kefir, & cheese I have been pushing on them. When low and behold, a search on the Internet turns up that GOAT MILK SOAP can help those with Eczema and Psoriasis. What?!?! How could I not ever heard this before? I was very doubtful…but decided to give it try.
My first batch of cold-process soap was unscented and very plain (similar to the photo above). I started to use a bar or two and pretty quickly noticed a difference after showering. My skin did not feel as tight, nor did it itch like it normally would in the middle of winter. I was thinking surely this was a coincidence. But after a few weeks of using the new soap, I was using less and less of my skin prescription cream & scalp oil. My skin was feeling great….and the spots on my knee & leg were looking much better.
At this point, I started to think there could be something to this goat milk soap article I read. I began to get brave and add an essential oil to the soap recipe. If you don’t know essential oils are extracted from plants, are all natural, and smell amazing. Normally, any fragrances would trigger more inflammation and burning of the skin. My hope was these natural oils would not have a negative impact, but allow me to enjoy different scents. It sounds utterly ridiculous but after 20+ years I was so sick of the smell of baby wash scent! Up until now, I had resigned myself to the fact that I would be using baby-scented soap/shampoo forever. So the idea of a different scent was mind-blowing to me. I remember thinking it would probably not work, but was worth a try. So off I went to make my second batch of soap scented with Lavender essential oil (similar to the one below).
Imagine my surprise, after using the lavender soap and not having my skin burn or get irritated! You would have thought I won the lottery with how happy I was. At that point, I went totally bonkers. I started ordering all kinds of different essential oils like a madman. Then new batches of soap started to be mixed up daily. I could not believe the joy it brought me to have soap that smelled great and did not irritate my body.
At this point, I started to tweak my recipe with different oils until I found a blend hat was perfect for my skin. It left you feeling fresh & clean but still well-moisturized. I started giving bars away to family and friends for input. Many of them really loved them and started to suggest I sell them. I figured why not? I love to make soap and if it helps folks keep their skin happy and clean that is a bonus. Eventually in late 2019, I opened up my own soap company called Fiddle Tree Farm.
After I had the recipes I really liked, I started to focus on the designs in the soap. Swirls, layering, and other eye-pleasing designs. It allowed me to express a little bit of my “artistic side”. The idea was to make a product that was great to look at, smelled beautiful, and helped nourish your skin too! Below are a few examples of some of my favorite soap designs.
Why did soap make such a difference in my life?
There are several reasons it made a difference. First, store bought products are often times not soap at all, but detergents. While these are a very cheap ingredient for the manufacturer, they can be very harsh on people’s skin. Homemade soap is a combination of oil/fats and lye. By making your own soap you can use natural ingredients and also control how moisturizing the soap is along with other characteristics like how cleansing, bubbly, or quality of the lather. Our homemade soap was less harsh and more natural than any store-bought one so it did not irritate my skin, nor dry it out.
Secondly, many store-bought brands contain artificial fragrances. They can include 100s of compounds to simulate the smell of a single natural scent. These chemical fragrances are not regulated and can cause allergic reactions and other health concerns. This is why we use only pure essential oils in our soaps which are less likely to irritate the skin.
Third, coming up with new designs or recipes makes me happy. It gives me an artistic outlet I don’t always get to have at my full-time job. When I am making soap, it is like going to a Zen state.
While our soap, lotions, and other products are not going to cure or treat your health issues. They will nourish and moisturize your skin, and that can lead to much healthier, happier skin. Today my Psoriasis has cleared up on my arms and legs, there are no more red inflamed spots. And I am off my prescriptions and over the counter products. My scalp still has a few areas where it can get dry in winter, but it is very minor compared to the past. Best of all I am super happy! Anyhow, that is how I got involved in soap making and the impact it had on my life. I hope you enjoyed my origin story!
-Steven
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Some people have asked "What is so special about goat milk soap?" or "Why should I use it?" Well, there are many health benefits to goat milk soap and I will try to list as many as I can below. Did you know that Egyptians knew of the beneficial impacts goat milk had for skin in 1400 BC? Cleopatra's goat milk baths were attributed in part to her beautiful appearance she was known for. In short, goa...