Moving Day

Don't hide away...come visit me at my new home http:/www.anniesgoathill.wordpress.com .

The new home is undecorated, with many boxes still to sort through...but the doors are open wide.

No moving help needed, just your visits.

Just What Is It About Goat Milk Soap?

I have often wondered, just what is it about the goat milk soap that seems to help my skin, and per many customers, seems to help their skin (and their family members) as well?

I no longer suffer from acne, those types of break outs ended in my late 30's. What I do suffer from, however, is dry skin, and itchy bumpy skin especially in the winter months. I get the sandpaper skin effect behind the arms and the legs during the coldest of months.

I had a wonderful email conversation with an allergist/dermatologist out of Pennsylvania last week. She asked me several really good questions. I answered her as well as I could. I told her that I do not know if the benefits from goat milk products (that she is hearing about and observing from her patients) came from the soap itself (no added chemicals), or if the sensitive skin help came from the milk itself, or if the benefits came from the fact that it is pure soap (look on your store bought soap wrappers, most cannot legally describe themselves as soap)! The physician agreed, she did not know either, but she thought it was a combination of all of the above. She said many of her patients had come to her with improved skin, improved after using goat milk products, and that she was wondering why all of the benefits herself. So, I decided to do a bit of snooping around. I am a teach me type of person.

So, I began my Google search looking for studies on goat milk soap and goat milk products. I looked for results from actual studies. I did not find any. But what I did find satisfied by interest.

Here we go:


From the American Academy of Dermatology I began looking at their various online brochures. One in particular drew my interest. For dry skin it was recommended to use a mild soap, okay, we probably learned that in first grade. But, next (and I copy):


For severely dry skin, a moisturizer that contains urea or lactic acid may be helpful. Both ingredients help the skin hold water. These ingredients are so effective that over-the-counter and prescription moisturizers contain them. The one drawback is that these ingredients can be irritating if you have eczema or cracked skin.

Goat milk...high in lactic acid. There you go, bingo!

I continued to read on, do a bit of self-diagnosis, see the photo above, and I found other photos looking very familiar. My winter skin condition is called keratosis pilaris. It consists of tiny bumps, sometimes itchy, harmless, but bothersome...the treatment (to diminish the appearance and itching of the rash) also included creams and lotions that contain lactic acid. The condition never completely goes away it just looks better after treatment. Yes, I agree, I can attest to it diminishing!


I cannot rightfully say my products can cure your skin problems, I am not licensed to sell my products as a drug or medication. And I try so very hard to not sound like an irritating infomercial for goat milk soap, but my customers with sensitive and allergic skin are very happy campers, and so am I. Why? I believe it is a combination of things (as stated above) mild soap, no added preservatives, stabilizers or chemicals (other than those that contain fragrance and/or non-natural colorants), and the lactic acid (which works with the skin's PH balance).



Interesting...and I loved sharing it with you!

Up With The Roosters

Yes, the title and photo says it all. The day came to life very early this morning! I can just hear him crowing, the bossy fellow.

The husband is heading in one direction this morning for business and I am heading to the shop to work on filling orders and rebuilding the lotion stock.

Yesterday I took large boxes full of Annie's Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps gift sets to the retail location that displays my products. Once I returned to my shop I cut the rosemary shampoo bars from the freshly made loaf, the initial shampoo bars (made here). More on that product in the near future. I will discuss shampoo bars and what rinses can/should be used to maintain the proper hair PH.

The Brown Bag Special will continue through 6/30/09. At that time I am going to archive the sale. It was fun while it lasted! Many of the 3.5 ounce (average) bars are dwindling in number, but there is a nice supply still available for the Brown Bag Special. I absolutely love the newer chunkier bars (average 4.5 ounces)! The Brown Bag special, for those of you new here, includes 5 bars of goat milk soap (the same quality soap as the 4.5 ounce bars) for 15.00, plus a 5.00 flat rate shipping fee (special rate only for shipping within continental U.S.). These are assorted soaps, packaged in a brown bag (no individually boxed soap)...just right to get through the remainder of this slow economy! If you wish to place an order, the instructions and buy here button are located at the bottom of the goat milk soap store page on my website.

By the way...you know how honest I am...no rooster here...but I imagined up a strong image of the colorful proud guy crowing away a bit ago!

Have a fun Friday!!!!

Busy In The Goat Milk Soap Shop

I am a busy lady this week.

A retail location where I sell some of my products needed a replenishment of gift sets. I have been putting various sets together that include lotion, soap and bath salt/fizzies. The store carries handcrafted furniture and primitive candles/tarts, handmade purses, and beautiful homespun items for the kitchen and bath. My gift crates (made from reclaimed wood) and simple packaging fit right in. It puts a smile on my face!

I am working on a wholesale project as well, and keeping up with customer orders.

I have also been successful with keeping the curing racks full. No gaps. Pull one batch down, move those soaps straight to the website, put a brand new batch right in its place (ready in 4 weeks).

It has been busy, but I am enjoying the blessings in my life! I hope you are doing the same!

Progress In The Goat Milk Soap Shop

I have been telling everyone about my goals this week.

One of my soap related goals was to remove soaps from the curing rack, transfer them to holding boxes. Accomplished today, except for a few stragglers that ended up in bags in a display cabinet. Hmmm...need to make some room...somewhere...oh, where...but somewhere.... .

The next goal was to fill the curing rack with new soaps by the end of the day, Saturday. I am getting there...but I have a LONG way to go! The bottom shelf is only 1/2 full. The top shelf (you cannot see it) holds boxes of empty lotion bottles, cream jars, and lids. Those boxes will be removed by Saturday. And soap will be in their place.

Progress today...removed 5 batches, replaced with some new soaps to cure.

For those of you that have commented on some of my soaps, Cherries and Berries goat milk soaps are back on the curing rack, as well as full-sized Orange Mint, along with some other "favorites." Just 3 or 4 weeks and the soaps will be back on the website. The signal told me, "We want more."

Ocean Breeze has sold out, except for the bars that are on hold. You can see the new Ocean Breeze bars in the middle of the curing rack. A little more green than blue this time, but still, reminds me of white beaches and a beautiful clear ocean. Refreshing!

Take care...and I hope you enjoyed your virtual visit today in the goat milk soap shop. Perhaps I can create a version of Internet Smell A Vision?

A Beautiful "Me" Day

I love many things in life. I love my husband, my friends, my family, and my animals. If you notice, I did not mention any material things. There are other things that I love too, but they pale in comparison.

But sometimes, despite the need that we have for people, we also have a need to be alone. Today was one of those days.

Upon mutual agreement in our household, today I did what I love most, and the dear husband did what he loves most. I went to the soap shop, and he gave himself a good rest.

The curing racks are not so bare recently. I have been a hard working lady! I made a double batch of lavender peppermint goat milk soap today (not shown). Making the small single batches is no longer adequate. I love making soap in smaller batches. I feel like I have more control over the quality. So, instead of making larger batches, I still make smaller ones, just several at once.

I also received my new bottle and jar labels this week. I will be phasing out the kraft label look on the bottles. I love the kraft brown paper look, it fits into the scheme of everything (basics from the farm), however, they sure do not stick well. And as you know, WE NEED STICK! So, I have moved on to clear labels (below, and I apologize for the blur). Why are cameras stubborn just when you don't need for them to be? :)

Ocean Breeze Goat Milk Soap Passed The Test

When I create a new soap I always save the small sliver from the end of the batch as a test soap. Yes, I am blessed. I get to try all kinds of soaps. For the tried and true soaps I leave the end pieces for customer samples.

I am happy to announce that the Ocean Breeze goat milk soap passed the test yesterday!

It smells wonderful, best described as fresh!

What inspired me was the dream of a clear ocean, beautiful blue green color, white sand, gently rolling waters, along with a cool breeze. I have not gone on a vacation in years, but I am one to get up before anyone else and take a beach stroll. Absolutely heaven. Back to the soap...does the soap smell like the ocean? No! It can also be described as a scent close to clean cotton. Fresh!

The soap lathers well and has some nice glycerin qualities.

Ocean Breeze will be moved to the website tomorrow.

I do not need to tell you this, but I appreciate and enjoy it, half of the first batch is on reserve for Alix at Casa Hice. She scooped the bars up as soon as she learned that they had been cut. She has an Annie's Goat Hill Goat Milk Soap addiction. There is no cure.

There will be more Ocean Breeze soap in the soap pot in the near future, it is a keeper!

Have a good evening!

Lost Signal (Found Now)

We had some nifty storms last night as the sun set. Leaves and tiny branches are scattered about.

I counted the goslings this morning, all 6 are still with mom and pop, including the 7th that we did not count a few days ago. Last night I thought about the goose family, and what did I see when I looked? They seemed to be floating along on the pond. I suppose the wind really wasn't as bad on the water and downhill.

We dealt with losing Internet signal a few times (hence the photo of the mighty blue modem), along with some dust. You can look at it. I have some dust in the general area, tee hee. It was wonderful to see all 4 of the steady green lights back on!

I used my phone for certain services, company email for one. I really need to sit down with it and determine just what I can and cannot do. Plan A in case of a real power outage.

Other than the glitch with the equipment, no power outage (just flickering), I have been working on the newsletter and answering email. We ran some chores this morning...boy does that get expensive these days!

If you wish to receive the email, the newsletter sign up button is located near the bottom of my site's index page. The newsletter is published once a month, and possibly twice a month in the future. I try to keep it short.

Did you know that today's Internet readers are considered scanners? Many readers do not want to read long text. Make it short, concise, and most people are happier. It is a fast paced world!

Take care...have a good Thursday evening!

Goat Milk Soap Beginnings

Tonight I worked on packaging customer orders. It was hard to leave the shop. Yes, I take my time in the shop. I look at the soap, pick bars up from the curing rack, hold the end pieces from the batches in my hand, smell them, and I will admit, admire them as well. I try my own soaps out at the 2 week mark. I truly feel blessed when I carry that sliver out for trial.

Friends have recently asked me how I decided to make soap, and why goat milk soap?

This beautiful photo of a basket of handcrafted soap was taken in 2003. My soap company was named Grassypond Farms. I lived in a house on 42 acres, with a 2 acre pond, 3 horses, boxer dogs, 52 chickens, no goats, in an area called Grassy, MO. I had a website at that time, no storefront. I sold a lot of soap to locals, antique stores, florists and craft malls. The soap did not contain goat milk.

I am going to push the fast forward button to quickly arrive at today, and I promise to tell more stories later. You might be stiffling a yawn, or even holding your eyes open with tooth picks, if I tell you everything in one blog post!

I have loved soap since my younger days, about 8 years old is when I first crossed paths with a bar of handcrafted soap. In fact, on a school field trip I bought an old fashioned soap ball. It was primitive, and I was in love. Fast forward through the youngster years, I collected soap. Yep, a shoebox of soap in my bedroom! Fast forward through the young adult years, every book I could possibly borrow from the Indianapolis Public Library system on soap making, perfumery, aromatherapy, was read thoroughly by me. Fast forward to 2003. I had a wonderful basement, about 1400 square feet, and suddenly realized that I had the space and the time to begin my soap making endeavor. I taught myself the in's and out's of crafting cold processed soap (the process that I use, more on that later), via. the internet and all of the reading that I had done. The stories I will be telling about the soap molds and batches of soap that hit the trash can, oh boy...it was a trial for a while. Thank goodness I had a husband that wanted to help make it all come together. He was very creative with the building of the molds.

It was not until 2008 (late bloomer in the thinking aisle on this one) when I discovered the wonderful benefits of including fresh, rich goat milk in my soap. Wow...wow..and wow!!!

I am hooked, addicted, and all about fresh goat milk soap from the farm.

That is the end of my story for tonight. I will continue this later.

Ask questions...I love them!

Happy Friday!

Goat Milk Soap Today

Today I cut several batches of soap that I made yesterday.

This batch of goat milk soap is scented with a combination of pineapple, tangerine and pink grapefruit. I will announce the name of the soap and other information closer to the curing date (approximately 4 weeks from today). In case you cannot see the colors, they are pale pink and yellow. Very pretty, and smells luscious!

I worked in the shop and office afterwards. With pad of paper and pen in hand, updated the list of things to-do. I will be organizing that into a top priority, medium priority, and wish list. It has to be done now and then. We can definitely lose site of the big picture when we do not organize our thoughts!

Have a good afternoon!

Color In The Goat Milk Soaps

There is a touch of color on the curing racks at Annie's Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps these days. Spring is in the air, and with spring comes color!

I wanted to briefly touch on color in my soaps...

In the past I believed in adding nothing to my soaps that was not natural. For instance, if I had 25 varieties of soaps to sell, one would hold fragrance, the remainder of the soaps would be handcrafted with pure essential oils (and herbal and/or complexion clay for coloring).

I have steered away from that way of thinking, but only to a degree.

I have tested ultramarine colorants (blue, violet, green and some pink). These are skin safe colorants, but are created in a laboratory.

Some of the yellow colorants are supplied by oxides, also skin safe.

As it stands, there are certain scents that simply cannot be obtained via an essential oil (natural), such as lilac or cherry. These types of scents are fragrance oils.

My newest line of soaps will give a variety of choices: colorants, fragrances, all natural (essential oils, herbals and natural colorants), and some with no scent or color at all (unscented goat milk soap, oatmeal and honey goat milk soap).

The soap descriptions in the website's soap store will state fragrance, essential oil, colorant (ultramarine) or pigment. My thinking is, whatever your skin needs, or your preferences are, you should be able to find something in the shop that suits your needs.

Enjoy!

Ocean Goat Milk Soap To The Curing Rack

Well, not quite in the ocean, but the inspiration was...an Ocean Breeze, crystal clear blue green water, white sand, a warm refreshing breeze, and gentle frothy waves. Bits of unscented white goat milk soap make for the white sand and sea foam. The scent is a combination that mimics a fresh clean breeze (touches of rose, lily, spearmint, citrus, orange, lime).

Then came the relaxing cup of tea with a touch of orange and cinnamon. There is no tea involved in this soap, but it was the "have a cup of tea with me" painting in my mind. Lightly scented with sweet orange oil and "sticks" of cinnamon goat milk soap inbedded throughout.

Goat Milk Soaps To The Curing Rack 4/17

Ask me if I like this one...go ahead, ask me. I love it!

Not only are the colors beautiful, it smells wonderful. It reminds me of something fresh, like fresh mowed grass along with something citrusy, yet perhaps something sweet as a bottom note(spring flowers?), not cakey sweet. The scent is a combination of grapefruit, tangerine, citrus and petitgrain. I am very happy with the results.

This second soap, violet and blue, is a lightly stated combination of pineapple, grapefruit and orange. Made me think of a tropical drink, blue in color, enjoyed at an ocean cabana, with the carefree breeze and sunshine surrounding. A soap that both smells and looks fun!

New Goat Milk Soaps

It has been a busy few days here at Annie's Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps!

First, I want to apologize to any website viewers that may have seen soaps in the website soap store priced at 350.00, they really should have been priced at 3.50 a bar! The corrections have been made.

Now, for the announcements...new soaps were added to the website yesterday. They are both colorful and fun scents. Some of the new scents are: Cool Citrus, Moroccan Dreams, Earthy Vanilla, and Lilac Wave.

The chunkier soaps were added into the stock as well. These bars currently sell for 4.25 a bar (no price increase yet), weighing in at 4.0+ ounces per bar. Any, and all, bars weighing in at less than 4.0 ounces have been moved to the discount "Y" (Y A Sale?) section of the online soap store.

The Brown Bag special continues, and the special does include any soaps from the discount section. They are all wonderful quality soaps, just not the chunkier bars that I want to consider full sized! Approximate weights 3.5-3.7 ounces each. The Buy Now button is located at the bottom of the Soap Store page on the website. This is a great buy for goat milk soap!

The new order of shea butter has arrived. Lotion will be back in production, and if time allows, whipped shea butter will be a focus later in this week!

Inventory Brings Near Future Announcements

We had some chores to run. Then we headed to our respective duties (mine in the shop, his working on mowers). Today is the day to spruce the mowers back up so they can start cutting the green stuff. Did I tell you that I love to mow? I can think like a crazy woman while mowing. I should carry a pad of Post It Notes and a pen with me when I mow. Ooops...I am regressing already! Help me!!!

Joking aside, I really do not feel well today. I hardly ever catch a bug of any sort. Oh, I will admit, I get the aches and pains occasionally, or perhaps a stomach ache, but to actually catch something from a germ, seldom. Today is quite different. The head is coming off. If you see a head rolling, can you send it to Ohio for me?

Joking aside again, instead of making soap today I decided to do a much needed inventory. The results are...wow! Announcements to be made here within the next several days and in the April newsletter, which you can sign up for by clicking on the newsletter link (envelope) at the bottom of the Annie's Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps home page.

I will drop a few small hints for now: more soaps going into the Brown Bag Special, more soaps added to the "Y" A Sale discount soap group, and a line of (10 I believe) new soaps to be added. More on that...I am excited!

Have a wonderful Easter weekend...I hope yours is as pretty as this one is right now.

Shea Butter For The Hair

I recently personally discovered the wonders of shea butter for the hair, quite by accident I will admit.

Shea butter has been used on the skin and hair for centuries, as I wrote in a prior article. Shea butter is definitely not the most current buzz, but will always be a beauty staple because of its qualities.

In my soap shop I whipped up a recipe of shea butter a few weeks ago. After not quite being happy with the results, I found that I need to make another batch, but next time with unrefined shea butter, the best that I can get my hands on. Using refined shea butter is acceptable (for soap and other uses), but does not always give the needed results when working with a specific formula (deliberate skin and hair care).

Now I will tell you how I discovered the benefits of shea butter for my own hair. I have fine hair, but not thin, and I wear my hair in slightly long layers and fairly straight. My hair is not colored. Because of my fine hair, and because I have to wash it often to remove oil from the scalp, I had pretty much made up my mind that shea butter would not be a good product for my hair. Wrong, wrong, and wrong! One evening I applied whipped shea butter to my hands. It is a wonderful treatment for the nails, cuticles, and dry skin of the hands. After applying to the hands, I waited a few moments for absorption before reaching for the hair dryer (I dry with my head held upside down, running my fingers through for volume). As I dried, I thought to myself, "Oh, oh, this will lead to a flat hair day! Oh well, the goats do not care!" The results were surprising...the end result was that I still had volume, and my hair acted and looked healthier than normal, even the next day! What this tells me is, whipped shea butter really is a wonderful versatile product for the skin and the hair, a 2 in 1 product. You can use less, and you can use more, and the results are amazing. And how better can you get than natural?

I cannot wait to receive the unrefined quality shea butter that I have on order, and whip up a few batches (along with other skin and hair helpful ingredients), for placement on the Annie's Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps store shelf!

Brown Bag Goat Milk Soap

Due to the popularity of the sale, and due to the clearance of 3.5-3.7 ounce soaps in the the shop (the next generation of goat milk soaps are chunkier), the Brown Bag Special will continue through April.

After a great phone conversation with a customer a few days ago about her choice of soaps, I wanted to clarify that you can contact me if you want to place a Brown Bag order that contains your preference, your scent or type of goat milk soap. The ad states that the special order will contain soaps of "my choice," but that is not set in stone. As always, I love to be of assistance, and will do what I can to provide what you might want or need, when available.

The Brown Bag special, can be ordered via a button at the bottom of my Soap Store page.

Have a great day!

It Isn't Just A Dog's World...The Opportunity Is Now

Me and the boy spent some time together today...the boy is a 90 pound boxer named Spike. More on that later in this article...

No, it isn't just a dog's world, the opportunity is now. What am I referring to? I am thinking on terms of today's economy, both business and personal opportunity.

I have done a lot of talking recently regarding the positive side to the downturn in our pocketbooks, with many references to what I think the opportunities are.

I do a lot of business reading. One of my favorite spots is Entrepreneur.com. I also focus in on stories that relate to businesses that are succeeding in today's world because they remember who they are, where they started, and the basics in life (caring for the backbone, the people that do the work), along with good products at low prices, such as Chick-fil-A and Dunkin' Donuts.

Today is a grand opportunity to start a small business, even in the current downturn. It is also the time to sharpen up your own personal people skills, and believe me, it goes very much hand in hand.

If you were dealing with a person, or a business, wouldn't you want to have contact with them again if they were honest, hard working, not afraid to show up early or work late, with old fashioned values? I would. I talked with a customer service rep the other day regarding my internet service. He actually took the time to speak with me on a personal level. I felt he was interested in fixing the problem. He gave me a very positive feeling about the company that he works for. Customer service gets a gold star when you talk to a person that emits respect for you. They fix the problem for you, or offer a good solution, and do not doubt your value. That is true customer service, and is true on the personal level, caring for the neighbor (as you want to be cared for yourself).

On a strictly business level, what about making sure every dollar counts? What about sound business practices (not cheating on the accounting)?

I see a lot of back to the basics in business and personal lives. I pat you on the back first (because I care about you). Yes, it can happen, and I believe it is happening! We can all succeed with a bit of effort. I love it. And I do think we are learning a lot from our world today. It isn't all about money (I want to see happy customers, and people that feel valued first), it is about who we are, and those that we care for. True success in life follows.

Now...back to the boy. Spike is from my first litter of boxers. The boxer boy did not get the training that his (late) father, Samson, got from me. He rode in the truck with me this morning when I ran a few chores. He has a lot to learn, almost wore me out! But he is worth it. I should have started on him when he was a 25 pound puppy, not a 90 pound, 4 year old boy. Does he look worn out in the pic? He was. But it was worth the trip, and the effort.

Enjoy your life!

March 2009 Brown Bag Goat Milk Soap Special

In today's economy do you brown bag your lunch? I do!

Well, come on over and enjoy a brown bag special with me, but keep one thing in mind when you sit in the sunshine and enjoy your brown bag special, the condiments and wrappers are not included, what you will be receiving with your order is assorted goat milk soaps, 5 total!

Today I begin my March 2009 Goat Milk Soap Brown Bag Special (scroll to the bottom of The Goat Milk Soap Store to order).

Yes, the soap is shipped in a brown bag, with an Annie's Goat Hill receipt attached (listed with the soaps of my choice). You will receive 5 soaps, approximately 3.5 ounces each, for 15.00, with a flat rate 5.00 shipping fee (shipped in a box via USPS), continental U.S. customers only, 20.00 total order.

Memories of lunch on the park bench, in the sunshine, 80 degrees, puts a smile on the face!

Relaxing Lavender Goat Milk Soap and Lotion

Some days we just need to relax and restore.

Today I have been working on the website, rewording, reworking and retagging. I have felt a tad bit frazzled lately. But today is a "get back to grass roots" day, at my own pace.

On these types of days it sometimes calls for doing something a bit extra for ourselves, which made me think about lavender.

Did you know that lavender has been used as long as history has been recorded as a soothing herb, one that might help with relaxation? It has also been used as an antiseptic, and as an essential oil to help the skin heal from certain conditions such as insect bites and mild burns.

The color lavender, I feel, is also relaxing. As a child, I belonged to a number of groups, such as Girl Scouts, and always loved the projects that we created in Vacation Bible school, the bowling league, and a few others, and whenever I was asked to put something together it normally ended up being lavender in color. My grandmother lived in a large older home, with a master bedroom painted in lavender. Oh, how I loved to spend time in that room, especially with that huge bay window.

I recently received handwritten cards from Alix of Casa Hice, and Anne-Marie of Soap and The Finer Things in Life (along with a special gift pac that I still need to tell you about). Beautiful lavender cards!