Not Your Ordinary Soap

Each of us who make soap know that there is large variety in what that means.  Those who coordinate craft fairs don’t understand that a soapmaker  may make a very different soap from another soapmaker.  

Surfing Goat Soaps is different because of the types of goats that we use, and because we include a large selection of soap figures, which have turned into the world of Caprenity. But like a lot of other topics, there is so much more to the questions we get. 

During the summer we often see people who say  “I’d love to buy it, but I don’t want it to melt while we enjoy the fair.”  Surfing Goat Soaps doesn’t melt.  There are soaps that do, but they are made with glycerin.  Making goat milk soap does make glycerin, but it is integrated into the other contents in the soap. 

  People ask us why we don’t use hot process in our soapmaking. It makes it quicker to sell, and to use, but to me it has some other drawbacks.  First off, I do make some remilled soaps, such as our PI soap, or a Lathie pet shampoo, but those are in small batches, and have a specific purpose for those bars. They are not going to be as beautiful as my cold process soaps, but because they are purchased with a specific goal, they don’t have to be beautiful.  

From an environmental viewpoint, cold process soaps can usually be made without the use of external heat.  If I do have to use a stove, it is because I am using a special fat that I can’t count on the chemical reaction to melt it.  Normally, our soaps are so gentle these extra oils aren’t necessary, but because people hear the buzzword, they feel that it must be included. These include cocoa butter, shea butter, lanolin, and other hard oils.

   We try to source as much as we can, as close by as we can.  Olive oil, and other oils do need to be shipped in, our use of milk, and lard, allows us to support local farms, which are listed on our website. We love to use the lard from particular breeds of pig that are endangered, and valued for their high quality lard.   If we have to buy lard from a different source, we do not use that found at the grocery store, as those lards contain a preservative which allows it be shelf stable.

  Though I do use some colorants, they are natural too, such as clays and charcoal.  Our soaps are fancy like so many other beautiful soap artists, but they are pure, natural and made with the intent of making each wash a pleasant experience. I want our soaps to be used, even the Molded Menagerie.  So many people buy soap to display it, and I agree that some soaps are worthy of that special treatment. But in the end, they are just soap.  They are meant to be useful, but that doesn’t mean they have to be ugly. Surfing Goat Soaps are the natural color of a pure goat milk soap. I don’t strive for white, because I know that the sugars and the enzymes in our milk are part of what makes it different from conventional soaps.

   Why am I so picky?  Because the stars of our show are our Hames & Axle Herd, and the quality of their milk.  When I’m blessed to have this liquid gold walking around the pasture, why would I muck it up with chemicals?  Why disguise it with other oils?  Sometimes I do change things up abit because I love to try different things, but I really feel that our regular soap is the bedrock upon which the soap business is built.

  What else makes us different?  Two things, our Fynniroos and Caprenity.  Fynn was my heart dog, and she lives on in our towels, totes and other items that celebrate the connection people have with their pets, their passions and with the planet. Though we started with honoring rarer pets, that quickly grew to a much larger set of images. We make them because when you use a soap, you need a towel, right?  But if you put the two together, you get a special gift, or a set of gifts that respect that particular theme.  Pets are such a part of our lives we want to acknowledge that with our products.

  Caprenity is the other thing that sets us apart.  When people visit the farm they frequently say “This place is so zen.”  It is for me, but I’m always surprised when other people feel that way.  We wanted to provide that sense of peace and joy in this troublesome time, and decided to put the soaps to use through the stories of Caprenity.   While this first story is about Grousing Day,  there will be others that are based upon stories that I have created over my years as a park ranger.  Facing every day can be hard for me, but being able to submerge myself in the magical adventures and lessons of Caprenity makes it possible. I want Caprenity to do the same for our customers too.   I hope you’ll join in to the world of Caprenity, help us feed the herd and help yourself feel the wonder of a great goat milk soap.  You can find the possibilities at our website, www.surfinggoatsoap.net.