Between a Goat and Dry Skin

I normally mostly do product reviews on the healthy living blog but these products were so great I wanted to share with a wider group especially before the holidays as they make great gifts.

Goats Milk toiletries from Bend Soap Company.

Dwight and Marilee Johnson (no relation to us!) and their family of 11 live on a 40-acre farm in beautiful Central Oregon. I know that area well. Back when I was playing airline pilot we had a run  into the Redmond/Bend airport and it was one of my favorite trips as we had a layover long enough to enjoy the amazing scenery.

 As the Johnson's raised a herd of happy healthy goats that ate only good food and were given natural substances to keep them healthy rather than medications that would then end up in their milk – they got the idea of making some soap with it. With a long history as a successful entrepreneur and the support of his creative and clever wife, Dwight's initial soap soon became a family effort as a result of crafting some soap from their farm’s goats to help with eczema that their young son Chance was suffering with.

Making some goat milk Kefir in my "cowboy wineglass"
 - no milking involved, just a trip to Whole Foods.

Consuming goat milk (which I drink in place of cow’s milk which I don’t digest well) the Johnson family knew the benefits of the milk nutritionally.

• Goat’s milk is full of vitamins, proteins, and minerals
• Is easily absorbed by the body
• And has a pH that is relatively close to that of the human body

Could that also help young Chance's skin if used topically?

They found that by putting a couple bars of their newly created honey and oatmeal soaps into the bath and letting Chance play and soak in the water for 15-20 minutes gave him great relief, and his eczema was practically gone after one week of daily baths like this. This is great news because it’s often recommended that you avoid frequent bathing if you have eczema as it dries out the skin, making the itching worse.

That’s the secret behind their amazing milk bath product. This was one of the first products I ordered, the online ordering easy and the products arriving quickly (with a free sample bar of tea tree soap - thanks!)

Rather than a powdery, strongly scented product like many bath additives, it’s fine shards of the purest soaps with essential oils (except the unscented one)  that dissolve in your bath like a cloud. Goats milk also has natural alpha-hydroxy acids which will gently exfoliate the skin. I used some for the first time last night, the “English Garden” scent, and my husband commented on how smooth my arms were when he gave me a hug as I came out of the bathroom in my pajamas. He also commented on how clean and pretty the scent was.

He then used a bar of unscented goat milk soap in his shower to wash his hair. When we first married and I moved into his home, I noticed he only used this one generic brand of dandruff shampoo. I told him several years later that it must work as he had no dandruff. He laughed and said, “I never have, I just hate the strong scents of drugstore shampoo.” Well, the dandruff shampoo was kicked to the curb. So much of what we put on our skin is absorbed into our bodies that I didn’t want him using a medicated product he didn’t need. He'd found a couple of natural shampoos he liked but he loved the idea of a bar he can use to shampoo as much as he travels in his engineer job.

He washed his fine blond hair with the unscented Bend Soap and his hair was SO soft and shiny. I’m loving the soaps as well, the unscented for my face cleared up some "I can't have acne I'm over 50!" that developed after I used a new sunscreen that my face and rosacea did NOT like. Within two days, my skin looked 100% better. I’ve never been able to use soap on my face, too drying, but the goat milk soap left my skin soft and smooth, didn’t burn my eyes, and calmed the redness that is the bane of rosacea.

Got Pets with sensitive skin?  Made to lather well, the goat milk soap is easy to use on your dog or cat's coat.  It will get their fur clean, but it is a LOT easier to rinse off than most other pet shampoos.  Gentle and non-irritating on the skin it also doesn't contain chemicals that their bodies will absorb, or remain on the skin to be licked off later.  Always do a patch test first like any new product, but Abby has her baths with goat milk soap since we got her and her fur is SO soft and shiny.

For a shower or bath for we humans, it’s great. Most commercial skincare products are made with a mixture of alcohol, synthetic fragrances, and other chemicals that strip our skin of its natural oils that keep it protected and are intended to defend it against becoming dry, irritated, and unhealthy.  I had a little rubber bucket of assorted bath products for my nightly bath, but I couldn't use them every night or my skin would dry out and itch.  I hadn't learned yet that the GMO oils used in cheap bath products, even those touted as "moisturizing", can irritate and dry the skin.

 The Bend Soap and milk bath have made a huge difference in my skin and the milk bath is soothing and inexpensive enough I can use it frequently! I can’t wait to use the goat milk lotion on my face and body instead of the scented products that often make me itchy or break me out.

With the quality ingredients including palm oil, that they ensure is sustainably harvested, it’s no wonder.

So for my book fans and readers some questions

 •Do you suffer from harsh skin sensitivities, like me, spending thousands of dollars over the years trying to help?

 •Are you allergic or sensitive to many skincare products and can’t use them?

  •Are you concerned about toxic products in your body and the effect on you and your family's long-term health?

  •Would you love to use wonderful products to make your skin and hair soft and supple without spending $9 a bar or $30 a jar?

 Natural, gentle, deeply moisturizing, healing and convenient products from a family run company that's had years of happy customers.  What's not to LOVE.

• Bend Soap Company

There's soaps, lip butters, scrubs, lotions, and even a natural deodorant and lots of information on their company and products and it's obvious how close this family is.

I so enjoyed the photos on their website of their children helping with the chores and the production - growing up as I did doing things with my brother around our childhood Western home to earn a little money, learning responsibility, sharing, and commitment to something.  As I look at the smiling faces of the Johnson family, I can't help but think of what wonderful family memories are being made right now as they provide a product that supports and nourishes a community of people.

Go check them out, especially the gift tins with the holidays coming up (and seriously- orange Sugar Scrub? - you have to order that, I gave a tub to my dog walker and she is hooked!)