RainDancer Soaps started out of necessity…for a couple of reasons. First, our family decided goats would be a fun thing for our new farm out in the Black Forest area of Colorado. After all, isn’t it best to provide the freshest, most nutritious foods for your family? And besides, how hard can it be to milk a goat? Er, a couple of goats…ummm, am I really milking 8 goats? By HAND???? And, learning that a healthy, adult, Alpine Dairy Goat can produce 1-2 gallons of milk EVERY DAY? Where do you put all of that milk?
So, you learn to enjoy goat milk. In everything. I was putting it in my coffee while I was milking! I learned to make fresh cheese (visit our farm site https://rr-ranch.net/ to order farm fresh milk, eggs, & cheese!) and then someone turned me on to making my own soap. It was actually another well-known soap company who had their own business being built and happened to win the Amazing Race one year and are the sweetest couple ever, but I don’t yet have permission to share their name or our pictures online, so….
Thankfully, I didn’t have too much trouble with those first batches of soap. Safety first, lots of books and online videos from so many wonderful instructors, and the in-person classes and conferences! I gave my soap to family for gifts, especially my kids (and grandkids). Soon, we realized that their skin wasn’t itchy anymore! Their poor skin was disintegrating from being so chapped due to the constant washing with harsh commercial products and the hand sanitizer in their classrooms, so I sent everyone to school with a small bar of soap and directions to only use that on their hands. They were so much more comfortable!
As I got braver, I tried adding colors and fragrances. This is the fun part of it all, because soap is mysterious when it is being created, and one batch is not always like another. It’s similar to blown glass; you know the technique, you have a plan, but it will become something intriguing and not necessarily what you intended, yet it is still beautiful. The content though is a tried and true recipe, with ingredients I trust and know will produce a lovely, luxurious, lathery bar.
The soap studio is now located in Nampa, Idaho. The goat milk is all produced by our girls on-site. I milk with a specialized goat-milking machine now. My family is my biggest promoter. The kids shared soap with friends, my husband shared it at work, and I have now expanded into complimentary products in addition to the soaps. Sugar scrubs, lotion bars, body butters to name a few! Check back often for new items!