Why this new business in downtown Idaho Falls makes soap with goat milk
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IDAHO FALLS – Finding the secret to lasting beauty is an ongoing quest for many women and a new soap business in downtown Idaho Falls utilizes a specific ingredient historically believed to have the answer.
One of history’s most well-known beauties was Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt. And according to legend, the technique she used was bathing daily in donkey milk. She believed its ingredients preserve the skins’s youthful vitality with anti-aging and skin smoothing benefits, according to The Vintage News.
Bumble & Bleat Soapery and Sundry at 357 A Street sells a line of soap products made from milk. But the milk comes from goats — not donkeys.
“My husband and son are both sensitive to cow milk and so we wanted to get goat milk, learning that the protein in it is most similar to human milk,” owner Sharon Reaser tells EastIdahoNews.com about choosing goats over donkeys.
Milk of any kind is known to contain skin nourishing vitamins and minerals, fatty acids, moisturizing non-saturated fats and lactic acid, which Reaser describes as a “natural and gentle exfoliant for the skin.”
“So we can see why (there may have been something to bathing in milk),” Reaser says. “The legend is it took like 500 donkeys to be milked to fill (Cleopatra’s) tub. It makes me laugh to think of who did all that milking and how hard that must’ve been.”
Fortunately for Reaser, it doesn’t take nearly that many goats. She and her husband, Leon, own eight goats on a 3-acre farm on the outskirts of town. And they milk the goats daily to make the products sold in her store.
The entire product line includes soap, body butter, sugar and salt scrubs, bath bombs and solid lotion sticks. For men, there are shave soaps, beard oils and balms.
“Everything is made with goat milk, sans the body butter. It’s a true butter made with just butter and oils. It doesn’t have any liquid added to it so it didn’t lend itself well to the goat milk,” says Reaser.
The other common ingredient is honey, which Reaser says was used to treat different skin conditions in ancient times and also has qualities that help maintain youthful beauty.
And as the business’s name implies, Reaser also sells honey from a local supplier.
Sleepwear, clothing and decor items are also available.
Reaser gained an interest in opening a business like this years ago after learning about the revitalizing properties of milk and honey. She started making soap with goat milk as a hobby and noticed a difference in her own appearance when applying it to her skin. It made her want to share it with others.
It also resonates with customers because, since the June 25 launch, Reaser says she’s had a “better than expected” response.
“We’ve been really pleased,” she says. “People are really excited, interested in the products and liking the smells. That feedback is nice.”
She’s working on getting the website up and running to be able to expand her business and offer her inventory to customers nationwide.
“We’ll continue to bring in more goods. People have asked about shampoo and conditioner bars, so I’m looking into adding that to our line,” says Reaser.
Reaser wants Bumble & Bleat to be a fun place for people to shop that provides “quality and natural skin care.”
Bumble & Bleat Soapery is open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.