From My Kitchen to His Hands:
Why I Still Do What I Do
Nine years ago, I was standing in my tiny kitchen, frustrated, itchy, and honestly—kinda desperate. My back was covered in dry, irritated, eczema-prone skin that no store-bought product could soothe. Every lotion stung. Every “gentle” soap felt like sandpaper. I started researching, learning, and experimenting—because I just knew that our skin deserves more than chemicals in disguise. I wanted ingredients that made sense. That came from the Earth. That fed the skin, not just scented it.
That’s where it all began—my very first bar of natural soap. I made it with vitamins, minerals, and oils that our skin craves but rarely gets. That bar changed my life, and over the years, I started making more. First for myself, then for my family… and eventually for the world outside my kitchen. Flash forward to today. I walked into our shop to find my husband (and co-owner!) already at the register, checking out a customer with six bars of soap in his hands.
The man looked up and said, “I have super dry skin—like, ash on ash. When I get out of the shower, my arms and hands look like I dipped them in flour. But your soap? My skin doesn’t do that anymore. It actually feels clean AND moisturized. I had to come back for more.”
And just like that, I was brought right back to where it all started. To my kitchen. To my back. To my “why.” It’s moments like that—tiny, passing, beautiful conversations—that remind me what this journey is all about. It’s not just soap. It’s healing. It’s connection. It’s about using the gifts that nature’s ingredients that god gave us to care for ourselves and each other, naturally and lovingly. So to that kind customer today: thank you. Your words were a full-circle moment for me. And to every person out there with sensitive, dry, or eczema-prone skin: I see you, I was you, and I make these products for you.
With love, ash-free arms, and a messy heart,
Your Messy Soap Maker, Nicole