At age 19 I married and began my adult life in a small rural ranching community, hay fields, cattle, sheep, goats and pick up trucks. Quite a change from Southern California beaches and tennis courts I hailed from. Pancake breakfasts, cowboy boots and a meeting place for coffee every morning was the norm. The women in the community taught me skills they felt every woman should know… preparing game animals, canning your garden goods, and making excellent pies.
During that time developed an interest in spinning wool from my own animals, making soaps from fresh goats milk, and just about anything to make the farm to table connection.
A good life, as they say!
While doing research in the 90’s I came across a book about natural organic hair and skin care. What excited me was that it included recipes I could make at home. The closest town had a natural food co-op brimming with herbs, roots, teas and seeds I had never heard of, but wanted to learn about. Choosing a recipe from the book for a natural skin tonic. I gathered up numerous ingredients, used a witch hazel base and steeped a huge pot of tonic. After straining this dark concoction, I had a rich herbal toner which felt and smelled wonderful. Wow! I had to share this with everyone I knew.
The simple fascination of making something so wonderful and useful, motivated me to expand into lotions, creams, scalp tonics, and soaps, all from natural ingredients.
