Bathroom Suds With a Touch of Sass

Molly Moore | August 1, 2011 | 1 Comment

When a long-time customer sent an email from Afghanistan asking about a remedy for raw and bleeding feet—the result of wearing combat boots for 14 hours a day—Sassy Goat Milk Soap owner Jill Wyse set to work on a batch of lotion to help.

Wyse created Sassy Goats in 2005 after she added three goats to her newly purchased farm near the Tennessee-Georgia border. Ruby, the beloved mascot of Wyse’s company, was pregnant with twins and Wyse found herself with an overabundance of goat milk.

“I started studying the theory of soap making,” said Wyse. “I went through about 30 different formulas before I found the right recipe.”

One benefit of goats milk is that its low pH level is similar to human skin, so it provides a gentle and soothing cleanser. Wyse combines all-natural honey, shea butter, olive oil and coconut butter to make soaps, shampoos, conditioners and lotions. The above ingredients all contain humectant properties—those that actively draw moisture to your skin all day long.

Wyse gets about a gallon of milk per day from each of her La Mancha goats and still makes all of her soap by hand in single batches. She currently has 11 grown does and two baby does and milks four of them.

One thing Wyse never skimps on: doting on her goats.

“I feed them whole grains with no medication and no fillers,” said Wyse. “It is important that the goats eat fresh greens and hay not medicated with antibiotics. It really comes out in the final product.”

Wyse also prints and designs all of her own labels, using Ruby—with her signature sassy hats and deliciously red lips—to brand the company. Ruby even has her own jingle, which you can listen to on Sassy Goat’s website.

Thanks to her background in advertising and web design, Wyse has developed an online store with a huge market. She receives orders from all over the country. Her eye for marketing, combined with Ruby’s modeling skills, makes a highly effective sales team for Sassy Goats.

“Everybody has a goat story and everybody loves goats,” said Wyse. “I really am convinced that a good product starts with the goats and how they are treated.”

Wyse’s latest projects include a line of t-shirts and other items sporting the Sassy Goat logo and an upcoming line of soap dishes fashioned, of course, after Ruby.

To check out Sassy Goats, visit: sassygoatmilksoap.com

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