About Us
I worked in the health field for 15 years before coming home to be a wife and mother. Finally having a little free time on my hands, I took up quilting and making homemade bread and being very domestic. As part of that, when I came across a very basic recipe for homemade soap, I just had to try it.
The first batch was a disaster! I stirred the pot for almost 2 hours before giving up and pouring it into the garbage-bag-lined box anyway. After two days of sitting on the counter, it was still soup. Not soap.
Undaunted, I tried again. The next time I was a bit more accurate with my measuring, and it actually turned out really nice! I was very pleased with myself, and set out to find more information.
The first book I found was by Ann Bramson, and I read it cover to cover. I happened to go up to a living history museum, Burritt on the Mountain, in Huntsville, AL, and saw a fellow doing a soapmaking demonstration. I was fascinated! The fellow sold me a gallon of coconut oil, great for big fluffy bubbles, and I was hooked.
As time went by, there were more books, more oils, more fragrances, more choices, and MORE SOAP! One day my husband looked around and said, "honey? How much soap do we need?" So after that I began selling some to help pay for my hobby/addiction, making progress in our formulas and packaging.
I made soap off and on for our family and friends for several years, doing a few little craft shows here and there. In January 2000, we decided we needed to start a business of some kind, and we would raise our family, homeschool the children, put up vegetables from the garden. What did I have in my hand? What did I know how to do? Well, I made good soap. So that's what we did. From there it has grown, as have the children, and now they help me in the soap kitchen (yes, my husband put in a separate kitchen, as we had long since outgrown the utility room.) We work together, stamping, wrapping, labeling, loading and unloading, and manning the booth at craft shows.
It is fulfilling to take a pot of oils and butters and turn it into a thing of beauty; a lovely creamy soap that smells wonderful, makes your skin happy, makes your soul happy!
We live in rural north Alabama, at the end of a beautiful old cow lane, surrounded by pasture and trees and family. We see the occasional deer, wild turkey, skunk families, and other assorted creatures. Making soap has been a blessing to our family, and we hope you are blessed by it as well, whether you purchase it for yourself or someone else.
Sheer Pleasures Soaps is a small family business where each of us makes a contribution. Children help with stamping soaps, labeling, packaging, molding bath bombs, loading and unloading, and product testing. My engineer husband handles business paperwork, assists with soap making, streamlines my efforts, and takes care of me. I get to be creative, putting lots of loving care and thought into each batch of whatever I make. Our desire is to make the best possible products we know how, blessing those who purchase our soaps and lotions, whether it is for self or a gift for someone else.
About Our Soap
Handmade soaps produce glycerin as a by-product of the process, which stays in the soap, unlike commercial soaps, which have had the glycerin removed to use for other things. Our gentle soaps contain a host of natural vegetable oils: olive, avocado, hempseed, sunflower, rice bran, pistachio, to name a few; these are full of nutrients, vitamins A, D, and E, and essential fatty acids that nourish your skin. We use luxurious shea, mango and cocoa butters for superior moisturization, along with goats' milk, whey, herbal teas, honey and aloe vera juice. We infuse oils with botanicals and herbs to enhance their restorative properties. Our soaps are not made from a single basic formula, changing only the fragrance; each one is uniquely formulated and has its own signature. These soaps are designed to clean, without disturbing the skin's natural acid mantle, leaving you clean, refreshed and pampered. Our skin is our largest organ. Just as we take care of our internal systems, our skin needs special care as well.
Step into the shower with a bar of our soap. It feels solid, substantial in your hands. You'll find it has great lather-- big silky bubbles, dense creamy lather that fills your bathroom with fragrance. It's a Sheer Pleasure to use! When you are through, just place the soap where the water does not hit it, preferably where it will drain, to prolong the life of your soap.
If there is a scent or product you have purchased from us in person that you don't see on the website, please email us, as it may still be available.
After many years of soapmaking, we have decided to change our name to Sheer Pleasures Soap. It's still the same family business, making luxury soaps and gourmet bath products, all from raw materials, down on the family farm. These are still Beth's soaps, even though the website and labels may look slightly different. Thanks to all my loyal customers for your support through this transition. Be blessed!