Colorado Real Soap Company

Sometimes I come across a company that simply captures my heart. For me, it’s kinda like falling in love with a new friend — you love the way they look, how interesting they are, and ultimately how they make you feel. And that’s precisely what happened when I discovered the Colorado Real Soap Company.

Val Jaquith, a former mosaic artist started making her own soaps, shampoos, lotions, and potions using things like pine needles, blossoms, bark and more that she foraged for in the forest near her home in Crested Butte. Yes, she hand-forages all sorts of these simple, but magical ingredients for her products in the forests behind her home. Three summers ago she started selling her Colorado Real Soap at the Crested Butte farmers’ market, but demand was so strong she launched an online shop so anyone anywhere can buy her wonderful products. She never uses any chemical fragrances, dyes, SLS, parabens, formaldehyde, and most of her ingredients are organic.

When I first discovered her company, it was through her dog shampoo and paw balm (I actually use it on my hands when my eczema flares, as well as my puppy’s hot spot). She’s is a huge dog lover, so I trust her implicitly to only put good, safe ingredients in her products. And despite the picture of my sweet little Buffy looking miserable getting a bath, she not only smells great, but her coat is thoroughly clean.

New Mama Gifts

Recently I had a dear friend become a new mom and I wanted to give her something just for her and something from Colorado. When I had my two girls, the gifts I loved the most were, selfishly, the ones just for me. I had plenty of baby clothes and gear, and what I didn’t have I could borrow or find at the local thrift store for a few pennies. And after nine months of making a person, coupled with those early, hazy days of infant life, moms are the ones who need the love. If the mom isn’t well taken care of and treated like the goddess that she is, I truly believe there’s a very good chance the baby will not be as content/happy.

So I ordered her some of the Rose Petal and Rosehip Infused Serum with Vitamin C, as well as the Serene all over lotion, and a bar of her luxurious olive oil soap scented with lavender and lemongrass. A week after, she wrote and thanked me not only for the amazing products but also for giving her the gift of remembering to take care of herself.

And then because it’s winter and I wanted a little something for myself, I picked up a Cocoa Butter Grit Bar. Damn – what a treat after a long day of skiing or running to step into a  shower and emerge a few minutes later not only completely exfoliated but also totally moisturized. I also bought another batch of what is now my go-to hand soap — it comes in a concentrate and when mixed with water it becomes a foamy delight. I’ve used her hand soap for the past two on my kitchen sink and in each of our bathrooms and my latest favorite is Wild Mountain Rose. Last year I was all about her Many Thieves soap, which probably would have been a better choice this season as three out of four of us have been felled by the flu, but I’m a sucker these days for anything rose scented.

If you’re a local Coloradan and want to give a gift made with pure ingredients from our wonderful state or if you’re not from here, but want to capture a little of our essence and support a cottage industry, the Colorado Soap Company is an ideal choice. Plus, if spend $55 or more, she’ll throw in free shipping!

As Amazon becomes mightier, isn’t it’s always nice to simply just support local, cottage industries, especially when they make first-rate products that you can feel incredibly good about?