More than Goat Milk Soap

Welcome to Honey Sweetie Acres! Steve and Regina Bauscher live in Goshen, OH, a quiet rural community approximately 30 miles east of Cincinnati, OH.

Back in 2011, my husband and I decided to return to the rural lifestyle we had as kids. Our children were all adults and had their own lives.  We wanted “Food Freedom”, the ability to choose farm grown, preservative free vegetables for consumption & canning.  We also wanted access to RAW GOAT MILK, which at the time was difficult without owning your own milking herd.  So we began our second life raising kids, only this time…..our girls and boys are Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats.    Learn More about our goat care>>

With an education in chemistry, I had made natural soap for my children in previous years. I knew the value of lipo-proteins and specific enzymes, and began making soap for my husband’s skin condition. He had been to a dermatologist for cracking, peeling, splitting skin on his hands and fingers. Prescriptions kept the condition tolerable but it would not go away. So after 30 days of using our “goat milk soap”, Steve’s skin condition cleared and has never returned.

For over a year, from 2011 – 2012,  we continued to evaluate and perfect our goat milk soap.  Soap is a very dense field with tons of creators.  So how were we ever going to set ourselves apart?  By using the very best ingredients, leveraging our chemistry knowledge, pursuing multiple certifications including further education on skin anatomy & function, embracing product testing and offering complete transparency with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Our mission is to bring natural, healthy, sustainable skin care products to those who need them.  We believe in goat milk products and the therapeutic use of essential oils.  We seek out and encourage those with skin issues to talk to us, try our products and give us continuing feedback. It is the power and motivation behind every step we take each day.  Let us hear from you, let us know how we can help you avoid chemical laden skin care.

Please visit our page “What Makes Us Different” to fully understand why we are a chosen supplier to Whole Foods and many other stores in multiple states.

People ask us all the time, why did you start making soap? At first, like everyone else who has ever made soap, it was an interesting experiment. After all, we had heard about the benefits of goat milk soap for years. Now we had our own goats, so why not? Little did we know, it would be an amazing journey.

Steve has spent the majority of his life in high-end construction. His hands have met the rigors of exposure to grout, thin-set, mortar, concrete and other caustic substances which wreak havoc on the skin. For over two years, he battled a fungus type condition on this hands that would not go away. The skin would peel, crack and bleed. Visits to a dermatologist resulted in expensive prescriptions that helped to a small degree, but the problem persisted. After a month of using our goat milk soap, not only did the condition improve, but it finally went away altogether and has never returned. Family & friends began using our soap and found they no longer had to use copious amounts of lotion to moisturize their skin. With that, we began a year of research into making goat milk soap and natural skin care products as artisan producers…….. before we ever offered our soap to the public. A chemistry education/experience in atomic absorption spectroscopy, water analysis and gas chromatography combined with a degree in business, made the soap business a natural fit. We wanted to share the benefits and help other people who suffer from a myriad of skin conditions. Goat milk soap cannot cure eczema, psoriasis or other inflammatory conditions, but it often can help provide some degree of skin comfort and relief, varying from person to person. It is tremendously satisfying when customers return and share their stories of skin improvement!

Nigerian Dwarf Goats are the smallest dairy goat breed. Maximum height for American Dairy Goat Association does is 22.5 inches and 23.5 inches for bucks. Smaller dairy goats are easier to handle, less acreage is required, and fences are easier to maintain. However, we chose the Nigerian for their extremely high butterfat milk (higher than any other goat breed) and its superior lipoprotein makeup for our soap production. Size, attitude and milk composition, made them a win-win for us. A quality Nigerian can produce upwards of a 1/2 gallon of milk a day, sometimes more. However, production is heavily dependent on genetics and the proper diet.

Nigerians are a very affectionate breed. Heidi is an example. She wraps her head and neck around Steve whenever he picks her up. This may have something to do with raising her in the house for her first 30 days of life, as she was a tiny survivor of a C-Section.

Many people scratch their head at our farm name. The seeds for the name were planted after watching an episode of the TV reality show, Man-Woman-Wild. The show featured a former Army Special Services survival expert, Michael Hawke and his petite, journalist wife Ruth. The episodes revolved around how to survive and function in some of the world’s most wild and inhospitable places, and still remain an amicable husband and wife during the ordeal. As we watched the episode, we were shocked and laughingly entertained by how many times Hawke referred to his wife as “Honey” or “Sweetie.” I pointed this out to my husband Steve, that as evidenced by the program, a man can get his wife to do ABOUT ANYTHING if he uses words like “Honey” and “Sweetie” often enough! Steve’s only response was a sly smirk.

Later that week when I returned home from a business trip, I found this sign above the goat pen. With such a nice gesture, what’s a girl to do? So the name stuck and Honey Sweetie Acres was born.