Soap opera: Santa Fe couple uses goats to produce soap

By Ruth Ann Ruiz

The Post Newspaper Features Editor

The ancient science of soap making has become a way of life for Laura and Jim Stone on their goat farm in Santa Fe. 

“We bought three goats for fresh goat milk when our children were little.” said Jim. Then the breeding of goats followed with little baby goats joining the farm life on a regular basis. 

“We had a lot of leftover goat milk, we were giving it away and I was even pouring it on my roses we had so much. That’s when I started researching how to make goat milk soap.” Laura explained. 

It takes a chemical reaction with lye, heat, cold and two fatty products to make soap. 

All of this can be done in a cozy household kitchen. Laura wanted to be sure her kitchen chemistry did not turn into a catastrophe, so she spent two years digging up information on how to safely make soap. 

“You have to do it right or the soap can burn people’s skin,” she explained.

Meanwhile, she kept busy giving away the goat milk, learning about breeding healthy goats and homeschooling their three children. Jim works as an industrial hygienist in environmental toxicology at UTMB in Galveston. He was confident his wife would be able to produce safe soap, but she needed time to give herself a through indoctrination in the process.

She produced her first batch of soap and lotions and gave it away as Christmas gifts. The inevitable followed: people asked her to make more and encouraged her to sell her soap and lotion. With a goat as her logo, she began her official business. In 2010, Bearded Lady Soap Factory was born. 

Laura is protective of her goats and her soap making process. “I ensure everything is just right from the type of goats I breed to everything I use in my soap,” she said. Her goats are all tested for viruses common in goats and she will not purchase a goat unless it has papers documenting the goat’s health and heritage. 

The Stone farm hosts three heard, sire goats, many adult female goats and an endless supply of kid goats. Laura breeds her goats throughout the year so that she has a continuous supply of milk to use in her soap making. All male goats born on the farm are sold. 

 It was about a year ago she discovered that goats grow up with a people-friendly personality if she fed them from a bottle. Now, not only does she milk her goats for soap, she also feeds the newborns. The goats are an attraction for her customers and their children, so having goats that relate to people is good for her business. 

Her most recent batch of baby goats came from two mothers each giving birth in the early morning hours of March 8. Both goats birthed twins. 

 “I heard the dogs barking and then the sound of the goats bleating, and I knew it was happening,” said Jim. 

Laura attends the birth of most of the goats, but not the ones in the middle of the night. “I need my sleep,” said Laura. Days on the farm start at 5:30am and the lights do not go out until close to midnight. 

The Stones plan to develop their business model to include production and sale of grade A raw goat milk. So far, they are following state standards in testing and vaccinations of their goats. The next step is to update the milking room to meet the standards. 

“It will take time, but we will get there,” said Laura.