Your Daily Thread

September 24, 2008 Written by Tracy Hepler

My best friend, Lauren Johanson, is one multi-talented lady. She’s not only my partner at ydt, but she also started her own skin care company with her other best friend - her mum.

Chivas Skin Care products are made with love by this mother and daughter team just one hour north of Los Angeles at their family farm. Mother, Donna, an animal lover, discovered the benefits of goat milk through The Maker’s Diet (by Jordan Rubin). After getting two French Alpine goats to supply her family with this nutritious drink, she quickly learned that they provided more milk than her family and friends could guzzle. She began experimenting to make anything she could with goat milk, one day trying her hand at soap. As a sufferer of dry skin, she was amazed at the healing and moisturizing effects that this goat milk soap had on her skin. So, she started sharing it with her friends and family who soon couldn’t stop asking for more.

While her Mom was experimenting in the kitchen, Lauren was traveling abroad, learning about different health and beauty traditions from around the world, in addition to developing a deeper understanding of environmental and social justice issues these communities faced. When she returned, she infused this knowledge into her mother’s soap recipe and together they created a skin care line that is not only healthy for your body, but healthy for the world as well.  You can learn more about their story by watching the new Lime.com podcast here.

I’ve benefited first hand from using Chivas products for over two years now. My skin is soft and doesn’t reek of artificial fragrances. This is because Chivas’s soap contains no chemical preservatives, parabens, artificial colorants… or water for that matter (which is a main ingredient in most soaps). It has also helped me streamline my product consumption, as their soap is great for face, hands and body. Add to that environmentally sound packaging and their commitment to Fair Trade Practices (specifically their relationship with the Togo Women’s Cooperative in Africa who supply their Shea Butter). Chivas Skin Care provides a quality product that truly lives by its values, from the tiniest drop of essential oil to the final wrapper it is placed in, and loved all the way around.

Curious? Check out their starter pack that features one bar of goat milk soap, one goat milk facial crème and one vegan lip balm. You can find all of their natural body care products on-line, or check out their local retail locations here. You can also catch this mother daughter duo at the Abbot Kinney Festival this Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008.