Handmade Raw Goats Milk Shampoo Bars - Top Quality Botanical Skin & Beard Care all made on-farm in Lancaster OH
SOME OF THE MOST COMMON QUESTIONS WE GET ABOUT ALL THINGS GOAT
WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAIR HILL FARM AND CAPRIDERMA?
CapriDerma is one of many lines of business that we have at Fair Hill Farm. Others include: registered heritage livestock, Regenerative Agricultural Consulting Services & Permaculture Design, the Fair Hill Farmstead Life Podcast, and Speaking Engagements and a minority stake in Aibo Sharpening, a shear and clipper blade sharpening services (www.aibosharpening.com) Today, this kind of diversified business model is typical for small farms in order to survive financially. We are a regenerative farm, making compost, no herbicides, pesticides, fungicides or synthetic fertilizers.
DO YOU DO SPECIAL ORDERS, LIKE FOR WEDDINGS OR PARTY FAVORS, ETC?
Absolutely! Not only do we develop seasonal scents and soaps, but we also offer event-soaps such as bridal party favors, social home-sale parties, and even will work with you to develop a special scent for your own occasion. Minimum order sizes apply for custom orders. Contact us for info. Let's be creative. Everyone wins.
WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO USE YOUR SHAMPOO BARS?
Remember, a little goes a long way! It might seem like a small bar, but its the same amount of cleansing goodness as you would have in an entire bottle of liquid shampoo, just without the excess water and plastic packaging. First, just swipe the shampoo bar across a fully wet head until it's all had two passes, as if you were swiping on a helmet. Then take a minute to work the soap into your hear and into a lather. Rinse. If you use a conditioner, use that same product, but far less - perhaps 1/4 - 1/8 the usual amount.
HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH YOUR IDEAS FOR SCENTS AND FORMULAS?
I'm very picky, but ultimately it's what other people think that really matters. I have a lot of "stunt noses" and guinea pig friends who gladly lend me their skin to test things on! The many guys who have stunt beards for me have helped a LOT. We use our own products, and even wash our dogs, with our shampoo bars. (We have customers who swear our goat milk shampoo is their secret weapon to get their show poodles, show fiber sheep, market goats and even chickens super clean for the show ring!) We bathe champions! Pro Tip: if you groom or show poodles, we *guarantee* our dog shampoo bars will give your dogs extra coat volume and texture for the show ring. If you are a pro groomer, contact us for special discounts for show-dog shampoos and shear sharpening combo deals. We also listen to our customers and when we get special requests, we put these scents out to the general public for opinion / feedback. This has led us to our widely acclaimed scents of "sandalwood rose", "rosemary mint" and our "groomers special doggie lavender charcoal" special conditioning bars for dogs and livestock showers. Write to us with your ideas and requests - we are eager to listen to your creative ideas and collaborate with you.
DO YOU MILK YOUR GOATS EVERY DAY?
Yep. By hand. Every day on our farm. No matter the weather. 365 days a year.
WHAT BREEDS OF GOATS DO YOU HAVE, HOW MANY DO YOU HAVE, and HOW MUCH DO THEY PRODUCE?
We have LaManchas and Nubians. We have a fluctuating population of 6-12 with 3-6 in milk at a time. Yes we are smallscale but don't be fooled - our girls can produce a gallon per day per goat! Goats are amazingly productive animals. Ours are particularly so.
HOW OLD IS A GOAT WHEN SHE STARTS GIVING MILK?
That depends on the goat! She does not start producing milk until after she has given birth. Here on our farm, that is usually around 2-2.5 years old. We wait longer than other breeders and ensure our goats are physically full grown and mature enough to handle being a momma. Sometimes we sell them to appropriate homes. If you want to know more, contact us to be added to a waiting list for a goat kid (or lamb) from our farm. Very rarely, we will sell a fully trained milking goat, in milk for approx $700+ per trained milking doe. These are rare situations and we select highly qualified families who will cherish our ladies' productivity. They will produce upward of a gallon per day for your family for over a year and then gradually less over the next year or so. This is a tremendous value.
DO YOU BREED YOUR GOATS? AND WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THE GOAT KIDS?
We do limited & controlled breedings each year. It is not necessary to breed a goat every year to keep our ladies productive and milking. Some dairy breeds can go years at the same level of productivity without having another kid. We sell registered youngsters to qualified homes, keep a couple, and occasionally sell trained young milking does to families getting started in homesteading. We also keep daughters of our best girls when they retire. And yes, some of our ladies have earned retirement and will grow old here. They're excellent ambassadors and teachers.
DO YOU MILK YOUR GOATS WHILE THEY ARE PREGNANT?
No. We love our girls. We want them to put their physical energy into growing healthy babies, a healthy pregnancy, and an easy delivery. When they're expecting, their job is to relax and be pampered. Goats are amazing and they have personalities something between a friendly cat and a puppy so we love them dearly. We don't wait till they are pregnant to give them a break, either. We start the "dry off" process (reducing the milk production gradually until they are no longer producing) months before we breed them. It can take *months* to complete this process.
WHAT DO YOU DO WITH EXTRA MILK? DO YOU SELL IT?
We try not to have too much extra. Besides making soap and shampoo with it, we make cheese, butter, yogurt, and even pudding with it. We also drink it raw. We do not sell it; the laws in the state of Ohio is very specific - you cannot sell raw milk for human consumption. When neighbors have an orphan lamb, kid, cow, puppy, kitten, horse, giraffe... whatever, they know we will donate our extra to help that little animal because goats milk is the universal formula for all baby mammals! We also supplement our chickens and turkeys by adding milk into their feed on a regular basis. Our goats are the only source of milk that we use in our household. We are proud to be grocery-store-independent and a fully goats-milk family.
I'VE TRIED GOATS MILK FROM THE GROCERY STORE. IT'S DISGUSTING.
100% AGREE! The goat's milk you buy is ultra pasteurized for long shelf life and has not been stored in temps low enough to keep it from developing a very 'billy-goat' taste. We understand it's hard to believe, but our goat's milk does not taste anything like grocery store goat's milk. When comparing our own goats milk to cow's milk, our goat milk tastes sweeter and lacks the "cow" aftertaste. Back when we drank cow's milk we didn't even realize there was an aftertaste of "eau de cow" But there is. If you' haven't tried fresh/raw goat milk, please reserve judgment and don't disparage. Goat milk is the universal baby formula. For eons, it has sustained humans, orphan animals, and more. Many humans who are allergic to cows milk or have lactose intolerance are able to drink goats milk! Try it local, fresh and raw before you disparage it.