6 unique Wisconsin handmade soaps

Wisconsin is known for dairy products such as cheese and milk, which is usually associated with our mouth-watering food. However, Wisconsin uses dairy products in more ways than just one.

Handmade soaps in Wisconsin not only encompass many unique scents and designs, but some also include goat milk for a rich, moisturizing lather. These are perfect for your sun-kissed skin!

Century Farmhouse (West Bend)

Located in West Bend, this shop uses all natural ingredients. They make their soaps with filtered rainwater, organic teas, maple sap or snow, and scent them with only essential plant oils. They also work with farmers and growers from the United States, United Kingdom and Canada for organically grown botanicals that are included in the soaps. Wisconsin provides its share by pitching in honey, maple syrup and organically grown lavender. One to check out is the Whiskey Vanilla Luffa Garden Soap, which celebrates the luffa grower from Tennessee and uses Jack Daniel’s whiskey to grace the smell!

Lucy’s Soap (Eau Claire)

Lucy’s Soap is named in honor of the owner’s great-grandma Lucy, who was her inspiration to become a farmer. These soaps are handmade in small batches, using the moisturizing goat milk produced by their small herd of Alpine dairy goats. This shop truly believes in the saying, “slow and steady wins the race.” Lucy’s Soap takes approximately six weeks to make because they are “French-milled,” which means the soap has been melted twice to help it last longer and hold the scent longer. These soaps are available in an array of scents and designs. One of their most unique scents is “dirt,” which, yes, smells like soil! (Perfect to take a piece of America’s Dairyland home to get that Wisconsin farm smell, right?)

Shamrock Soaps (Ixonia)

Located in Ixonia, between Milwaukee and Madison, all of their soaps are handmade in small batches. Although they use local ingredients such as homegrown hops and Wisconsin honey, the secret to their recipes is bringing the feeling of calm that they get in Ireland when visiting family into all of their soaps. They have started a quiet revolution, one bath at a time, where people take care of themselves and pause to unwind every day. Their best seller is the Irish Stout Soap, made with Irish stout beer, which makes a perfect all-purpose bar for both skin and hair. Here’s a fun niche soap that caught our attention: Shamrock Soaps carries their own line of skin care for Irish dancers, including the popular Kick Your Bum Foot Balm and Championship Legs Sugar Scrub.

Kreative Kraftwerks (Fond du Lac)

This shop began as a hobby in 2002 while the owners were working for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. Specializing in soy candles, they soon began formulating handcrafted soap and lotion. Fast forward a few years: The owners recently purchased Absolute Soap, a Florida company. Absolute Soap products are made with many skin-moisturizing ingredients including unrefined Shea butter, organic cocoa butter and fragrance or essential oil blends. They also offer perfumes and Crush on You Sugar Scrubs.

Shiney Goat (Amherst)

Located in Amherst, Shiney Goat began by doing Internet marketing with Dancy Rose Soaps to bring those soaps to rural central Wisconsin. After two years of bringing Dancy Rose Soaps to their customers, their friend Rosie decided to close up shop to pursue other opportunities. No fear, however, as they bought the recipes for some of the bath and body products and put their own twist on a good product. They have goat milk bar soaps and castile soaps, which are made with animal-friendly vegetable fats. As for our favorite thing about Shiney Goat? Beer soaps. You can indulge in beer sans the guilt a la Butt Nekkit Drunken Goat Beer Soap.

Heaven Scent Gardens (southern Door County)

Heaven Scent Gardens has all-natural botanical handcrafted bath and body products to rejuvenate your skin and stimulate your sense of smell with a full line of aromatherapy body products. Some of the soaps they offer include Bug Me Not and Fisherman’s Soap. Bug Me Not is packed full of essential oils that bugs hate (perfect for this time of year!). Fisherman’s Soap has the primary scent of anise oil, which attracts fish and masks human scent. For the ladies, they have the best type of soap one can offer after a long day of work and/or lounging around: Wine Soap.

Cassidy Neuville works behind the scenes with the Discover Wisconsin crew. Watch Discover Wisconsin Saturdays at 10 a.m. on FSN Wisconsin’s outdoor block. On Twitter @DiscoverWI .