Featured on: The Organic Girl
A Little Piece Of Heaven
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Picture this: Goats browsing on leaves, hay and and lush green grass while enjoying the sun and fresh air. They are fed GMO-free, all natural ingredient grains. Meanwhile free roaming chickens produce fresh, nutrient dense eggs – fresh, real, non-GMO fruit and veggies grow in rich soil free of pesticides and chemical treatments – raw goats milk, cheese and fresh organic veg on deck for a snack – sounds like a little piece of heaven right!?
Well it is and it’s called Serenity Acres Farms, an Animal Welfare Approved Certified farm located in Pinetta, Florida. Julia the owner, started this farm at her home as a hobby and with a surplus of goats milk and a federal grant she was able to gain some traction for her goat’s milk soaps.
An Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) certification means animals are pasture raised (which is not even required with USDA Certified Organic). There are no crates, no cages, feedlots, hormones or subtherapeutic antibiotics use. AWA requires high animal welfare management and slaughter practices and this is all verified by a third party annual audit.
Raw milk is hard to find but can offer some amazing benefits to the body. Interns who volunteer on this farm say when they leave and go back to eating processed foods, their tummies start acting up, their skin starts to break out and they have no energy.
This farm sounds too good to be true but it is true and you can bring a little piece of this clean living haven into your home.
Goat’s milk soap is unique because the pH balance is close to that of human skin and can clean with out stripping the body of it’s essential oils. Serenity Acre Farms also uses a process called superfatting. Soap making is kind of like baking because it requires exact measurements. For soap, an exact ratio of lye to oils is required to make soap chemistry happen. But what Serenity Farms does is add 5% more oils which means when you soap up and rinse off those oils remain on your skin leaving it super moisturized. And because they use raw milk, all of the natural vitamins and nutrients are still present in this cold processed soap making them available to your body. These include vitamins A, B6, C, D, E, milk sugars, proteins and butterfat . All of their soaps are cured for at least six weeks – the longer the cure, the harder the soap and the longer it lasts.
Serenity Acres Farms is extremely conscious and thoughtful about their ingredients and packaging too. Julia, started this farm to get away from toxins, pesticides and antibiotic/hormone filled meats and she carries out this vision and commitment in the selection of her ingredients. Let’s take a look at the unscented bar:
- Grade A Olive Oil
- Coconut Oil
- Animal Welfare Approved Fresh Goat’s Milk
- Organic Sustainable Palm Oil
- Sodium Hydroxide (Food grade lye – the kind used to make pretzels)
- Purified Water
She uses ingredients like essential oils, turmeric, Mediterranean sea salt and French green clay in some of her scented and colored bars. No toxic chemical fragrances or artificial dyes ever. Her packaging is also eco-responsible using recycled box content, printed with soy inks and assembled without any plastic or glue.
My family has been using these soaps for three months now. We keep one at the kitchen sink and one in the shower. The scented ones have a mild aroma and are not overpowering. Because they are cured for six weeks they tend to last longer. Mine have lasted around 2 weeks and that’s because I use it down to the nub, not because it sogs out. I love that they are moisturizing and super clean especially during the northeast winters when my skin tends to seriously dry out. I need all the help I can get and this soap is great for adding back that extra moisture. Plus there are no nasties in it which is what we all really want, right!?
Also, all of her soaps are gluten-free except for the almond-oatmeal scrub which contains oatmeal.
Soaps are 6.50/bar and from 2.12.16 until 3.31.16 you can use coupon code ORGANICGIRL15 for 15% off your online order here.
AND I’ve also teamed up with Julia at Serenity Acres Farms to offer my readers a giveaway! Julia is giving two winners their choice of two bars of soap! US entries only. Winner will be announced on Monday 2.15.16.
Head over to Organic Girl's Instagram page for additional chances to win!