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Coach Mikki and Friends
The Most Courageous Thing You Can Do.. Is Be Yourself! - Coach Mikki
C'mon in and make yourself comfortable! Grab a cup of coffee and listen in as our Circle of Friends Guests share their stories! We hope to inspire you, make you laugh and maybe teach you something new.
Come as you are, no perfection is needed!
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Coach Mikki and Friends
Embracing Organic Wellness with Garden Gate Soaps - Beth Hinderaker - S4E15
Beth Hinderacker, the visionary force behind Garden Gate Soaps, joins us to share her inspiring journey from a concerned mother to a pioneer in the organic skincare industry. Discover how Beth's quest to find safe, allergy-friendly products for her children sparked a booming business in natural skincare and personal care products. Her story is a testament to the power of creativity and passion, as she turned homemade remedies into a successful enterprise embraced by many seeking pure and effective alternatives. Beth's unique approach and commitment to organic health also highlight the importance of understanding what we put on our skin and how it impacts our overall well-being.
Throughout our conversation, Beth opens up about her innovative process, including the creation of products like the rice milk soap inspired by Japanese exchange students and the "Man Puck" line that caters to men. We also touch on the critical issues related to allergies and skin health, emphasizing personalized skincare solutions. Beth provides valuable insights into the perils of commercial products, such as the dangers of paraffin candles, and offers advice on choosing safer options. Her dedication to helping others and her creative spirit shine through, making this episode a must-listen for anyone interested in natural luxury and thoughtful self-care.
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Beth's Instagram
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Hey, I'm Coach Mickey and I'm so glad that you've joined us, and if this is your first time joining us, come on in and make yourself comfortable. And for those of you that join us on a regular basis, we are so glad that you do. And I'm really excited today and you guys know I'm always excited about my guests but you guys are going to have so much fun. I've had an opportunity not only to know her as a person and know that she's the real deal with what she does and who she is, but also her products just speak in volumes of what we can do, and I'm going to jump right in because this is not only fun for what we're coming through into the holidays, but any time of the year, for anything, and as you guys learn about this, it'll make more sense.
Speaker 2:So I'm glad to have you.
Speaker 1:How are you, Beth Hinderrocker?
Speaker 2:I am wonderful Thank you for having me today.
Speaker 1:Well, I am so glad that you're here and I love your company, Garden Gate Soaps. I love it. I've given them as gifts. I love what you're all about and I was really, really excited to have you on as a guest because I think your story really needs to be told and I think it gives people an opportunity to know that there's other choices out there and why, when it comes to not only our soaps but our candles and our lotions and I know the love and tedious tasks that you go into every single one of your products. So I'm going to let you jump right in and start with your story.
Speaker 2:So I'm going to let you jump right in and start with your story. Oh, thank you. Well, you know, my company was really born out of a need. My kids are in their late 20s and their early 30s but they came out with allergies and they literally came out sick and with allergies, no matter how healthy I worked with them. So, honestly, I should have had stock in Quaker Oats, because they would look at a food or they would pick up a product and they'd break out in hives and be just super itchy.
Speaker 2:So I was forever using my grinder in the kitchen to grind up the oats and throw them in a bathtub as toddlers to try and give them some relief. So before there were green companies out there that could help you have a green home, I had a green home, I had to. I didn't have a choice. And before there were oil companies, I was going to Chinatown and buying oils and jury rigging a diffuser. I mean, you know, I mean I was way kind of the original crunchy mom, you know, and but I did it because my kids were miserable and I learned so much along the way and lots of moms came to me along the way and said what are you doing? You're, you know your kids aren't itchy anymore and would you share that information? And so I did, and so I have made my family's personal care products for over 30 years now and never really thought of taking it outside and into a business until I moved from Southern California to Central California just before the pandemic hit. And pandemic, everybody's locked inside. Moms are having to have their kids school online on Zoom. A lot of tension and anxiety in the household because of that.
Speaker 2:So I was sending gift baskets back to Southern California to all my girlfriends to cheer them up because I take a nice hot bath every morning with really good homemade product. So I literally, you know, called the boxes take a bath on Beth, right, I mean I just so I put together my homemade tea, my soaps, my lotions and I just sent them and say, hey, take a hot bath, settle back, listen to some great music and just feel good. You know, love you Beth. And it went nuts and I had no clue that would happen. And so one of my friends challenged me to put a post on Facebook with a picture of what I'd made her and I'm like, really, she goes yeah, people would buy your soap. And I'm like people would buy my soap, and so you know, I threw a post out there and kind of laughed, and in two days I had 250 bars of soap sold. So I had to get cracking and make a lot of soap.
Speaker 2:And then on Mother's Day they asked me to design gift boxes. And again, 40 gift boxes in two hours, pre-sale. Same thing with Father's Day, and my husband turned to me and said I think this really needs to be a legitimate second business for you, because obviously people want what you provide. And so the whole point is clean, pure, affordable luxury. I use really, really everything in my products are organic. They're not certified organic because I don't want to go through the bunny process, I don't want to deal with the FDA, but everything I use in my products is food grade pure, and you need to nourish your skin, because what you put on your skin eventually ends up inside your body, and so you know I've I've long been passionate about organic, pure health, and so it just made sense to create product that nourishes the outside and the inside at the same time.
Speaker 1:And and I love that because I think there's a lot of products out there that say they're going to do something. But what we don't understand is that you're right, Our skin is our largest organ on our body and it absorbs everything, and then it does end up in your, in your bloodstream. Correct me if I'm wrong on that. Am I correct on that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, normally, like the butters and oils and soaps, won't end up in your bloodstreams. But most of the soaps out there at big box stores have chemical surfactants in them to create a bigger lather, to make the bar super hard and last longer, and they're actually detergent. They're what you need to wash your car with, but not your body, and those are endocrine disruptors and they're actually really dangerous to use, especially on your young children. So mine was just born out of a need and I love chemistry and I love learning and so I, you know, I just took a really deep dive into soaping and learned a lot and then, just you know, put feet to it.
Speaker 1:Well, the other thing, too, that I would like to share with everyone is, even over the timeframe that we've talked in the past, it's not just these, these natural ingredients. I mean you take, when I said you take tedious care of everything that you put in your products, share with our, with our listeners. I mean I that you put in your products, share with our listeners. I mean I know you grow all your stuff, I mean, and you told me you just brought what? 300 plants. And I'm going to let you share that story because I'm not even going to attempt to try to explain that one.
Speaker 2:Well, I grow all the botanicals that I infuse into my oils and so I buy my oils and butters from really great women run micro businesses, which is great and I believe in supporting the women and children of the world and I'm very passionate about that. But I grow all the botanicals. So, from seed to seal, I control the purity. So I grow all the herbs, the fruits, all the things that I use and I actually heat distill or cold distill into my different carrier oils for the different purposes and what types of products they are.
Speaker 2:So I don't have a laundry room, I have an apothecary. Literally, you know my laundry room, all my cabinets are my apothecary, and so I'm always four to six months ahead. So, like right now, I'm planting 300 medicinal calendula plants in my on my property between over this week, because in springtime I'm out at 6 am every morning with my gathering basket and my little scissors and I trim every perfect blossom as it's opened and then I dry it in my commercial dehydrator at a low heat, low and slow, to keep the medicinal properties within the petals, and then I use that dried product to tincture into the oil. So I'm growing in spring to tincture for winter. So I'm always six months ahead in my growing, so I swap out the plants in my yard like a woman swaps accessories. So I'm always switching my harvests and I grow not only for my soaps and lotions, but I grow because I make medicinal tinctures for my family and friends as well. So everything in my yard has a purpose for food, medicinal or something.
Speaker 1:Now is the timing crucial. Like I know, there's certain herbs and certain things that you have to harvest it or use it because it has the most potency for that type of thing. So is it kind of the same thing that you do in regards to like your plants and your herbs?
Speaker 2:Yes, so like calendula blooms in spring, but in central California, where I live, I need to put it in now so that it grows deep roots, so that when the heat of next summer hits I can still harvest. They won't fizzle up and die because it gets so so hot here. So you just need to know the growing patterns of where you live. When I lived in Southern California, I could I could plant 365 days a year. It didn't matter because it was inclement weather. Here it's not, it's big swings. So I've had to learn the harvest calendar and the frost calendar and it's been a great learning curve. But I've had to really plan much more because of the wide and varied weather swings.
Speaker 1:Wow, I mean, I guess that makes sense, because each climate is going to offer something different, so you've had to adjust. Now I want to backtrack a little bit, because I know that you are also an advocate of helping women and children that have suffered through human trafficking. Is that correct?
Speaker 2:Yes, and I support that. The proceeds from this business help support that, and the direct organization is called she Is Safe. You can find it on sheissafeorg. It's a beautiful organization and the founder was actually rescued out of trafficking and I love that. And they rescue women and children all over the world, including right here within my own community, and so I believe in giving back, and so a portion of every sale goes to help rescue women and children, and I set a huge goal every fourth quarter and I dedicate my fourth quarter to raising funds to do that. And the last year my goal was to sell 500 bars of soap to help rescue 14 moms and babies, and this year my goal is 1,000, so I can help rescue 28. And my goal by next year is to be able to help rescue 100. And then my five to seven year plan is to be able to help rescue a mom and a baby every day of the year.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's amazing. I mean your heart is so huge. I mean I just what you do and what you offer. Like I said when I said in the beginning, you know you're the real deal because I know and I've seen you do it firsthand, and I know your heart, beth, and I mean you are an extraordinary person. I mean not only for the care that you put in all your products, but what you do to help others. You know, along the way on your journey. You know and thank you for that. That is, that is so, like I said, you're extraordinary, you really are.
Speaker 1:So now we're going to help you with that, because I want everybody who is listening whether you're listening to it now or you're listening into January or June or wherever you come on and listen to Coach Mickey and Friends please know that the links will be down here in the into the description. If you're looking at us on YouTube and if you are listening to me on the podcast, then please make sure that you go, because the links will be embedded. Where you see Garden Gate Soap, just click on that link and it'll take you straight to Beth's website and you can. You can actually get some, some beautiful gifts there for not only for yourself, because we need self-care right, but also for for other people and your loved ones and your family and your friends. Uh, so so, beth, I know you have started with the soaps. I know you've moved on to candles and some other stuff, so I want to talk about that and you've got a little. Let let's see. Let's see what you got. I know, let's see one of your soaps.
Speaker 2:You know it's really fun and beautiful. This is what started it all. This is the soap I designed because of my kids allergies, and so this is really pure. It's coconut milk, coconut oil, olive oil and pureed baby carrot, and so it's so pure you can use it on a newborn's face, and I wouldn't. Newborns really don't need soap because you know they've got really great skin oils. But you know, some newborns are born with skin issues and so this is so pure a newborn can use it.
Speaker 2:And it began like this beautiful sunflower because it's my daughter's favorite flower, and then men were stealing it to shave with because it's a beautiful soap Head to toe. It's beautiful, Great. It's a beautiful soap head to toe. It's beautiful, Great for people with skin issues, just super gentle. And so my friend, who is a hockey ref and a hockey player, came to me and he goes my wife's getting mad because I'm stealing her sunflower to like shave with. Could you make something that looks manly? I'm like, well, define manly, because I have plenty of men who come to me to buy all, all of the different soaps and they don't really care that it's super decorated and he goes well, I'm a hockey player, could you make something that looks like a hockey puck?
Speaker 2:I'm like sure, and he's like you really need a man's line. I'm like, okay, I'm open to that. And he goes, what do you call it? And I said, well, it's a puck for hockey and you're a man, let's call it man puck. So I took the four soaps that men were stealing from their wives the most and turned them into the man puck and launched my man puck line this last year and it's as equally popular with men as all of my other soaps are for the women, because they you know, they want to have something. And I even got to the point. This is see, this is the version that used to be the flower, this is the simple one, for the men had fun designing my own boxes, learned how to put my qr code on. I've learned a lot in this journey and so my man puck line is very popular as well and I really really enjoy that and um.
Speaker 2:So I've had a lot of fun and you'll notice a lot of my soaps are very decorative. It's because I'm creative and I and I love doing that. It doesn't mean that they're any more special than any of the bars that aren't so decorative. It's just the creative bug hit me and there's a story. Behind every soap there's a reason I developed it or a story, and case in point is my rice milk bar.
Speaker 2:My sister used to buy a really high-end department store brand of makeup. She was a big makeup person and she would buy their soap for $25 a bar. Every Christmas She'd save up and buy 12 bars and I'm like are you kidding me? You don't need to pay that much for a good soap. And it was filled with chemicals and I'm like that Plus, that's not good for you. So we have Japanese exchange students live with us for seven years straight and they always brought a little tiny white bar of soap made with rice milk and their skin was flawless. Always brought a little tiny white bar of soap made with rice milk and their skin was flawless. So again, my curiosity and my research love that I dove deep into the chemistry of rice soap and so I designed my own rice milk soap for her, and now she buys this like six to 10 bars at a time and it's the only soap she'll use. But I feel like I saved her from the chemical soap, and so you know, usually something will grab me, someone will have a need, and that's where I'll research and I'll learn from.
Speaker 2:And then my soaps can also be thematic. This is my really popular nativity soap. It's called silent night and it's scented with frankincense and Mar, and I only make this one for December, and so super fun. So I rotate, I rotate things and my candles are pure. It's my own wax blend I've been doing for years. It's soy, coconut and apricot wax, completely non-toxic, lead-free, zinc-free wicks, smokeless, and so what you're left with afterwards is a beautiful dish.
Speaker 2:And I collect dishes all year just for the holidays, and I collect little mini casserole dishes. So here's an example of this year's. I've got 14 different designs this year, but again, all you'll have left over at the end is the little wick that you flick out of the bottom and you have a beautiful oven safe, microwave safe baking dish that you can fill and re-gift, or you can come back to me and have me refill it. I have customers locally who collect the dishes that I present my candles with every year and they come back to me and say, okay, I've got all these empty dishes. Could we pick some different scents, and you can just refill them with all different scents, and I do that too. That's awesome.
Speaker 1:I love it, and it's like a dual purpose, so it's not just a candle.
Speaker 2:Yes, I'm a twofer gal. If I'm going to, I want to sale, I want to save money and I gifts with every purchase because I love getting gifts. So you know, I just I always try to think of my customers as family and I want to bless family. So I have my soaps and my candles and I launched my day and my night serum this year, which sell out weekly. I make very small control batch and that's pretty amazing. The story about that is on the side. And my bath bombs and my steamers and my bath towels all of them are organic. It's it's all food grade, pure and very nourishing for the skin.
Speaker 1:So I want to ask you because I've got quite a few friends that suffer from eczema, which is unfortunate, so I know a lot of your because your soaps are pure somebody who who suffers from that? Have you seen? I know you can't make any kind of claims or anything- but it was people that have eczema.
Speaker 2:Have you seen that has helped them. In regards to that? Can't say the words, but I can hold this up. It's called Pure Bastille and I have a lot of customers with skin issues and we don't know what triggers it with each of them. It could be gut dysbiosis. They could have some gut issues, which I specialize in also and I deal with that as well with people. It could be conduct dermatitis. It could be they're allergic to fragrances and store-bought. It could be they're actually allergic to coconut oil. Right, I have coconut oil free bars for those customers who you know, I just I dig deep into their personal history and ask and then I usually can fit something to their needs. But yes, I have a lot of customers and a lot of them are children, you know, because the kids will just eat the junk food. They don't think about what goes in their body and then it manifests on the skin and so oftentimes if you can provide really pure, nourishing products, then when their skin improves, their choices for their food improves.
Speaker 1:I've got a girlfriend who's allergic to glycerin and I've watched her suffer multiple times.
Speaker 1:Just everything she buys she has to look at it to see if the ingredients have got glycerin in it and we're not aware of it. I mean, a lot of people buy stuff because they like the smell of it or because it's the hottest trend, but the reality is is, if you really turn things over and look at the ingredients, you'd be mortified if you knew what those real ingredients are that you're putting not only on your face but, you know, also in your hair, you know. So there's there's so many things that we can learn from this, and I like the fact that you have done the research and taken the time to say, okay, this is why this is happening, and knowing and you're, you're not cookie cutter you are taking and making something that is individualized for each person's needs and, uh, that that's amazing. That's one of the things I love about garden gate soap, because you are just so in tune with what people need regards to what's transpiring with their, with their skin and their body.
Speaker 2:Well, and glycerin. Interesting point Glycerin is a really great humectant. Glycerin holds moisture in the skin. It's a natural byproduct of soap making. I do not add glycerin to my products, but glycerin is created from natural butters and oils through the saponification process, the heating process where the bar soap is created. And that's good glycerin, right. Virtually no one is allergic to natural glycerin, or you couldn't eat any fruits and vegetables because there's natural glycerin in all the fruits and vegetables we eat.
Speaker 2:But the man-made glycerin that people add, like commercial soap companies add, they've chemically extracted it from the vegetables, they've processed it, bleached it, run it through chemical processes to pull out the good stuff to use in really high-end products. And then it's the cruddy leftover junk that they put back into the big box shelf products. And so oftentimes people are buying something they think is organic but it says glycerin on the back and the glycerin that's being used is I wouldn't use it on anything. And so that's what they're reacting to, because they're not getting the really good quality what nature made on its own. And so removing glycerin from products to add it back in chemicalized is heinous to me. It just makes me angry every time. So that probably is what your friend is reacting to.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's probably what it is. I mean, she's had that one. And, again, you know, you said there's different grades of different stuff, which leads me to back to the candles, because this is something that I wanted to share. And I just had this conversation with a friend who was buying candles and I said and she's got asthma. And I said you know, you might want to be aware of the candles that you're buying, because most candles, unless they say soy or beeswax or beeswax or other wax, majority of them are wax. I want to say petroleum, they're paraffin. Thank you, paraffin candles.
Speaker 1:And this is why, when you burn a candle, a lot of times you'll see that black smoke come off the wick. Or if you have a candle up against the wall or underneath something, you'll see like this black soot. Well, that stuff is being thrown into the air and that's why a lot of people that have asthma can't burn candles, whereas and correct me if I'm wrong, Beth, because you're the expert at this the soy and the other burns clean. So you don't get that type of stuff. And isn't the paraffin like the sludge in the bottom of, like oil barrels? I mean, it's the crap, isn't it?
Speaker 2:Yes, there's food grade paraffin that is used to like top off jelly jars and that's a safe one. And sometimes natural candle makers will use a tiny, tiny bit of paraffin to stabilize something they're doing, and that's okay. But if it's a solid paraffin, cheap candle, you're actually breathing in carcinogenic char that comes off those wicks, and most of the time the wicks that are used with those have lead and zinc in them, which create a brighter flame, but then you're breathing in heavy metals. So my wicks are lead free, zinc free cotton. They're woven strand cotton and I use the wax that are natural vegetable oil based so that it burns clean.
Speaker 2:Because my kids, I could not go to any big box store when my kids were little and buy any, all those lovely I won't say the names like the candle and body works stuff. You could go into the mall and buy eight for $10, right, everybody loved those. I could not have those in my household because my kids would stop breathing with their asthma. So I had to learn really pure products, because why would I do that to my children's lungs? And so then I fell in love with it because I knew I could have the candle experience. And then I dug into learning phthalate-free, paraben-free, using vegetable and plant-based oils for scent instead of the chemical-based scents, and it just made sense. So most people when they come into my home, love the smell of my home.
Speaker 2:I don't always have a candle burning because I make a lot of product in my home studio and the house naturally smells like my products. But when I do burn candles, oftentimes I've had people say you know, I feel better when I leave your house, like I have more clarity. I said that's because that candle had peppermint essential oil in it and peppermint helps the brain. So you know they're like oh, I never even thought of that. I go. Well, you know it's a conscious choice, but you're going to breathe in just like what you're going to put in your mouth when you eat. So I tell people just you know, make sure you're buying good. I mean I'm not the only person who makes great product, but I'll stand by what I make for sure.
Speaker 1:Well and I think there's also something to be said that you're making products that really should be the norm. You know, you would think that if we know for a fact that if something's going to burn, it has lead in it or zinc, or if you're breathing in a carcinogenic, you know just because you want to pay a little bit less, or you know you're paying less and you're going to get what you get. But the reality is is, you know it's your body and everything affects it, and you have done the research and you, and unfortunately, you know the unfortunate thing is that you know your children have suffered from what they've suffered and it's led you to bring to where you are. However, being able to educate people that maybe don't even have some of these issues, but to be aware that you should, you should treat yourself and have something that's better.
Speaker 1:But what I was going to say is that you have, you've taken something that is so personal because our, our candles are, you know, the sending candles, are our skincare things that that we use, that bring us a little bit of joy. And you've made it even better because it's something not only can we enjoy it because of you know we want to, but also it is good for us. It's good for our body, it's good for our lungs, it's good for our skin and that is one of the things I love about Garden Gate Soap, because you give everybody a little bit more than just what we originally think we're going to get, based on fragrance and scent. Thank, you.
Speaker 2:That's very funny.
Speaker 1:So, beth, I'm going to give you the last two minutes to wrap up whatever you want to say, and before we do, I want everybody to please, please, please. I highly recommend you visit her website, gardengatesoapscom. And again, if you are here watching us on YouTube and laughing, all of the links will be down here so you can reach out to Beth directly. And if you are suffering from things, I'm sure she can tailor that to your needs. Like you said, some people are allergic to certain stuff and I know you've gone above and beyond for that. I know you've got a great special that's happening right now for people. These are great gifts at any time of the year. And also, if you're listening to the podcast, please visit the link and click on that. That'll take you, take you right to the website.
Speaker 2:Oh, thank you. I really appreciate you having me on, mickey, and I just love and adore what you do, and so you know it's just great to be able to hang out with someone you adore so much and share what they have, and so thank you for that. So my website again is garden gates soapcom and you can find me on Instagram as well. Although it's garden gates soaps on Instagram, and I love a follow, I take people into my garden every week and show them what I do, so they get to actually see me harvest and produce the product from seed to seal, which is super fun. And I love teaching, so oftentimes I'll have a teaching moment on Instagram where I'll teach them the importance of why I'm using that ingredient in whatever product I'm making at the moment, which is super fun, because I firmly feel that knowledge is power, and when people just have that little bit of knowledge, it can flip the switch on.
Speaker 2:Oh, now I understand what to look for in a good product, and it can change a home. Honestly, if you change a mom's heart, you change the whole family's heart. So if a mom can walk away understanding, I just need really clean, good soap to put on my family's skin, which will then affect their health. Then it affects every other member of the house and then it just spreads outward like a ripple. So I just do my small part. But I believe it should be affordable. There shouldn't be anybody who cannot afford to be healthy with the products they use, which is why my price point is no different than standard soaps that are good quality. I refuse to.
Speaker 2:I'm a very niche product and I put a lot of hours into it, but I believe it should be affordable because I was that stay at home mom, raising three kids who were sick all the time, and so I you know that's really my heart and soul speaks back into that, and so I love that and I always give gifts.
Speaker 2:So you can see it when you go to my website, there's a pop-up window that shows you what you earn for free when you purchase and you can go there and check it out and if anybody has any questions, my contact information is right at the base. You can sign up to be on my email list if you'd like. I don't send a lot of them not very technical, very creative, but not very technical so I really only send out a launch email each season, so four times a year. But in between people call me and I do private consultations via Zoom or on the phone to help them figure out really what would be best for them and their family, and I love to do that. I never charge for that. That's just speaking into others and I love to do that, so that's me.
Speaker 1:I love it. I love it. Please, please, reach out to Beth. You guys will love her products just as much as I do. Again, I've given them out as gifts and I'm glad that you were here with us and could tell your story. And please visit her on her Instagram because it's fun. It's really fun to see what she's doing and how she dries her plants and kind of give you a sneak peek of how much care that she takes into each and every one of her products. So thank you, beth, for being with us. I'm so excited that you are doing what you're doing. I'm glad that you were with us today and could share your insight and your information, and I definitely want to have you back again.
Speaker 2:Thank you. Well, remember, life is short, use the pretty soap.
Speaker 1:That's on every one of my shopping bags. Life is short, use the pretty soap, I love it, I love it. All right, you guys, thank you so much for being with us. No-transcript.