A Not-So-‘Secret’ Soap Seller

Tracee Palmer started Secret Garden Soap of Madison in April 2010 with some left over goat milk she had around the house. “I keep goats at my house and I milk them every morning. I had a tremendous amount of milk, and I needed to do something with it, since my kids would not drink it, so we started making these soaps,” Palmer said.

Everything from Secret Garden Soap of Madison is handmade using raw goat milk from the family’s La Mancha goats, from lotions to bath fizzies, and of course, soaps. Each bar has a unique groove in it, which Palmer loves because it is the perfect place to put your thumb when using the bar of soap, making it easy to hold.

Secret Garden Soap of Madison has many different fragrances to choose from, including seasonal scents. “Every time I read about a fragrance, I am like, we have to try that,” Palmer said. “Right now we are featuring Pumpkin Apple Butter and Cranberry [soaps] for the fall.”

Palmer’s favorite fragrances are Blue Hydrangea and Honeysuckle, but there is a scent for everyone. “Bamboo is really popular with the gentleman,” Palmer said. “French Lavender [is also popular] and the kids like Butt Naked, just because of its name and it smells like the beach.”

In addition to soaps, Palmer sells a wide variety of lotions and fizzee eggs to go in the bath.

What’s next for Secret Garden Soap of Madison? Palmer hopes to create a line of organic spa scents just in time for the holiday season.

Soap bars are $6 each, unless you buy more than one bar. Depending on the size, a bottle of lotion is between $10 and $16 dollars. Fizzee eggs are sold in packages of six eggs for $10.

Secret Garden Soap of Madison will be at the Farmers Market every Saturday for the rest of the season. For more information, click here.