Stinky Man Soaps Mixed Up In A Shop
If the names of Uncle Stinky's Man Soaps don't impress you as manly enough û Irish Scum, Mechanics Soap, Redneck I, etc. û the way he makes them will. Waterloo, Iowa, roofing contractor Andy Mills blends his soaps in his shop with a drill press and pours his creations into molds made out of pvc molding.
But don't let the unorthodox methods, duct tape packaging and crazy names fool you. Mill's soaps really do work and are based on science with the right proportion of fat to lye.
"Mills and his wife, Cathy, started making natural soaps and cleaning products in 2007 for their own use. The couple lives as "naturally" as they can. Mills grinds wheat and makes his own pasta and bread, and he cans vegetables, jelly, hot sauce and chicken broth. The couple also raises a variety of animals on their hobby farm, including Guinea Forest hogs, which may provide lard for soap in the future.
The couple started out with a line of soaps, scrubs, lotions and other skin products to sell at a local farmers market.
"This is a sideline we do for fun," Mills says. "It's more about meeting people and having a good time."
When he noticed some women were looking for soaps for men, Mills decided to have a little fun and create his own manly line. Key ingredients include some type of grit (sandblasting crystals, charcoal, grits), beer or wine for the liquid ingredient, and fat (beef tallow, lard, oils).
"I do superfatting of the soap," Mills says. "We up the fat content to 6 to 8 percent. I have really, really rough hands, and it just really moisturizes them. I use it in the shower every day as soap and shampoo, and a bar lasts 6 to 7 weeks."
Though he adds a crazy assortment of ingredients (peppercorns and Italian spices in Italian Guy, for example), most of the soaps are basically unscented. But he does add patchouli oil for Irish Scum as well as sandalwood and Egyptian Musk to other soaps.
Mills heats his fats or oils in one pot and measures lye in another. He mixes them along with other ingredients with a beater he welded for his drill press. He pours everything into his pvc molds that he covers with boards and old Carhartt coats. A day later, he cuts the cooled soap in generous 8 oz., 3 by 4 by 1-in. bars.
He wraps each bar lengthwise with duct tape, slaps labels on the front and back, and secures everything with clear packing tape. He lets the bars cure about a month before selling them for $5 each (available on www.Etsy.com).
The packaging is as intriguing as the soap. The label has a photo of him full-bearded with a red fox cap to personify "Uncle Stinky." The tagline completes the picture: "Remember! It's not tested on animals! It's made with animals!"
So far, he has nine kinds of soap: Irish Scum, Modern Male, Heart of a Hunter, Redneck I, Redneck II, Mechanics Soap, Frenchie, Old Duffer and Krauten Raten (German Rat). Labels on the back list ingredients and include Mills' humor.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Andy and Cathy Mills, Crane Creek Creations, 3103 Crane Creek Rd., Waterloo, Iowa 50703 (ph 319 961-0954; www.etsy.com/people/UncleStinkysMansoap).
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Stinky Man Soaps Mixed Up In A Shop FARM HOME Bathroom If the names of Uncle Stinky s Man Soaps don t impress you as manly enough û Irish Scum Mechanics Soap Redneck I etc û the way he makes them will Waterloo Iowa roofing contractor Andy Mills blends his soaps in his shop with a drill press and pours his creations into molds made out of pvc molding But don t let the unorthodox methods duct tape packaging and crazy names fool you Mill s soaps really do work and are based on science with the right proportion of fat to lye Mills and his wife Cathy started making natural soaps and cleaning products in 2007 for their own use The couple lives as naturally as they can Mills grinds wheat and makes his own pasta and bread and he cans vegetables jelly hot sauce and chicken broth The couple also raises a variety of animals on their hobby farm including Guinea Forest hogs which may provide lard for soap in the future The couple started out with a line of soaps scrubs lotions and other skin products to sell at a local farmers market This is a sideline we do for fun Mills says It s more about meeting people and having a good time When he noticed some women were looking for soaps for men Mills decided to have a little fun and create his own manly line Key ingredients include some type of grit sandblasting crystals charcoal grits beer or wine for the liquid ingredient and fat beef tallow lard oils I do superfatting of the soap Mills says We up the fat content to 6 to 8 percent I have really really rough hands and it just really moisturizes them I use it in the shower every day as soap and shampoo and a bar lasts 6 to 7 weeks Though he adds a crazy assortment of ingredients peppercorns and Italian spices in Italian Guy for example most of the soaps are basically unscented But he does add patchouli oil for Irish Scum as well as sandalwood and Egyptian Musk to other soaps Mills heats his fats or oils in one pot and measures lye in another He mixes them along with other ingredients with a beater he welded for his drill press He pours everything into his pvc molds that he covers with boards and old Carhartt coats A day later he cuts the cooled soap in generous 8 oz 3 by 4 by 1-in bars He wraps each bar lengthwise with duct tape slaps labels on the front and back and secures everything with clear packing tape He lets the bars cure about a month before selling them for $5 each available on www Etsy com The packaging is as intriguing as the soap The label has a photo of him full-bearded with a red fox cap to personify Uncle Stinky The tagline completes the picture: Remember! It s not tested on animals! It s made with animals! So far he has nine kinds of soap: Irish Scum Modern Male Heart of a Hunter Redneck I Redneck II Mechanics Soap Frenchie Old Duffer and Krauten Raten German Rat Labels on the back list ingredients and include Mills humor Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Andy and Cathy Mills Crane Creek Creations 3103 Crane Creek Rd Waterloo Iowa 50703 ph 319 961-0954; www etsy com/people/UncleStinkysMansoap
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