About Nikki's Naturals

How we began...

In 1987 I met Ray Bennett, a local herb grower who specialized in scented Geraniums. I helped him in his greenhouse in exchange for flats of herbs and all the coffee I could drink. I was 21 and lived on a farm at the time, in Clarkedale, Arkansas. What started out as a small culinary garden in the backyard soon grew to be over an acre of various culinary, ornamental and medicinal herbs. My friend, Ray, had taught me how to take cuttings, plant seeds and the different layering techniques used in propagating. I was enthralled with herbs. Intrigued by their many uses, it became a passion to learn harvesting techniques and different methods of preserving my edible plants. I made herb vinegars, flavored oils, herb butters, honey with fresh herbs and tea blends. I also began crafting with dried flowers and herbs, making wreaths, swags, topiaries, potpourri, and baskets. I even took a class in stained glass so I could encase the small flower buds and tiny herb leaves that I had been pressing.

By 1989 I was speaking at seminars, exhibiting in art and craft festivals and had become a member of the Memphis Herb Society. Soap making came into the picture in the summer of 1991 when my old Siamese cat, "Bear" started showing signs of skin problems and allergies; thus, Pet Soap was born. It was merely another way of creating with my herbs. My hobby grew into a business after a divorce and because I had a three year old son, an old cat, and two dogs to provide for. We moved into a cabin in the middle of the Ozark Mountains. In addition to the festivals, I began to offer direct mail order and wholesale. I now live just outside Heber Springs Arkansas, still in the beautiful Ozarks, surrounded by Greers Ferry Lake and close to the Little Red River. I still travel to shows, produce and sell a lot of soap, in addition to the other specialty herbal products I offer for body and home.

Just the facts...

All of our soaps are of renewable vegetable origins, food grade olive, coconut and palm oils. This combination of oils is the base for all of our soaps, along with water and sodium hydroxide.
Stronger scented soaps than most herbal soap companies.
All of our soaps are cured at least 2 months before being packaged and sold. This aging process lowers the PH and allows the bars to harden and last longer. They'll out last commercial soaps at least 3 to 1. Keep the bars in a well drained soap dish.
Most commercial soaps are tallow based (beef fat). Our soap is based off of renewable olive, coconut and palm oils. Most soap manufacturers remove the glycerine from their soap and then sell it to the cosmetic industry, depriving you of naturally soft, radiant skin. We leave all the glycerine in our soaps so you get it's benefits.
Our soaps lather thick and luxuriously yet rinse easily and are ideal for face and body, gentle to the skin, especially for sensitive and dry skin types.
All of our soaps are packaged in handmade papers, with the exception of the pet soap - there we use 100% post consumer, recycled paper.
No animal products and no animal testing.
We reduce, reuse and recycle cardboard, plastic, tin, steel, packaging peanuts, and glass in an effort to be sustainable and eco-friendly.