JJ Johnson was a butcher until she went rogue four years ago and got into soap making. Now, she makes and sells Rogue Goat Soaps out of her home in Hesperus.
“I believe in using the entire animal, so I did some research on some benefits of tallow – which was normally just thrown in the trash before it got trendy – and it has great benefits,” she said. “And so that's kind of how I started with the whole thing.”
Johnson’s husband, Ryan Quinn, said Johnson made some of the first bars as a gift.
“She made me a big bar of soap, and we had a little party,” he said. “My friends came over. Her friends came over. We gave all the soap away. … Everybody was like, ‘Man, that's awesome. You should start making more soap.’ And she kind of parlayed it into this little business which grew … and this is what she does full time now.”
Today, Rogue Goat Soap’s handmade products include: soap, made with goat milk from Hesperus and beef tallow from Mancos; goat milk lotion; whipped beef tallow balms; beard oil; dog soaps; and beef tallow lip balm made with beeswax from Nature's Gold Apiary of Cortez.
“We are locally based and sourced,” Johnson said. “Much of my product comes from local farmers.”
She started making dog soaps to clean her own 16-year-old Newfoundland.
“His name was Brody, and I would go through like a half a bottle of shampoo because it's watered down,” she said. “So I did a lot of research on the best essential oils for dogs, and then also what to add to that shampoo bar for dogs to get rid of tangles with one wash and rinse method.”
Johnson said the goat milk, tallow and shea butter bars, which are rubbed on the dog and then rinsed off, come in two varieties. One, Soothe Your Critter, features oatmeal, milk and honey. The other, Calm Your Critter, has lavender from La Plata Lavender.
“I do a lot of collaborations with other vendors to support them, too,” she said.
Everything is scented with essential oils and no artificial ingredients, Quinn said.
In addition to the Durango Farmers Market, Johnson and Quinn sell soap at the Silverton Farmers Market, local events, stores around Durango and Rogue Goat Soaps’ website.
ngonzales@durangoherald.com
