Athena Steadman made her way from food management to soap management, creating some of the state’s most organic, natural products. She made the jump more than ten years ago, testing and tying recipes for her own skin.
When Athena was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, she chose to make changes by watching what she ate and what she put on her skin. This evolved into the startup of her own business, Simply Eden.
The decision to focus on her inside and outside health led to more experimentation with handmade soaps. She purchased goats and started using their milk as the foundation of her recipes in combination with a mixture of natural essential oils. “Goat milk has a low PH which makes the soap mild. It’s one of the best ingredients for helping dry skin because it provides all the natural fats, vitamins and minerals skin needs,” says Athena.
Her formula is the basis of 95% of the products made at Simply Eden, from soaps to lotions and even baby products. Popularity of her natural products and special recipes grew so quickly that Athena started sourcing her milk from Sweet Deseret Farms, a local Utah dairy.
Athena and her team make and test new recipes year-round and are, in Athena’s words, “constantly striving to come out with new and unique products. We like to experiment and keep trying to keep people’s interest and grow that way,” she says.
There are so many different types of natural oils and combinations of ingredients that Simply Eden is always creating something new. Within the industry, “every soap maker has their own reasons and they make soap to suit their own tastes. I make soap that suits me and my sensitive skin,” says Athena.
Athena takes pride in the fact that her products are made with nontoxic ingredients, going straight from Mother Nature, to the bottle, and onto the skin. Athena is excited about liquid soap. “It’s been a challenge to get a good quality liquid soap and hopefully we’ll be releasing it by the end of summer.” She has also been working on a recipe for a shaving soap for about three years, and is finally happy with the result. She even sourced a local potter from the valley to create mugs to package it in.
Simply Eden creates their own local products, but the company is also a huge supporter of buying local and supporting other homemade businesses. Inside the Simply Eden store you’ll find more than soaps and lotions. Athena sells locally made jewelry, chocolate, pottery and other accessories made in Utah or the USA.
You can find Simply Eden’s products online at simplyeden.com, or visit their store off Highway 162 in Eden, Utah.
