‘Anything that spoils you’: St. George soap company makes a splash with hundreds of homemade items

Written by Jessi Bang
July 22, 2023

ST. GEORGE —From mermaid bath bombs to beard oil and real sand foot scrubs, this bubbly soap maker is making a splash.

Sandy Feet Soap Company owner Lucy Cook smiles with her bath products inside her home in St. George, Utah, July 5, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
Sandy Feet Soap Company owner Lucy Cook smiles with her bath products inside her home in St. George, Utah, July 5, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

Stepping off the main entranceway of Lucy Cook’s home, which is filled with the sweet smell of dragonfruit, will transport you into a bath and body haven. Shelves are lined with everything from aliens to botanical soap loaves, and it’s magnificent.

This is Sandy Feet Soap Company, a business that originally started with bath bombs and has since expanded to include skincare and haircare, dish soap, a “Manly Man Collection” and much more.

“The bath bombs are like fireworks in the tub,” Cook said. “They have colors that shoot out and it’s slow-moving because it’s got coconut milk, so you can enjoy a nice, long bubble bath with the colors shooting out.”

Her products contain ingredients like yogurt and hummus, aloe juice, coconut milk, goat’s milk, teas, brines and coffee in the lye water. Other ingredients include activated charcoal, lava salt, sterilized sand, Himalayan salt and bentonite clay. Cook said a majority of soaps aid in detoxification and have scrubbing agents such as exotic clays, face pumice, jojoba beads, seeds, citrus zest and turmeric.

A variety of homemade products by Sandy Feet Soap Company are seen for sale in St. George, Utah, July 5, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
A variety of homemade products by Sandy Feet Soap Company are seen for sale in St. George, Utah, July 5, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

Growing up, Cook said both her mother and grandmother loved to create handmade gifts, especially during the holidays, and that’s where her passion comes from.

“My grandmother always did things with her hands and my mother always did things with her hands, so our love language was to give each other handmade gifts,” she said. 

As she married and had children of her own, Cook said she continued the tradition and became known for her homemade Christmas goodies every year. She loved the smell of the soap fragrances filling up the home as she made gifts for friends and family.

When a friend requested Cook make soaps for a Relief Society event in Georgia, a family member saw them and asked her to make five soap loaves she could re-sell. Cook agreed and decided to create her own branding and packaging to go along with it.

“I had already started my business,” she said. “I did my website, LLC, insurance and everything just so I could give her my soaps with these labels on them, and when she said no to the price, I saw it as a sign. It was God’s way of pushing me.”

Homemade soaps and other products by Sandy Feet Soap Company are seen inside Lucy Cook's home in St. George, Utah, July 5, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News
Homemade soaps and other products by Sandy Feet Soap Company are seen inside Lucy Cook’s home in St. George, Utah, July 5, 2023 | Photo by Jessi Bang, St. George News

Continuing to learn, she took a candlemaking class at Dixie State in 2018 where she learned how to make cold-processed soap. She officially launched her business by selling at the Hurricane market and the downtown farmers market at Ancestor Square. The St. George market led to Sandy Feet Soap Company being sold inside the Modern Farm and Artist Co-op.

But Sandy Feet isn’t just in the name. Cook said when she first started the company she wanted to make something “mermaid-ish” that connected her soaps to the ocean – her happy place. 

“This is actually beach sand that I found on my travels,” she said, picking up a bar of soap. “All of my soaps have a different type of exfoliant in them. And some have sand and the ocean-like places I used to go like Carmel By the Sea or Aloha sand from Hawaii.”

As for the sand she sources locally, “Dixie Sand” is used in some soaps with the pumice added for major and minor scrubbing abilities. Her soaps are cold-processed, melt-and-pour and melt-and-pour hybrids.

“I do it all,” she said. “ I learned how to make lotions and shaving bars and all sorts of things from scratch, and I just keep learning and growing.”

Utah soaps by Lucy Cook prepare to be packaged for sale, St. George, Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Lucy Cook, St. George News
Utah soaps by Lucy Cook prepare to be packaged for sale, St. George, Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Lucy Cook, St. George News

Cook has also enjoyed collaborating with other local small businesses to create products such as Desert Bloom and Sunshine Ceramics.

As for future plans, she will continue to expand her business and the products she offers while still gifting her homemade art — something that brings her the most joy. 

“I create anything that spoils you,” she said. “ I really like to do bath rituals for positive reinforcement and helping feed every woman’s soul or man’s soul. Anything that makes you have your time with yourself and be a good person for your family and friends and yourself.”

To shop products by Sandy Feet Soap Company visit their website.  Shop in person or online at the downtown MoFACo shop. Follow them on Instagram and Facebook to stay updated. Last year, Sandy Feet Soap Company won Best in Show at the annual Dickens Festival, and they plan to do the booth even bigger this year. 

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jessi Bang was born and raised in Utah and has a passion for nature and the great outdoors. She graduated from Kaplan University in California with a degree in criminal justice. She has extensive experience in marketing, content creation, photography and copywriting. You can find her showcasing outdoor adventures through her blog, “The Rambling Raccoon.” In her free time, she enjoys climbing mountains, trail running, working out and cuddling her two lovable pups.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

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