Blackwell Middle Schooler sells soap to ready for college

The name “Turtle Girls” is a name is becoming a familiar name to Blackwell residents thanks to seventh-grade student Aspen Thomas, who sells goat's milk soap and bath salts at the Glamour Salon and Bev's Flower Heaven.

“It started as something for my grandma,” Thomas said. “She lived in Colorado and didn't come down a lot, so we would make these for her ... . Then, it became making soap for the entire family and grew from there.”

From her humble beginnings, Thomas soon began selling her soaps at local craft shows. It was then that she and her family realized they could use the profits from their soaps and bath salts to save for college, which she believes is never too far away – especially considering she already has a career in mind.

“I'd like to be a brain surgeon or a veterinarian,” she said. “I've always been really interested in the medical field.”

Her brother and sister, ages 6 and 7, help make the soaps.

Currently, Thomas makes and sells 30 different scents of soaps and bath salts. The soap, made from goat's milk, is crafted using the cold process, which allows the designer to customize almost every aspect of the soap.

According to Thomas, goat's milk is her preferred ingredient in soap-making due to its “restorative nature.” The nutrients in it help with acne relief, raging, various skin problems, and other ailments, she said.

Thomas’s business is supported by her mother and grandmother, Angela Mardis and Kathy Thomas, respectively.

The name “Turtle Girls” comes from Thomas’s family history of scuba-diving. Thomas is a third-generation scuba diver and became an official Turtle Girl after diving during the summer.