Butterscotch Baby Gets Supplies from Mother Nature

In her small booth at the Tosa Farmers Market, Angela Washington-Marshall offers soaps and skincare and homecare products, all carefully handmade from natural ingredients. Owner and self-described “head mixtress” of Butterscotch Baby Total Body Experience, Washington-Marshall began her company five years ago, using her knowledge about natural ingredient-based products, as well as to satisfy her personal hair and skincare needs.

While doing research for a line she sold from a manufacturer, she says, “I discovered there was a lot to be offered in the realm of hair and skincare, especially to those with hyper-sensitive, oily skin and desert-dry hair such as mine.”

Convinced that others must be looking for similar products, she expanded the scope of her research. In the process she taught herself about production techniques, oils and additives, and thus began her business of creating and selling her own homemade goods, with, as she says, “a lot of trial and error.” 

Washington-Marshall feels strongly that handmade soaps and skincare items are better for her customers and the environment. Ethically sourced ingredients are a key feature in Butterscotch Baby’s formulas.

“When you buy products that are mass-manufactured, you get sub-quality ingredients that are synthetic and/or are harvested by questionable means,” she says.

Whenever possible, she obtains local ingredients, such as milks and honey. She also avoids using palm oils in her formulations, due to her concerns about their harvest from tropical rain forests. 

Working in small batches to maintain quality, Washington-Marshall says, she tests all of her products on herself as well as others before offering them at Butterscotch Baby. She uses minimally-processed vegetable oils, butters and milks, as well as high-grade, undiluted mineral oils for fragrance.

Butterscotch Baby also seeks to match customers with the proper formulation for their skin types.

“With all-natural, handmade products," she says, "you get a real person willing to put their reputation and livelihood on the line to support their products.”

Washington-Marshall believes her products are a good sell at the farmers market, where, she notes, “you have people who are health conscious [and] where they care about getting items both fresh and local.”

She sees the farmers market as a place to stay connected with loyal customers. “I absolutely love the fact I have customers dating back to when I first started out,” she says.

She enjoys the relationship not only with the people who use Butterscotch Baby products, but also with other vendors.

“I am very big on community and dedicated to being a part of our local community growing bigger and stronger, because we all benefit in the end.”