Woolly Donkey Milk Exfoliating Soap

Wooly Donkey Soap from Portugal, a "shower revolution" that allows you to exfoliate and clean all at once by wrapping the donkey milk soap which is good for moisturization with cozy wool coat!

<How it was made>

Step 1. Indigenous breeds of sheep (white & brown) in the Miranda region of northern Portugal are sheared from April to May.

Step 2. Remove the clean part of the sheared wool

Step 3. Pull the hairs out in a long form, from the bundle of hair

Step 4. Roll it up, wrap the soap with wool

Step 5. Rinse with water to bond the wool and soap

Step 6. Clean the outer hairs of the soap dried naturally, and you're done!

BEHIND STORY: Portuguese social enterprise <Tomelo>

<Tomelo>, the birthplace of wooly donkey soap, is a social enterprise created by two Portuguese natural ecologists. Due to the development and urbanization of agricultural machinery, the usefulness of donkeys has declined sharply, and many donkeys have been abandoned.

Donkeys were already domesticated and could not survive in the wild alone, and people used Miranda donkeys as food for lions and tigers in zoos. Realizing this unfortunate situation, Barbara and Josée came up with a sustainable business idea, started making soap from the milk of the first five Miranda donkeys they adopted, and turned Tomelo Farm into a social enterprise. As of 2021, there are 14 Miranda Donkeys on Tomelo Farm, with official support from the European Union.

Tomelo's 14 donkeys (as of May 2021) Avelã (15 years old) Carocha (13 years old) Egas (11 years old) Faceira (10 years old) Guigui (9 years old) Isca (7 years old) Índia (7 anos), Margaça (4 years old) Orronda (2 years old) Ouriço (2 years old) Pauliteira (1 years old) Papoila (1 years old) Pulguinha (1 years old) Preguiça (1 years old)

100% Natural and contributing to the preservation of biodiversity - All products contribute to the preservation of the Portuguese autochthonous donkey breed designated as “Miranda’s Donkey”. An autochthonous Asinine species of the Trás-os-montes region of the Mirandese Plateau that is seriously threatened with extinction (More here)

For more than 2100 years Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt was aware of the toning, moisturising and rejuvenating qualities that donkey milk provides, and of its beneficial effects on the skin. In ancient Rome, Pompey used donkey milk to maintain a smooth skin, soft and retain his youth. Josephine of Napoleon had the same practice. Their beauty was marked in history. 

Donkey milk contains Vitamins, Proteins and Fatty Acids that stimulate the production of Collagen in human skin. In addition, Donkey’s milk also has antioxidant properties that slow the aging of the skin. Thus, among the benefits of using these products are the increase in firmness and elasticity of the skin. The reduction of wrinkles and skin blemishes is also promoted through the use of the Tomelo product. It is very effective in reducing the symptoms associated with dermatological diseases such as psoriasis, dermatitis and eczemas, greatly relieving the people who have them.

Donkey Milk Soap wrapped in natural wool. Self-soaping exfoliating with donkey’s milk, acts as a glove of mane but with higher softness on the skin, spreading the donkey milk soap and activating the subcutaneous circulation. Exfoliates and moisturises gently thanks to the natural wool coat. The wool diminishes with the water and keeps the soap always fair inside. Coated soap lasts three times longer than normal soap bar.

Developed in partnership with the “Lhana” project, which came up with the purpose of making use of the wool of native Portuguese sheep breeds, paying a fair price for wool from local herds and boosting old-fashioned crafts such as manual spinning, knitting and weaving. The wool used in these products is selected from the shepherds and breeders of the region when the annual shearing of the animals takes place. This wool does not undergo any treatment in its selection and washing up, which are done by hand.

All Tomelo soaps incorporate donkey milk, contributing to hydration, regeneration and reducing the aging effects on the skin. Wrapping with wool gives the soap a unique, individualised appearance. All soaps look different. It all depends on the creativity of the craftsman! The wool is manually put around the soap after being subjected to various manual processing procedures, which go through the extraction of impurities, washes and carding.