Jersey Shore Magazine

j e r s e y s h o r e • F A L L / H O L I D A Y 2 0 2 3 13 Savvy Fit Soaps Plant-Based Natural Skincare Made at the Jersey Shore Thomas Ascough, founder of Savvy Fit Soaps. T homas Ascough and his wife, Stephanie, have built both a strong marriage and strong busi- nesses focused on fitness, coaching, health, and motivation. Ascough's previous travels as a consultant and his propensity for healthy living led him to become an avid label reader. Almost immediately, he noticed an abundance of unnecessary ingredi- ents listed in food and personal care items here in America. "We wanted to use nothing but products made with natural ingredi- ents with our children as we started our family," Ascough explained, "but we couldn't find anything truly nat- ural, even the products in 'natural' aisles in supermarkets. They were all filled with fake colors, smells, and preservatives." He also noted the small number of products available that may have been legitimately natu- ral were too expensive for the average person to afford on a regular basis. "I stumbled upon a woman in Lancaster, Pennsylvania who made her products with goat's milk, and she helped me learn the process of making soap," he said. Through trial and error, Ascough's hobby of mak- ing plant-based soap without dyes, synthetic fragrances, preservatives, and alcohols turned into his passion. He perfected his recipe, and as he gave away bars of soap to family and friends, people kept asking for more. In 2017, Savvy Fit Soaps was born with the tagline, "Really Friggin' Natural." Named after their first daughter, Savannah, Savvy Fit Soaps have been the only products the Ascoughs have ever put on the skin of their three children. He started bringing the soaps to fit- ness events, and the products' popu- larity soared. He said, "Now we go to almost three hundred craft events a year in the tri-state area on weekends, including local farmer's markets, and our online sales are thriving." Ascough makes all items on the Savvy Fit Soaps line in Forked River from scratch using natural and sus- tainable, plant-based ingredients, oils, essential oils, butters, and exfo- liants. Each bar of soap has its own recipe and unique scent, with his son, Cameron, the inspiration behind the "Cam" Bar, which is made from an infusion of spices and herbs, including cinnamon, rosemary, clove, and turmeric, and steel cut oats as the bar's exfoliant. Ascough even created a bar with zero scent called "Nonscents." "It's for the weirdos," he chuckled. The process Ascough uses to make the soaps involves heating oils and butters, then mixing in water and sodium hydroxide until the ingredi- ents neutralize each other to become solids, leaving only luxurious oils and butters in place. The difference, however, between Savvy Fit Soaps and other soaps made using a similar process is that Ascough lets his bars cure for approximately six months to ensure waters and excess liquids fully evaporate. "My process helps the soaps last three times longer than others," he said, "and at any given time, I have thousands of soap bars curing." Because each person has a unique chemistry, Ascough noted that he couldn't comment on which scent was most favored by customers. "Every nose is different, so that can vary," he said, "and the bars sell pretty evenly." Knowing that a common com- plaint of natural soaps is their inability to last, he created the Savvy Fit Soap Saver, which is a bam- boo soap tray handmade with small wood planks available in a dark or light finish that allows soaps to drain while retaining their moisture. "Soaps that can dry last way longer," he explained, "and the saver helps extend the life of the soap bars." Another natural item Ascough created for the Savvy Fit Soaps line has become one of his best sellers. Savvy Fit Soaps' deodorant uses active ingredients that are natural anti-perspirants, including organic beeswax, organic oils, arrowroot, pure magnesium hydroxide, and essential oils. "Brand-name 'naturals' leave out aluminum but use fake smells," he explained, "and baking continued on page 14 courtesy of Thomas Ascough

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