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Bonita Ahart and her daughter Tiponi Ahart make and share their homemade medicinal soaps with the Snowflake community. For the past three years, their wares have included homemade herbal wellness tinctures, salves and inhalers and selling them at local craft fairs. Following years of research, the women have begun crafting medicinal soaps and hand sanitizers as well. Before moving to Snowflake three years ago to be closer to family, Bonita previously presented her products at markets in Sedona and Cottonwood.
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Making herbal medicines and natural remedies has been a lifelong hobby for Bonita and a skill that has passed from her mother on to her and on to her children. “I was a single mother and raised six kids that way. A lot of times, it wasn’t an option to watch them all night, sometimes three or four of them sick at once, just thinking about how to help them. I learned a lot from my mom because that’s what she did for me. It’s passed down through the family,” recalled Bonita.
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Raising six kids as a single mother meant that she sometimes had to utilize natural ingredients that she could craft from her own kitchen, or even backyard, rather than being able to buy expensive medicines. Although, Bonita does not intend to take the place of a doctor, turning mainly to natural remedies based on the knowledge passed down to her from her mother, Bonita and Tiponi craft medicinal products that they hope may help someone else feel better.
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“It’s fun, it’s interesting, you get to learn a lot,” says Tiponi. “You learn a lot about your surroundings. I’ve learned a lot about the native plants out here, a lot of them are medicinal, also. The native tribes, Navajo, Hopi, and Apache used a lot of the plants out here for medicine.” Tiponi’s passion for plants reflects in the amounts of research she does for ingredients that work well together in her soaps.
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A lot of Bonita’s medicinal products were developed to help control symptoms that are able to be maintained with herbs. Bonita and Tiponi both believe that being able to adapt to life’s tough situations has greatly influenced the combination of the ingredients that they use in their medicinal products. “We have a friend who has horrible migraines right now and the only thing that works for her is oregano oil,” remembers Tiponi.
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“Hand sanitizers always dried out my hands really badly, so I started researching essential oils that kill bacteria and threw in some essential oils that condition the skin and when you put the alcohol in with ours, you barely notice the alcohol,” supplied Bonita.
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Working with organic and non-genetically modified ingredients has become a way of life for Bonita and her family. Bonita maintains that being mindful of the types of ingredients used on the skin has helped her family remain healthy.
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“I encourage people to think outside the box because there is always something out there if you look hard enough. Whether it’s from doctors, your neighbor, or even a stranger may have an answer. The point is to learn as much as you can from as many as you can,” she said. While Bonita’s way of life may not work for everyone, she believes that being good to your skin and taking time for yourself is always good and she hopes people will enjoy her new soaps.
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Those who missed Bonita and Tiponi’s homemade medicinal products at Harvest Fest in Snowflake last month can leave Bonita a message at (928) 243-7113 or Tiponi at (928) 243-6160 to learn more about their products.
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