The WunderBar Story
As a child growing up in rural Monticello, GA, I enjoyed being outside. This, of course, brought me in contact with various plants and weeds which caused skin rashes and severe itching. My allergic reactions didn’t last long though, since my mom always kept lye soap around the house. Usually, around fall every year she would make a pot of this wonderful soap. I had to bathe with my mom’s soap because commercial soaps only aggravated my sensitive skin, but I vowed to never use this “old homemade soap” once I was grown!
For years after I left home, the commercial soaps with moisturizers worked well. However, once again I began to have rashes and itchy skin. At this time, I tried medicated soaps and creams, but to no avail. I tried one soap after another, until one day I was visiting my mother, Beatrice, and she noticed my frequent scratching. I began telling “Miss Bea” (as she was affectionately called) about my soap/skin problems. She reminded me of my childhood woes with my skin allergies and offered to give me "a chunk" of lye soap she had made that year. I gladly accepted since I was dying to have relief from the itchiness. After the first bath my skin felt clean, but to my surprise and delight, I was no longer itching! It was clear this was what my skin needed.
My mother lovingly supplied me with the “old homemade soap” until her health began to decline in 2004. At this time, she strongly encouraged me to learn to make the soap. After many unsuccessful attempts, I finally said to her: "I'll just order it!" I turned to buying lye soap online from many different sources, but just could not find any like Miss Bea's. Sad to say, my mom died May 9, 2004. So, due to sheer determination and desperation, I learned to make the soap. I know she would be very proud. Therefore, I couldn't think of a better way to name the soap, than to name it after my mom, Miss Bea.
– Juanita Mercer