How Desert Light Farm was born
Hi! My name is Katy and I'm the owner of Desert Light Farm, though it truly is a family effort around here. My husband and kids are very involved, and everything is made, labeled, packed, and shipped by us here in Wickenburg, Arizona. At Desert Light Farm, our story is one of faith, family, and finding light in the desert.
We never planned or even dreamed of starting a handmade skincare business. It really all grew from deep loss. In 2020, my dad passed away suddenly. It was a shock that rocked me to my core and changed my perspective on life, health, and what really matters. Then, just 19 months later, my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. She passed away 2.5 months later. (In between my parents, we also lost my grandma, grandpa, and uncle.)
But the life altering losses for me, were my parents. Again, my perspective on life and health were forever changed. They were both in their 60s and I just couldn't grapple with the fact that they died so young, so suddenly. I deeply wanted to know WHY - although I know that's a bigger spiritual question that only God knows and we're not meant to - I still wanted some sort of answer.
These losses also grew a desire in me to change my own life and to be as healthy as I possibly could for my husband and kids. I already knew the importance of eating well and exercising regularly, but I felt there had to be more. During my research, I discovered that our health isn't just affected by what we eat, but also what goes ON our skin. Our skin is our largest organ, and everything that goes on it is absorbed into our bloodstream.
I learned that many skincare products are filled with ingredients that have harmful side effects ranging from skin irritation, to hormonal disruption, and even to cancer. There were SO many things I no longer felt comfortable using on me or my family.
But at the same time, I also struggled to find truly clean products that actually worked for my dry skin. I realized that so many products out there will say "natural" "clean" highlight certain ingredients, or even just say it's organic and lead you to believe with these words that it's good for you. But a lot of times, there are a bunch of other things in there they don't highlight, or they hide things with tricky wording.
Then a friend introduced me to beef tallow, and I was hooked! For the first time, something genuinely helped that was completely natural. Plus, I loved getting back to the basics of skincare and using what our ancestors used. Simultaneously on my journey of living cleaner and healthier, I also had a deep desire to just get back to simplicity. To cut all the noise, de-clutter, and truly LIVE SIMPLE. So tallow fit in perfectly.
After using the tallow for a while, my hands were finally soft and STAYED that way! I have always felt like lotions just wash away and don't actually nourish and heal my skin. I loved it but also felt like it was something I could just make at home myself.
Meanwhile, I was also looking for a way to make extra money from home while being a stay at home mom. I had been pursuing health and fitness coaching for a while, then felt like I was being pulled to become a grief coach, and quickly realized - I didn't have the mental and emotional capacity to help others in the way they needed because I was (and still am) deeply processing the losses and trauma that I endured.
I needed something completely different and I needed to do something with my hands. Randomly one day, a mom making her own soap popped up on my Instagram feed and something drew me to her. At one point, she ended up sharing how much she made in one year from her soap business, and the idea was planted.
What started as an effort to make just one product for my own family slowly grew into soap, lip balm, deodorant, and more - all tallow based along with other natural ingredients. Eventually, I realized that if I struggled to find clean skincare I could trust, other moms probably were too, and I decided to take the leap and see if I could turn it into a business for my family and I.
That’s when Desert Light Farm became more than a family experiment. It became a business built on purpose, faith, and a desire to create simple, nourishing skincare made with ingredients you can actually recognize. I had a desire to help make a difference in other's lives - a change I wish I could have offered my parents.
My goal is simple: to make high quality, truly clean skincare rooted in faith and family.
We believe integrity matters. We believe in doing things by hand, from the heart. And we believe in shining God’s light through the work we do. Our name is inspired by John 8:12 - "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life"
From our hands to yours, thank you for being here!