Laughing Loon Beauty

April 17, 2014, 7:47 pm

By Danielle Palmer

Dayna Koch moved to Utah from Minnesota when she accepted a position to teach first grade at Eagle Valley Elementary. She lived in Orem until her marriage and then chose to move out to Eagle Mountain to be closer to her school. Now she teaches at Mountain Trails Elementary, and loves and values education. One of the things Dayna and her husband, Brian, loved about their home in Eagle Mountain was that it had enough room for them to use the land for gardens and to keep some goats and bees. The bees were one of the first reasons Dayna began her business making all-natural skin care products. "I wanted to find a way to use the wax," she explained, thinking back, "and I also had some symptoms of eczema." When she found some recipes for natural lotion bars and lip balms, she began making her own and Laughing Loon Beauty was born.

After she began selling her lotion bars and lip balms, business took off to the point that the demand surpassed her supply of beeswax from her own bees and she had to purchase wax in bulk. Then, she began looking into making all-natural soaps. The process of making soap with lye can be dangerous, so it took a few months to build up her courage, but after making her first few batches she fell in love with the process. She liked making soap even more then the lotion and lip balm. Because she owned goats, she based her soap with the goat milk, which is usually a pricey skin-care product.

She has sold her products mainly through her Facebook page, and also at two shops in Minnesota. Her affordable product flew from her hands. In over two years of having her business, she has never raised the price and has been willing to trade products with others. Because she charges so little, people are often asking her why she doesn't charge more, but Dayna is determined never to raise her prices. "Taking care of skin is so expensive." Koch expressed, "I wanted to provide people with a more affordable option."

When expecting her now newborn baby, she was unable to make soaps, but had help from others. She was able to expand to a formula for all-natural baby wash foam from a dispenser, all-natural sunscreen, and deodorant. "I was not thrilled to see what comes in the deodorants we buy, so I started making it," she explained. "The sunscreen is a little difficult and more expensive to make but people still love it because all-natural sunscreen is hard to find."

Through it all, her favorite product to make remains bar soaps. Although she no longer owns goats, she has a large supply of goat milk still in frozen storage to use toward more wonderful all-natural soaps and plans to continue. Of everything the business has given her, she said she values most the lesson of hard work. "We worked hard caring for the bees and put the wax to good use. Then we worked hard caring and milking goats and got benefits from the milk." Dayna explained, "It's taught my children the important value of hard work." You can find more about this local business on Facebook.

The community news source for Eagle Mountain Utah, Saratoga Springs Utah, Lehi Utah, American Fork Utah, Highland Utah, Alpine Utah, and The Cedar Valley, including Cedar Fort Utah and Fairfield Utah. Copyright 2025 The Crossroads Journal LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Laughing Loon Beauty

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