Located on the most famous street in Natchitoches, Cane River Soap Company has quickly become the talk of the town. What began as an experimental Christmas gift shop and a love for health has led to a local favorite known for its organic handcrafted soaps and skincare products.
Inside the shop, you are quickly welcomed by fresh aromas. Shelves are lined with beautifully crafted soaps, candles, oils, scrubs and body lotions, each made with care and home recipes that tell a story of more than just soap.
“We decided to have handcrafted Christmas gifts, and Kim—my wife—and I were trying to figure out what we could do. We decided to check the internet and decided we were going to try to make soap that year. We went to a craft store and bought a little soap making kit,” Mike Walthall, co-owner of Cane River Soap Company, said.
Mike Walthall shared that he and his wife have dedicated the last 13 years to mastering the craft of traditional soap-making, doing it the real, old-fashioned way.
They quickly turned the game room of their home in Shreveport into a soap production room and used it as their shipping and production space. They opened their new location in Natchitoches on Front Street in September 2025 after having a lot of success at the Natchitoches Farmers Market.
“We were doing twice the business here in Natchitoches than we were in Shreveport. It seemed like the people just fell in love with it here, and that’s when we came up with Cane River,” Mike Walthall said.
He confessed that the first soap recipe they came up with has stayed pretty much the same, with only minor changes throughout the years.
“The first recipe that we started with is really close to what I’m using now. I think I did enough research before to where there is very little difference in that original recipe that we are using now,” Mike Walthall said.
Apart from making soap recipes, the Walthalls developed recipes for other products, such as facial creams and serums, body and beard oils, essential and fragrance oils, body lotion and even laundry detergent.
He explained that, although each recipe had its own challenges, the body lotion recipe has been the most complicated to make.
“We worked on that recipe, tweaking it, taking things out, adding different things, adding different oils. It took three and a half years before we felt like it was ready to sell,” Mike Walthall said. “We worked on it for a long time, but right behind soap, body lotions are our number two seller in our store.”
The next big item they sell is their laundry detergent. “We brought it out about a year and a half ago and wow, it’s been unbelievable,” Mike Walthall said.
Cane River Soap Company serves their customers with the best ingredients from all over the country and sticks with the same base ingredients—palm oil, olive oil, coconut oil and shea butter.
This will be the first year the Walthalls get to experience having their business open during the Christmas season in Natchitoches. “I’m a little apprehensive, the first Christmas season in the City of Lights is going to be wild, but I’m excited,” Mike Walthall said.
If you find yourself in town for the holidays and are looking to find the perfect Christmas gift for your loved ones, Cane River Soap Company has the perfect selection of handcrafted items lovingly made for the Natchitoches community.
