As the founder and CEO of J.R.LIGGETT’S®, I’m proud to take you behind the scenes of our journey—from a sin
gle idea sparked by tradition to over four decades of natural innovation. I started this company back in 1982, but the seeds were planted much earlier, during my childhood. I still remember making soap with my great Aunt Ann in Nebraska. It was a simple process back then, but it stuck with me.
Years later, while flipping through an old 19th-century cookbook, I found a handwritten recipe titled “Hair Soap.” That slip of paper changed everything. It took me back to those early days, and I realized—why not bring back a better, simpler way to wash your hair? That’s how our original shampoo bar was born.
Today, I run J.R.LIGGETT’S from our 256-year-old (1769) 60-acre family farm in Cornish, New Hampshire, and I’m proud to say we’ve been handcrafting our Legacy Brand of natural personal care products for over 40 years.
From the very beginning, our mission has been simple: to help make the world a healthier, cleaner, and better place—one bar at a time.
We make all-natural personal care products with a promise of quality, value, and performance. Our skin absorbs everything we put on it, so I make sure our formulations are 
made only from the purest ingredients. That includes our six Bar Shampoos, a Conditioner Bar, Body Oil Bar, non-aerosol Shaving Foam, organic Lip Butters, and even a full line of Pet Shampoos.
Our promise to the planet is just as important as our promise to our customers. From the start, we’ve focused on sustainability, using solar power, renewable energy, zero-waste manufacturing, and recyclable packaging. We respect this planet, and everything we do is meant to reflect that.
My approach to leadership is deeply personal. I’ve always believed that the best way to run a business is by mentoring and working alongside people—sharing what I know, learning from them, and letting passion and purpose guide the way. This company isn’t just about selling all-natural personal care products—it’s about believing in something and inspiring others to do the same.
We’ve been doing things differently since day one. While others were filling bottles with chemicals, I was going back to basics with a bar of shampoo made from edible vegetable oils—no detergents, no Sodium Lauryl Sulfates, DEA or any other Petroleum based Detergents...no artificial anything.
We’ve stayed away from plastic as much as possible. In 
fact, I patented a wooden shampoo shelf to hold our shampoo bars and a bamboo wafer to hold our Body Oil bars—a small innovation, but one that keeps us committed to a zero-waste mission. Our packaging is recyclable, and our production is as clean as it gets.
In a world full of greenwashing, we’ve stayed authentic—and that’s what makes us different.
We’re a small company with a big heart. Here in Cornish, we take pride in supporting our local community, treating our employees with respect, and creating products that are truly good for people and the planet.
We’ve recently extended that care to our four-legged friends with our line of Pet Shampoos—because they are part of our family, and deserve safe natural care too.
Finding a centuries old “Hair Soap” recipe was my original “that’s so cool” moment. But looking back, there have been many. One major shift has been watching the world catch up to the ideas we had decades ago—sustainability, zero-waste packaging, transparency. What was once considered old-fashioned is now the gold standard.
After 40+ years, J.R.LIGGETT’S BAR SHAMPOO is now considered an American “LEGACY BRAND.”
We’re always listening to what our customers want, and recently we’ve expanded our offerings with new formulas tailored to different hair types and preferences. We’ve also introduced a Conditioner Bar and Body Oil Bar, both of which have quickly become customer favorites.
There’s more to come—but we’ll always keep our focus on honest ingredients, clean packaging, and real performance.
If I could offer one piece of advice to others in the natural products industry, it would be this: Stay true to what you believe in. Don’t chase trends—lead with values. Your authenticity will resonate far louder than any marketing campaign ever could.
After all, it’s not just about the product. It’s about the people you serve, the planet you protect, and the purpose that drives you.
