Louise Dutton never wanted the bubble to burst on her Bella Soap Co., which she launched nine years ago out of her Loomis home.

So she kept her recipes and research material tucked away – just in case someone, somewhere, got an itch for her dry-skin formula.

Back in 1999, Dutton and her husband, Jim, both quit their jobs to make all-natural soap and other products such as lotions and shampoos.

"It was the classic live-and-learn experience," says Dutton, 52. "We were raising a young child and making, packaging and selling the soap. Orders ranged anywhere from six to 10 bars at drugstores and natural foods stores.

"At one point, I traveled the Highway 50 corridor hitting every Longs Drugs from here to Tahoe."

Dutton's products, in particular the bar soap, were targeted at customers with dry, sensitive skin and conditions like eczema. She invested in costly essential oils – as many as 10 combinations – and gave samples to dermatologists and pediatricians to try. Dyes, synthetics and artificial preservatives were no-nos.

One of the most important ingredients in Bella Soap was goat's milk. Luckily, Dutton found a local supplier and, for a time, was satisfied.

"Then the supplier changed the formula and it didn't meet my standards," Dutton says. "I frantically started looking for a new supplier.

"But back then, things like Craigslist and Internet sources weren't a big thing, so finding another source was daunting."

A year and a half into her Bella Soap business, Dutton recalls, it proved too expensive and time- consuming to make, package, market and sell the products.

"I was selling jewelry on eBay to stay afloat," she says. "However, the goat's milk going away was the catalyst to stop."

Dutton considered selling her formula, but that never happened. In fact, her husband encouraged her to hang on to it and all her reference materials. She packed everything up and entered the construction field, working for a land developer and a general contractor.

Years passed and a funny thing happened.

Last April, The Bee's "Shopping for Answers" column received a letter from a reader in Rocklin who was looking for Dutton's soap. Though it was no longer available, the reader had kept a wrapper and hoped to find it.

Her question? "Can you find out who is making this great product and where I can find it?"

"Shopping" tracked down Dutton, who saw the 8-year-old wrapper as a sign that it was time to try again.

The new and improved Bella Soap Co. launched over the summer with a streamlined business structure. The Duttons are making only soap, Bella Dry Skin Formula, which sells for between $4.89 and $6.89.

And about the goat's milk?

"I used Craigslist and found a supplier in Lincoln," she says. "The quality of the milk is fabulous. I get the essential oils from Portland.

"I feel like the product is better, and I'm a little bit wiser this time around."

In August, the Duttons' soap won the Seal of Acceptance from the National Eczema Association.

Already, at least eight local businesses have submitted orders and are stocking Dutton's new-and-improved soap – including stores in Loomis, Roseville, Folsom, Rocklin and Auburn. It's also sold online at www.buybellasoap.com.

Eric Barbee is the store manager at Sunrise Natural Foods on Douglas Boulevard in Roseville. His store carried Dutton's soap when it first came out and is restocking it.

"I like how clean the product is, the presentation, marketing and because it's locally made," he says.

And he appreciates the clarity of the soap's ingredients: extra-virgin olive oil; palm, coconut and castor oils; shea butter; and the aforementioned goat's milk.

At family-owned Main Drug Store in Loomis, one of JoAnn Takemoto's responsibilities is orders. She encouraged Dutton to take another stab at her soap.

"Louise built a good business at the start, especially because of her research with doctors," Takemoto says. "When the soap was discontinued, our customers were dismayed because many of them experience dry skin, certainly in winter when we'll be moisturizing more.

"Our store is looking forward to carrying it again."

Call The Bee's Leigh Grogan, (916) 321-1129.