Grappling Sloth

Grappling Sloth

Inspired by Our Wrestlers, a Bar That Helped Start It All

With several wrestlers in our family, wrestling has been part of our lives for years—the practices, the tournaments, the hard work, and, of course, the “mat funk” that comes home with them.

When my youngest son, Noah, began wrestling in middle school, I wanted a soap that could help him wash up thoroughly after practice while also considering the skin he was washing so often. In our family, wrestling has never been limited to one season. Practices and tournaments continue throughout the year, and caring for their skin needs to keep up with that dedication.

As I looked at bars made for wrestlers, I kept coming back to the same question: could I find everything I wanted in one bar? Some were more expensive than I hoped. Others seemed focused on strong cleansing without the balance I was looking for.

Eventually, I decided to make my own.

That need became one of the main reasons I started making soap—and part of the beginning of JoJoMae Soap Company. Before there was a business, there was a mom trying to make something useful for her family.

While Noah helped inspire the need, his older brother Elijah inspired the name. A dedicated high school wrestler who went on to place at state, Elijah earned the family nickname “Grappling Sloth” because of his long arms. Green is his favorite color, so the green woven through the bar carries a little of him, too.

The recipe needed just as much intention as the name and design.

Grappling Sloth was created with wrestlers in mind, combining purposeful cleansing with a thoughtfully balanced blend of tallow, coconut, olive, castor, neem, and shea butter, along with charcoal, clay, and a little fine pumice for light exfoliation. Each ingredient earned its place in a bar intended to work hard while still considering the skin being washed day after day.

Neem has an earthy scent of its own, and I wondered at first how people would feel about that part of the bar. Still, it earned its place in the recipe I wanted to make. Creating this soap meant choosing ingredients for a reason and discovering how they could come together into something our family would reach for.

Because if our wrestlers are working hard, their soap should work hard, too.

Wrestling families know that caring for your skin is part of being ready for the mat. A skin concern can mean sitting out a practice or missing a meet you’ve spent months preparing for. With so much effort invested, I wanted washing up afterward to be a routine our wrestlers took as seriously as their training.

I wanted a solid, hardworking bar they would reach for after putting in the work.

Noah has continued using it, and encouraging feedback from others has made this soap even more meaningful to me. What began with our wrestlers has found a place with people beyond the mat—people who work hard, get sweaty, and appreciate purposeful cleansing with thoughtful care built into it.

Grappling Sloth carries a piece of our family, but it also carries the purpose that helped start this company: looking closely at a real need and making something with intention.

To me, it is a reminder that hard work and care belong together. When you put so much into becoming stronger, improving your skills, and preparing for that next match, caring for yourself along the way is part of giving that hard work its chance to shine.