When it comes to promoting health and wellness, Cynthia High of Dexter is on a mission. High, who is a regular vendor at the Dexter Farmers Market on Saturdays, sells natural and organic soaps, balms and body oils.

"I've been making soaps for 45 years since I was 7," High said. "My grandma taught me on the farm, and I fell in love with it."

High's business, M'Lady's, is known for its soaps, including Adonis (a green tea spice soap), Bergamot soaps, French and African lavendar, oatmeal, goat milk, olive oil and coconut.

High said it takes about two hours to make a batch of soap, which are then aged and cured for two to four months using an 8th Century soap making process. The bars have a shelf life of approximately four to six weeks.

"This has been a passion of mine," High said. "When I was 12, I was making my own shampoo. It's a very natural way of life; people began asking me to make them a product and it just grew into a business from there."

High said she has been attending the Dexter Farmer's Market for the last four years and also sells at the Ann Arbor Artisan Market on Sundays. M'Lady's products are also distributed wholesale at health food stores in Ann Arbor and Brighton and at Christine's in Dexter.

"Dexter is wonderfully supportive of us," she said. "The market has been growing at a continuous rate every year as more people are becoming aware of it."

M'Lady's will be at the Saturday farmers market through September. Soap bars cost $4 per 6-ounce bar and balms are $10. For more information, visit www.mladys.com.

The Dexter Farmers Market is open on Tuesdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.