My Inaugural Attempt
Eleven years ago my mother-in-law was giving me a bridal shower. I wanted to help in anyway I could. You see, I'm a very simple person and I felt very honored that she was throwing a party for me. I asked her questions to see if she missed something and she didn't. I asked her about the attending guest favors and she thought it was a perfect idea for me to work on those. I knew I wanted to give soap a try. I figured I wanted to keep it in the "shower" theme so why not make a bar of soap for each of my guests.
I was very intrigued with the process. For the first time, I used a melt and pour goats milk soap base. It was pretty easy, all I had to do was melt the base add my additives, pour it in my mold, and wait for it to harden up, and then cut it. This was the beginning of my journey with Pluie Soap.
Lets talk about the mold...I still have this custom made mold. I love it. It's been good to me. I have made several batches of melt and our soap and given them away for Christmas, birthdays, baby showers, bridal showers, and teacher appreciation gifts. My favorite part about this mold is that my husband and I made it. Well, he actually made most of it. I just gave him some dimensions. He signed it in the back and dated it with a heart ♡. I didn't really know that you had to line it to get the soap out easier. I struggled so many times with that. Still, that beauty has given me lot of joy. I love my first soap mold because it also harnesses many favorable memories with it too.
The soap base as I mentioned earlier was a melt and pour. It was made from goats milk. I added grated lemon rind, lavender and both lemon and lavender essential oils. It was such an earthy, fruity and lovely scent. I remember how nice it was and the compliments I received from it. I also love how those lavender buds helped with exfoliating my skin. I ended up with about 2-3 soaps after the bridal shower. People were taking multiples. My guest LOVED them. They were a big hit. One of the guest loved them so much it that it inspired her to start her own soap making. Later on at a gathering I saw her and her husband. Her husband mentioned that she had made enough soap to last them a life time. Of those few that I ended up keeping that time, I noticed that they shrunk a bit and started to bead on the outside. Later, I learned that is very common with melt and pour soaps. The still lather, and wash perfectly however, they aren't very visually appealing.
This prompted me to dive deep into research about soap making and the needs of our skin. Everyone has different skin types, which require tailored treatments and cleansing routines. Since our skin is our largest organ and we only have one body, it’s essential to take good care of it.
I began to realize that with all the free radicals in our environment, we don’t need to contribute to the problem by using products that aren’t responsibly made or that can be harmful. That’s when my journey truly began. I committed to crafting all-natural soaps and made a conscious choice to avoid palm oil in my products. The widespread deforestation linked to palm oil production is having a significant negative impact on our environment, and I wanted to make a difference.
If interested read more about that here: https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/55359/amazon-rainforest-facts-deforestation-fires-climate/ My goal is to help people make small changes that will eventually help the environment, our bodies, and families live a healthier life. That is why I started to make my own soap. It ranges from a solid Castile type lather to a soft creamy melt. I'm very excited to share my products with people who have the same goals.