Adventures in Soap Making: A Behind the Scenes Look at Collaboration
We love collaboration especially when it starts with a customer request. Many of our favorite creations begin this way, sparked by conversations with the people at markets who use our products every day. This particular adventure began with a request for a Verbena soap. Coincidentally, we already had a Lemon Balm soap on our idea list, so the pairing felt natural. One suggestion plus one idea later, Lemon Balm & Verbena soap was born.
Anyone familiar with product development will tell you that success on the first attempt is never guaranteed. Every new product requires thoughtful planning, research, testing, and a willingness to adapt. If we’re being honest, our first-try success rate hovers around 75% and we consider that a win.
When a customer makes a request, we typically estimate about a month to a month and a half before a new product is ready. That timeline depends on curing time, ingredient availability, and a few other moving parts. What we don’t usually account for is when things don’t go according to plan — mostly because we approach every project with excitement and a healthy dose of optimism.
For this soap, our first step was sourcing Verbena essential oil, which is beautiful and not inexpensive. Our research also revealed that Verbena soaps often cure to a tannish color. Since we were envisioning a bright, lemony bar, color quickly became part of the challenge. We decided to experiment with a variety of yellow mica to help achieve that cheerful hue, knowing full well we wouldn’t know the outcome until we tried. We also chose to blend the Verbena with complementary essential oils in hopes of creating a longer-lasting fragrance.
With our plan in place, we dove in.
Everything was going smoothly until we added the lemon balm tea/lye solution to the oils containing the yellow mica. Instantly, the mixture turned a brilliant orange. Pumpkin orange.
We were aiming for lemon.
It was fantastically horrifying.
Armed with the knowledge that soap can dramatically change color during curing, we took a deep breath and trusted the process. Sometimes, that’s all you can do.
What you see above is the soap freshly poured into the mold on the left, and a fully cured bar on the right. To our delight, the experiment worked on the first try. The color softened into a lovely lemony shade, and the scent turned out bright, fresh, and wonderfully uplifting.
This is why we love collaboration. It invites creativity, pushes us outside our comfort zone, and occasionally gives us a moment of panic but it also leads to beautiful results. Thank you for inspiring us, trusting our process, and joining us on these little adventures in soap making.
Keep an eye out for this soap making its debut on our website within the next month. Our test batch sold out immediately, so we’ve already poured a new batch that’s currently curing.
Until next time, take a moment for yourself, breathe deep, nourish your skin, and let a little nature in.