Maker of the Month: Nath Soap Company
After surgery left Nataly of Nath Soap Company with hives, she had to change all the skincare products in her home. That's when she tried cold process for the first time. The hives went away, but her love for soap making stayed. She now sells elegant bars made with skin-loving and sustainable ingredients. Get to know Nataly below!
How long have
you been making soap, and how did you get started? How long have you been selling
your products?
I have been making body products for
our family for about 6 years. I wanted to be able to provide them with
clean, sustainable products and know what exactly we were using on our
bodies. Back in 2016, I had a surgery that left me with a chronic case of hives that
lasted for more than a year, I had to make very drastic changes with the products I
was using and the things I ate. The hives subsided a little over a year later and my
desire to learn even more kept growing. I started making cold process soaps as a way
to replace the soaps we were using in our home. We all fell in love. As we kept
using them and gifting to family and friends, they were all very excited and
encouraging with the idea of me making them available for everyone, so Nath Soap
Company was born in 2019 and it’s been quite the
ride!
What do you love most about making
bath and body products?
Making cold process soap has
become a creative outlet for me. I love being able to be artistic and let my
imagination run with all the different colors, additives, and
ingredients.
What inspires
you to create?
I can find inspiration almost
anywhere, everything and anything around me can be an “aha!”
moment. I might be cooking dinner and chopping colorful veggies and think about how
to put those colors into soap. Fragrances and essential oil blends are also a source
of inspiration, when I first smell that new scent, pictures and colors pop into my
head. I do enjoy creating also the more “simplistic” one color
type soaps with botanicals on top.
What
advice would you give to someone who wanted to get started?
Research, research, research. Study the ingredients, the soap making
process, from lye safety to ingredients to the chemistry behind the saponification
process. Learn and practice and practice some more, take your time to test your
soaps and get feedback from testers. I’m constantly studying, researching
ingredients, and learning, it never
stops.
From the business standpoint, I would say research your state/country requirements, labeling laws, cost of goods, inventory management, good manufacturing practices, business permits or licenses and, of course, business insurance and taxes. These are very important when you’re starting and have plans to grow.
What's your
favorite Baraka product?
I love using unrefined shea
butter from Baraka Shea Butter. All of our soaps are formulated to include
the rich and creamy goodness that is shea butter. Pure and 100% natural, Baraka shea
butter is handmade by women and families in Ghana using traditional methods passed
down through generations. No chemicals. No additives.
I love working with suppliers that stand behind a social cause, through our purchase of certified fair-trade shea butter from Baraka Shea Butter, we make a direct impact on the hard-working women of Ghana. These women take great joy and pride in the quality of the shea butter they produce. Getting paid fairly for their craft provides satisfaction and happiness and empowers them with the opportunity to generate an income to support and create a better standard of life for their families.
Your soap is really elegant and
precise. What's your favorite design/technique?
I
enjoy creating with a lot of different techniques, I think that my favorite
technique will have to be a tie between an in the pot swirl and a drop swirl, I love
how surprised I am to find pretty little swirls after I cut the soaps. Honestly
though, I enjoy trying out different soap making techniques and all the
possibilities that allow me to be creative. I love how each bar is unique and one of
a kind when it comes to designs.
Who’s
another maker you admire? What do you love about their work?
Our community is filled with many great and talented makers, how can I
even pick just one? One of the very first soap making videos I watched was
of the Soap Queen herself, Anne-Marie Faiola. At that time, I was just starting out
my research phase and was so impressed by all the knowledge and experience she has.
Another soap maker that I’ve always admired is Shayna with Milkmade Soap
Company, her designs are always so clean and the color combinations are so
dreamy.
Have you experienced a fail? How
did you work through it, and what did you learn?
I
definitely have experienced a fail! I have left the fragrance out of my whole batch
of soap, I’ve also had those misbehaving kind of fragrances that, as soon
as it touches your batter, make it turn into a soapy mess. When I run into this
issue, I just try to get it in the mold as fast as I can. This usually happens with
fragrances I’m using for the first time, it has to be a really great one
for me to use it again. I’ve learned not to rush and take the time to
prepare and understand how the fragrance will affect the end
result.
What plans do you have for your
business moving forward?
I have a couple of exciting
things happening with our business this year and can’t wait to share it
with my customers. Even though we’re coming up on year three of being in
business, I feel like we are still taking baby steps. This past year we took the
leap with wholesale and it has been a very interesting journey, so I would like to
nurture that side of the business as well.
Nataly's top Bramble Berry picks
- Bursting Beads - I discovered the Bursting Beads a while ago and can’t stop using them for my soap tops. They’re so pretty and make the tops look so elegant.
- Fragrance oils - Some of my personal favorite fragrances are Tobacco & Bay Leaf, Love Letter, Autumn Fig Harvest, and Cocoa Butter Cashmere. There are many more for sure, but the list is too long.
- Orange 10X Essential Oil - This is one of the best essential oils out there. Very strong scent and it does not fade in cold process soap.
- Jasmine flowers - I love adding botanicals to my soaps and jasmine flowers are one of my favorites too.
What’s the
first Bramble Berry project you tried?
Back in 2020,
I wanted to make some special gift boxes for my mom and my sisters for Christmas, so
I ordered the Lemon Poppy Seed Sugar Scrub Kit from Bramble Berry. It
was so much fun to make and it was a huge hit with my family. They smell wonderfully
clean and left the skin super soft and not greasy at all. The packaging was
beautiful too.
Find Nath Soap
Company
Online
Instagram
Facebook
Shop This Article
Maker of the Month Tags:
