about society verde soap
specifically,
cold process soap making
it’s a fascinating alchemy.
it begins when oils and fats are blended to create a weak acid. this formula is then joined with a strong base of sodium hydroxide and water and, with a bit of time, this batter solidifies into a lovely batch of soap. a well-made bar will have a stable ph that is suitable for skin, and its superpower will lie within its slippery surface — the slide that captures dirt, bacteria, viruses, and all the things we want lifted and rinsed far, far away from our skin.
it’s a fascinating history, too.
soap making has its own folklore in the ancient roman legend of mount sapo. this mountain, said to be somewhere near rome, was a location of animal sacrifice. (well, boo.)
post-ceremony, animal fats mixed with the ash from their sacrificial burning (ash is a source of potassium/sodium hydroxide) would make their way down the mountain, where it was discovered that the clay in that specific area was helping to get laundry cleaner.
for history a little more rooted in the social sciences and backed by discovery, soap recipes found from mesapotamia, egypt, greece, and rome prove saavy folk have been creating soap in this fashion, called cold-process soap making, for at least 5000 years.
more recently, in 2020, a soap making workshop estimated to be 1200 years old was discovered in israel. this factory was located within a large home, and used olive oil, not animal fats, to produce its soap. the odorless olive oil variation was instrumental in the adaption of soap for personal hygiene — a humble start to a still-booming industry.
turns out i am a pretty savvy soap-maker as well, with my own interesting bit of history (which currently also includes a home-based soap workshop).
in the late 1990s, i was so uninspired by a science class that i had to ask my parents to have me removed from an elective in chemistry. 🫣
my formal chemistry studies may have ended in a rural ohio high school, but three cheers for soap historians, the educators of the internet, and my natural inclination toward research and lifelong learning.
i redeemed that dropped science class with a nationally recognized certification in aromatherapy and various studies in soap making, and 2008, i dove back into chemistry and began experimenting with cold-process soapmaking as a slow-living craft that offered an alternative to the endless overly-scented and obnoxiously colored mass-produced options growing in popularity around that time.
and like the introductions of soap throughout history, people liked it. i created soap under the terra verde soap co./terra verde handmade brand through 2014, when soap took a hobby status as i shifted into a yoga + travel career.
in 2022, after buying a century home in the cleveland zipcode my dad’s family emigrated to from eastern europe in the early 1900s, i felt recharged by my own story. here, i reimagine soap not only as a natural, functional product to rinse skin clean but as an aromatic (and budget-friendly!) experience that can feed the same curiosity our senses often turn to travel for.
the refreshed line under society verde will embrace small batch and adapt recipes as needed to best remain as sustainable as possible. soaps will become an extension of our love of exploration and restoration, and will highlight stories from the lands, communities and travelers that inspire each bar.
check out the first reintroduced bar, explore & restore. a made-by-hand, cold-process block of bold eucalyptus and nurturing lavender crafted in recognition of our travel community embodying what it means to ‘explore & restore’ through thoughtful, small-group trips.
