Here, at the Bottega Zero Waste School, we obsess over student success. Every month we celebrate a new Maker with a truly inspiring story. If you are not on our mailing list make sure you subscribe here for a chance to submit your story and be featured as one of our upcoming Maker of the Month!
Today I am delighted to introduce you to Beatrix, Zero Waste Haircare student and owner of Soap Squad Naturals.
The beauty of soap making
I love the scents, colors and shapes of soap and it is so satisfying to make them. I have an Etsy shop but also sell to local stores and I make honey & bees wax soap for a local beekeeper and honey store.
My husband was the most critical about bar soap and refused to use it for a while, now he loves it and always asks for it! After someone asked for last minute baby shower soap favors (which I didn't have), I started to tailor more for events. Now I have a higher number of small bars available that can be custom-wrapped and I also make custom soaps for these occasions. People really love it and it is so fun to work with customers. They have great ideas and together, we've created the most adorable gifts.
The soap making is my side project, I am mainly a neuroscientist studying the brain and how it changes with mind-body interventions, medication and neurostimulation. It is my passion but it mainly takes place at the desk, so I need another outlet to get away from it. My creative outlet is the soap making and my physical outlet is horse back riding and I also volunteer at a horse back riding therapy center for people with disabilities.
A "Zero Waste Haircare" student
Soap inspired by life
My favorite and also my absolute best seller is my Earl Grey tea soap. I am from Germany and have also lived in England, so tea was always a much bigger part of my personal culture than coffee.
Earl Grey has the scent of bergamot, which is just wonderful! Early on in my soap making experience, I decided to take a simple Shea butter recipe and turn it into this Earl Grey tea soap.
Instead of the distilled water, I used real Earl Grey tea, which is additionally infused with organic lavender buds.
Then I added white clay (tea is brown, so not super pretty) and activated charcoal streaks and scented it with bergamot and lavender essential oils. The top of the soap has a nice swirl and a blend of Earl Grey tea leaves, lavender buds and blue corn flower for a color pop.
Making the most of an accident
Recently, I accidentally ordered Shea oil instead of Shea butter, so I used Soapcalc to adapt my recipe and it also turned out really wonderfully.
I try to have this soap available in my shop at all times but people ask about it even during the short periods when it's sold out. I am really extremely happy and honored that other people love this soap as much as I do.