Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1997-04-16, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 1997 En^ironincnt Family need leads to all-natural soap business Necessity truly is the mother of invention. Inspired by a relative's skin problem, Deloris Souch and her husband, Bill, have developed an all-natural soap which is a marvel to those who suffer psoriasis, have sensitive skin or just want a product with no additives. Seeing their grandson's extreme eczema vanish, Deloris says this was just one testimonial to how well her soap works. After getting out of the farrow-to-finish business a few years back, the Souches began to seriously research and produce their Down Home Country Soap. Beginning with that simple need, the Deloris and Bill Souch develop and create all-natural soaps. little room for profit. Morris Twp. couple developed a business which produces a wide variety of cleansing products to suit many purposes. Experimentation and a brief stint in a 'budding entrepreneurs' course led to the first soaps being poured into moulds in their kitchen in January, 1996. Though the process started with makeshift moulds, they soon attained proper equipment. The most difficult part of creating the product was finding a good wholesale source for the natural ingredients, said the Souches. Though many of the items, such as olive oil are available in local grocery stores, producing the soap at retail prices would Numerous phone calls and detective work tracked down a supplier, and, with the family truck, barrels of all-natural ingredients were brought home. Some of the base ingredients were located close to home as Bill obtains tallow from local abbatoirs, then renders it for the soap base. The addition of a lye and water mixture to the tallow is a critical step in the soap-making process. The two components, when combined, must be at exactly the same temperature in order for the soap to work. Luckily for the Souches, they say every batch they have poured has worked. Once the mixture of the three elements has reached the desired thickness, the natural oils and special ingredients are added. This list can range from oatmeal to honey or cucumber, depending on the purpose of the cleanser. Saying that some people might be surprised at the things which go into making soap, Deloris says, "If you can eat it, you can put it on your body." She relates one story from a craft show when a women bought one bar of the cucumber soap, which is good for psoriasis. She was back the following day to buy more because she had already seen an improvement in her skin rash. The cucumbers, grown naturally by the .Souches, are completely ground, skin, seeds and all, and added to the soap. The resulting bar-is slightly green with a hint of cucumber smell. Following the ancient wisdom of Cleopatra, who used three soaps for her Selection beauty regimen. DeloriX A choices o! soaPs meels customers' needs. J says they have oatmeal­ honey soap for cleanser, pure honey as a toner and Castile (tallow, lye and olive or coconut oil) as a beauty bar. The oatmeal-honey cleanser, has become tops on Bill's list of product. "I could bath before (with commercial soap), put on a white shirt and come back with it black (due to dirt in the skin). Now I wash with this soap and I can go out, get sweaty and still have a white shirt." Supporting Bill's finding about the cleanser, Deloris says "People are not getting their pores cleaned out and it is causing problems." With summer hopefully just around the comer, the Souches also produce a soap which helps ward off bug bites. Unlike most commercial soaps, these contains no perfumes to attract insects, but does have citronella. Deloris suggests bathing with the soap before going outside, laundering your clothes with it or carrying a bar in your pocket for rubbing on the skin as effectiveness wanes. She also says a bar of citronella soap stored with woolen clothes will keep the moths away. This all-purpose lemon-scented additive,, along with bay and cedar, helps dogs repel mosquitoes, fleas and ticks. From the family pet to the children, Souches have the right soap. For baby's sensitive skin, a combination of apricot oil and potash is the answer, they say. For the ground-in grime which accompanies the work of a farmers and mechanics, sand from a local pit is added to the soap to give it scrubbing power. For the hard-to-clean laundry, lye soap reportedly gets out the toughest stains. For those whose hair is thinning slightly, Deloris swears by the lemon grass and jojoba shampoo, saying Bill's hair has definitely thickened. With the oils, herbs and extracts added, the soap is poured into moulds, making approximately 108 bars. The product must then age for four to six months. Once ready for market, the soap is wrapped in plastic and finished with an identifying label. Selling the product mainly through craft shows, the Souches are developing a mail­ order business. In business for just over a year, the Souches are also offering their all-natural soap in combination gift boxes and as school fundraising products. "It's better than selling chocolates bars," they say. HELP * Our Earth by Disposing of Household Hazardous Waste the Proper Way. MAKE A SICK HOUSE WELL with the LIVING AIR XL-15 According to the EPA, indoor air pollution is our nation’s biggest pollution problem. Modem homes and buildings are so energy efficient they block out nature's air cleaning agents and trap pollution inside—inside where you probably spend 90% of your time. What can you do? Ventilation systems can be expensive, and filters provide only a partial remedy. Why not look at nature? Living Air looked to nature before designing the revolutionary XL-15, an electronic thunderstorm in a box. A thunderstorm is nature's most powerful air cleaning activity. Why not take the test? Ask for a free, no obligation demonstration of the powerful Living Air XL-15. INDEPENDENT DEALER ALICIA DEITNER Brussels (519) 887-6502 Household Hazardous Waste Days gives you an opportunity to clear potentially dangerous waste out of your home and protect our environment at the same time. Residents that participate in the Bluewater Recycling Association program may bring their hazardous products to the locations listed below where it will be collected and distributed by trained professionals. This is a free event for members of the Bluewater Recycling program only. Non members will be charged an administration fee. Site Location Date Time Wallace Twp. Works Garage 5882 Line 88 Gowanstown April 18 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. McKillop Twp. Works Garage Cone. 8 PL Lot 26 Winthrop April 19 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Town of Goderich Works Garage 361 Cambridge St. Goderich April 19 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Town of St. Marys Works Garage 433 Widder St. St Marys April 20 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Village of Lucan Works Garage Butler Street Lucan April 20 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. In every home there are products that require special care. You will recognize them by these warning symbols. TOXIC • Pesticides • Rat Poison • Pharmaceuticals • Cleaning Fluids • Pool Chemicals • Ammonia • Bleach • Aerosols • Paints, Solvents • Oils, Gasoline • BBQ Starter • Propane Cylinders CORROSIVE • Batteries • Drain Cleaners • Oven Cleaners