My customers who have been with me a long time will know the story of how Maldon Soap came about and how it evolved over the years but, for my new customers, I thought I’d share my story with you.

So here goes…

A bit of background

I’ve always had really sensitive skin and found it hard finding products that suited my skin and didn’t leave my face with a red rash or spotty – or both!

I’ve always been conscious of the environment and have always tried to use skincare brands that were ethical and as ‘natural’ as possible.

However, through extensive trial and much error I discovered that many so called ethical brands use an awful lot of greenwash.  They use words like ‘natural’ and ‘handmade’ as marketing tools. They promote a products ‘active ingredients, whilst glossing over any questionable ingredients. In other words, they tell us what we want to hear rather than what we need to know.

Through my research I also discovered that the price of a skincare product doesn’t necessarily ensure its quality or effectiveness. Price usually has more to do with branding and perceived value. ie. if something is really expensive it must be good for you.  This I have found is simply not true.

The solution?

After trying for years to find soaps and skincare products for myself that were as close to nature, additive free, palm free, sls free, cruelty free and suitable for sensitive skin, I decided to go back to basics and start making my own!

That might sound a bit extreme to some, but given my background in the beauty industry and aromatherapy it wasn’t as crazy an option as it may have first sounded!

The early days of Maldon Soap

After the initial excitement of making my first tiny amounts of soap and skincare products for myself and my family, I made my first batch of cold process soap in January 2013.  Picture the scene…

There I was in the middle of my kitchen with a B&Q orange bucket on several newspapers, wearing a mask, goggles and gloves expecting some kind of explosion or something out of the magic porridge pot but it was all quite underwhelming and went very smoothly! The first soap I ever made? Lemongrass and Lime – and I still use the same recipe today although now the oils I make it with are organic and I don’t make it in a bucket!

The soaps I made initially were a little ‘rustic’ looking but they worked a treat and my family and friends were delighted with the results.

The importance of ingredients:

I decided very early on that I only ever wanted to use the best quality ingredients that I could afford to use and that I wanted to use local produce whenever possible to keep the ‘soap miles’ down and to ensure that any money I spent on raw materials stayed in the local community as much as I could.  When local ingredients were not available I wanted them to be sourced organically and ethically.

Doing it right from the very start:

The six months before I started making products were filled with ridiculous amounts of research and investigation. I learnt so much! The main thing I learned was that it’s actually quite easy and straightforward to make soaps and skincare products without using cheap artificial ingredients such as parabens, SLS, palm oil, propylene glycol, triethenolomine, mineral based additives or artificial fragrances, colours, plastic glitter, fillers and stabilisers. Dead easy to make products without all that – It just costs a lot more!

I have never used palm oil of any kind either in oil form or in ingredient form and I will never use it. A lot of soap makers use RSPO but that’s not an option for me as the certification can be ambiguous and I’d rather not take any chances. I’ve managed up til now without it so there’s no reason to ever start using it.

I don’t use SLS (sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate) because, not only is it a major skin irritant, it is made from either petroleum or palm oil and there are no palm free versions.

The cocoa and shea butters I use have always been organic, fairly traded and ethically sourced.

And, of course, everything ingredient I use is cruelty free and none of my products are tested on animals.

So, back in 2013, once I’d had my products, formulas and ingredients safety assessed and tested, I begin selling them in the Maeldune Heritage Centre which I was managing at the time.  A couple of other outlets soon followed and the website followed the following year.  I’m still selling in the Heritage Centre 13 years later!

Maldon Soaps ethos:

In the same way that a good chef chooses the best quality ingredients to make simple dishes that taste incredible, I like to concentrate on making the purest organic, vegan soaps and beauty products from the best quality but most simple ingredients possible, thus ensuring they are the most beneficial products for your skin. Just don’t eat them!

Our skin is the largest organ of our bodies.  Everything that goes on our skin or hair reaches our blood stream in around 20 minutes. Our bodies are subjected to enough air born rubbish in our daily lives so doesn’t our skin deserve to not be bombarded with more additives?  Surely it makes sense to limit what we rub on it or sit in voluntarily.  Nature works, so we should let it!

About Maldon Soaps products:

All my products are made in small batches, by hand by myself.  this ensures that you get fresh, top quality products every time.  For this reason products may, very occasionally, be out of stock on the website, but do keep checking back because it is updated every day as and when they have been made and are back in stock.

I am a one woman band micro business and, although I can do anything, I can’t do everything!

My daughter in law Lauren helps me one morning a week sending out your web orders, wrapping soap and making some of the products.

Due to my ongoing back condition I only work in the studio a few hours a week as I find standing very difficult.  So I make a couple of products a week and spend the rest of my days, evenings, nights and weekends creating marketing content for socisl media and doing admin. I also top up my outlets as often as I can but not as much as I’d like to because it knackers my back!

Occasionally my products will be out of stock if I’m behind with making.  This I can only apologise for.  However, the majority of my lovely customers are very patient and all of them agree that my products are worth waiting for.

All my products are 100% vegan, organic and I use local produce when I can.

The list of local ingredients I use are:

• Maldon sea salt
• Organic carrots from Sarah Greens Organics in Tillingham near Maldon.
• Organic, Gluten free Oats from Cambridge
• Calendula and Lavender from my own and local gardens.

I used to use local honey and beeswax but, since taking the proucts 100% vegan I no longer use them.

What about colour and fragrance?

The ingredients I use at Maldon Soap

When colouring my products I mainly use natural colours from nature, using clays and oils which usually have a function beyond just the colour.  I also use herb, spice and vegetable colours.  I now use naturally and ethically sourced mica powders in some of my products to create more interest and more quirky designs.

The colours of my products are still very subtle and understated, to let the natural ingredients speak for themselves as it were. I would never want the appearance of a product to detract from its quality and functionality.

No glitter or garish colours!

I always focus on the ingredients in each product and what they can do for your skin and wellbeing, rather than how pretty it turns your bathwater or how brightly coloured and sparkly the product is.

So, if you’re looking for garish colours, quirky shapes and glitter in your products you’ve come to the wrong place!

As I’ve mentioned before what goes on your skin very soon ends up in your bloodstream, and then in the sea.  So it makes sense, to me at least, not to sit in a bath full of brightly coloured, glitter filled water.  The only reason someone would want to sit in that is because the company have convinced you that it’s somehow beneficial to your skin!

Sensitive skincare:

Lavender & Rosemary Soap from The Maldon Soap Company

The majority of my products are suitable for sensitive skin.  I suffer from eczema and sensitive skin so I’ve designed all the products for my own use! Some are more nurturing than others and there are sections on the website for you to browse so you can find something suitable for yourselr.

I use pure essential oils to fragrance most of the products and some products are unfragranced, or have a fragrance free option so these are suitable for very sensitive skin.

I do use a couple of cosmetic grade fragrance oils (rose, apple, raspberry & coconut) in my body products but these are in very small quantaties.

What do I use to package Maldon Soap?

All the products are handmade from scratch, hand potted and labelled and wrapped by hand.

My cold process soaps are wrapped in greaseproof paper with a compostable wrap around them which holds all the important information.

What do I package the skincare in?

My products come in aluminium tins which are fully and infinitely recyclable.

Trial sizes of all facial skincare are available so you can try them before committing to full size products.

In conclusion:

Phew, that’s all about me and my products.  I hope you haven’t nodded off reading all that but I wanted to get everything written down in one place!

If you’d like to keep up to date with events and goings on in the studio plus be the first to hear about new products plus hints and tips please sign up to my VIP mailing list.  you’ll get an informative monthly newsletter plus VIP only special offers, competitions and prizes. You can sign up by clicking the link here or at the top of the website.

Thank you for visiting my Maldon Soap website. I hope you like what you see.

Lots of love
Sue xxx