Over the last decade, trends in the skin care industry have been making the pivot to using safer, more natural ingredients to preserve the environment as well as skin health. Many companies have taken this a step further and have plastic-free packaging for their products, further reducing their ecological footprint.
Throughout the pandemic, people have also gotten crafty and made common household essentials with ingredients already in their kitchens. This is how So Soapy, the passion-turned-side-business of Morgan Lin, was created. Initially operation exclusively online, Morgan will be opening the only store in Port Credit on August 28th at 11 am, bringing a more tangible shopping experience to her growing client base.
Morgan began making her own all-natural soaps to reduce the plastic bottles cluttering her home. “I was cleaning the house one day, and I found so many plastic bottles lying around. My husband and I wanted to get rid of the bottles we weren’t using, and the first to go were the shampoo bottles. So, I began using shampoo bars to reduce our plastic”. Shortly after, she began scouring the internet to learn how to make her own soaps with pantry ingredients. “From then, I started doing lots of research and trial and error to come up with my own recipes. It was a fun journey”.
Morgan credited Humble Bee as one of her resources, while also taking an Aromatherapy course to learn more about using essential oils safely. Instead of copying existing recipes, she preferred to learn the proper technique to set the foundation for her all-natural soaps. “Before I even made my very first soap, I watched Youtube videos that focused on the technique of crafting the soap. I started with making very simple homemade laundry soap, and that worked very well. I learned different properties of the oils”.
Prior to launching So Soapy, Morgan studied International Trade and currently works in IT. Her career gives her access to understanding resource management and planning software consultancy. “I have a lot of clients that are selling to Amazon, so I help them to implement their accounting system and their logistics systems regarding supply and demands. I have some knowledge on where to find the good sources”.
Regarding her entrepreneurial side, Morgan comes from a family of business-savvy individuals who have pursued their innovative, eco-friendly ideas. “My mother is an entrepreneur, and my brother has his own heavy-duty recycling business in Taiwan. I am influenced by the mentality of turning junk into something we can use”.
Morgan is adamant on avoiding plastic when packaging her custom-made soaps. This practice significantly reduces the waste her business produces. Instead, she finds other materials that can be repurposed for packaging. “When someone orders a gift set, I use a paper base, or anything that is non plastic. Whatever we can find in the household, we don’t waste it”.
Recently, Morgan has repurposed high-quality poster paper from her husband’s photography studio and creates custom boxes for the orders she receives. “It turns out, people really like them because it adds a personal touch. No two boxes end up being the same, the boxes are created depending on the order size”.
So Soapy is committed to using all-natural, ethically sourced ingredients. Oils include coconut, sustainably certified palm, olive, avocado, and castor. Butters such as shea, mango, cocoa, and beeswax are also used to craft gentle soaps that are as nourishing as they are cleansing. Each of these ingredients have unique properties that will perform a different effect on the skin. Morgan uses Soap Calculator to measure her ingredients and make changes depending on the batch she is creating.
Morgan explains, ” I usually don’t follow anyone’s recipe. I come up with my own recipe, and I come up with what I have available in the kitchen at the time. I adjust my recipe based on what I want to achieve. Every time I create something, I try to use different material”.
Originally serving customers through the online store, Morgan decided to open a store in Port Credit so people can get an in-person experience of the products. As this is a major opportunity for So Soapy to embark on, Morgan plans on serving the local clientele with the new location. “Local businesses are suffering because of COVID, so I really want to bring awareness to the benefits of shopping locally”.
Morgan is committed to supporting the integrity of small businesses that are taking initiative to reducing their ecological footprint. Through So Soapy, she hopes to inspire her customers to do the same. “People don’t have to shop through Amazon or Walmart to get a good quality product. We have the opportunity to support a smaller scale of businesses and promote products that are custom made”.
So Soapy’s Grand Opening will be taking place on Saturday, August 28th at 11 am on 100-47 Lakeshore Road East. For more information, visit https://sosoapy.ca/
Author: Vanessa Butera, Content Writer, The Onside Media, Toronto, Canada. If you have stories to share kindly email: – vanessa.butera@theonside.com
