Rita's story
A little about me...
I grew up on a farm in rural North Carolina in the home with my grandparents. In that period farms were self-sufficient, that is, almost all the food came from the family garden; the meats were raised on the farm; and almost everything needed was made at home. I do not recall the process my grandmother used in making soap but am sure animal fat and lye were the main ingredients along with herbs she harvested from the fields and woodland nearby. I can remember following and listening to my grandmother as she talked about the herbs she used for various remedies. I did not understand why she used the herbs (weeds in my mind) but I loved my grandmother and felt that “if grandmother uses herbs, there must be a good reason”. The use of folk remedies was a very common practice in the community.
Later, I observed my mother using herbal remedies to treat illnesses in our extended family.
Most people in the neighborhood believed that herbs contained helpful properties and used them regularly. Neither they nor I knew why or even asked the question.
My mother remarried and we moved to Washington, DC leaving the tranquil North Carolina countryside and my grand parents’ home. After finishing high school, I became a sales person for a very high-end skin care company. It had a line of excellent products, but as I listened to the customers, I found that many of them was interested in natural and herbal skin care products. These were not offered by the company I was representing.
As I continued to get more questions on natural and herbal products, I remembered my grandmother and mother’s use of herbs and wondered if it would be possible to extract the goodness of herbs and use it in making skin care products. I also wondered if I could learn to make soap and find a way to use the essence of the herbs in the soap. I did not know any soap makers to discuss this with so I started by reading books on making soaps. As I read, I became frightened with the thought of using lye in making soap and almost got scared away from soap making. Luckily, the librarian noticed the books I was reading and shared with me that she was a soap maker. I indicated that I was concerned because all the soap receipts I found used lye and it appeared very dangerous. She said she had been making soap with lye since she was ten years old; that there was no danger from the lye if one was careful. She offered to show me how she made soap and she became my mentor. She was very knowledgeable in soap making especially in adding fragrance and essential oils to her soaps. But I had decided that if I were going to make soap, it would be natural with no added fragrances, essential oils, colors, or any artificial ingredients.
So, when I started making soap many years ago, I decided to try to extract the essence of the herbs into one of the oils I would use for making soap. At that time, I did not know any “soapers” to ask how to extract the essence, my mentor did not know, and I could not find any books on the subject. So, I experimented while I continued to learn about soap making from my mentor and the library books. This was beginning of an exciting time for me. There was learning from trial and error and learning from all my experiments in infusing herbs into the oils I used for making soap. From my experiments, I developed a process that worked well for me and which I use to this day.
I did not know when I began to use the herbal essence, nor do I know now with certainty, if the herbal essence adds value to my soaps. (I do remember how convinced my grandmother and mother were that herbs were “wonderful”). Many of my friends and family members over the years have asked me to continue to use herbs in my soaps and oils. To me, if you use herbs or their essence, it is critical to use only the finest herbs and only those that are generally recognized as causing no damage to the health of the users. This has been our guiding rule for the entire time we have been making soap. And we continue to use herbal essence in all my soaps without any scientific evidence that it provides any added benefits to our soap. We list all the herbs used making the essence on the label of each of our products.
And now you can purchase soaps with herbal essence from Rita’s Herbals. We make no representation that the herbal essence cures or prevents any condition or disease. We do represent and know firsthand that our soaps have wonderful cleansing properties and are delightful to use.
