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AudreyDarnell
Dr.AnnieKnepler
UNST108G
2/10/15
PortlandsArtisanSoapIndustry:TheArtofBeingClean

AncientRomanlegendhasitthatthewordsoapisderivedfromMountSapo,where
animalsweresacrificed,andfromwhererainwaterwashedamixtureofmeltedanimalfats
(tallow,afoulsmellingsubstancealsousedtomakecandles)andwoodashesintotheRiver
Tiberbelow.There,thesoapymixturewasfoundtobeusefulforwashingclothingandskin
(www.open.edu).FastforwardtothePortlandSaturdayMarketin2015,andonewillfindthat
thissamefoulmixtureusedbytheRomanssomanyyearsagohasevolvedintoanaesthetically
pleasingartform,awhimsicalmedleyofcolorsandscentsthathasattractedagrowingnumber
offollowersinPortlandandbeyond.
Whileitisclearthatsoapspracticalityandusefulnessasamethodofcleansinghasbeen
presentsincetheearlyages,artisansoapandtheconceptofprettysoapshasreallyonly
recentlybeguntogainprevalencethroughoutthemodernworld.LaurieWhite,oneoftheowners
ofBellaMiSoapCompany,oneofthemanyartisansoapcompaniesbasedhereinPortland
agreesthatpeoplearefinallytakinganinterestinprettysoapsthatwork.Afterspendingan
hourinBellaMisshopinNortheastPortland,itishardnottotakeaninterest.Itisclearfrom
themomentIwalkinthedoorthatwevecomealongwaysinceCleopatrasdayswirled


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candycoloredcreationsofbarsoaps,scrubs,massagebarsandbathbombslinethewallsand
tables,artfullyarrangedinadelightfuldisplayofscentsandtextures.Thelabelingoneach
productreadsvegan,indicatingthatthecrudeanimalfatstheRomansusedfortheirsoaphave
beenswappedinfavorofnourishingoilsandbutters.Inthissetting,soapseemstobemorelike
anaccessory,aprettyobjectIdrathertakehomeanddisplayonmybathroomshelfthenuseto
washmyhands.Itpromptsmetospeculateonhowsomethingsosimpleandinmanyways,
unappealing,hastransformedintosomethingthatisbothbeautifulandpleasingtothesenses?
Andwhileithasalwaysbeenobvioustomefromtheirappearancethatartisansoapspossess
qualitiesthatdistinguishthemfromtheirmainstreamcounterparts,whatcouldthesequalitiesbe
andhowdotheysupportwhatappearstobethegrowingpopularityoftheartisansoapindustry?
Whileartisansoapisundoubtedlyacontemporarymovement,itsrootsasanindustrycan
betracedbacktothemiddleageswhereartisansdevelopedandperfectedsoaprecipesthat
contributedtotheclothindustryratherthanitsmorepopularusetodayofpersonalhygiene.
Althoughsoaphadnotyetaestheticallydevelopedintowhatwemayseetodayatatypicalshop
ormarket,theseartisansstilltookgreatprideinthetechniquesandrecipestheyusedtomake
soap,constantlyrefiningthembytrialanderror,muchlikeartisansoapmakerstoday.The
middleagesalsogaverisetotheadventofhighqualityingredientsinsoapsuchasoilsand
butters,witholiveoilbeingusedasabaseforsoapsmadeinMediterraneancountries.Oliveoil
becameadefiningingredientofhighqualitysoap,withregionssuchasCastile,Spainand

Marseilles,Francetakingtheleadintheartisansoapindustryduetotheirplentifulsupplyof
qualityoliveoil(
www.open.edu
).

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Whiletheformulationofsoaphasandcontinuestoberefined,artisansoapsrootsare
stillpresentintodayssoapmakingindustry.ManyPortlandartisanscontinuetouseoilsasa
basefortheirsoaps,evenintheabsenceoftheashandanimalfatscommonlyusedinthemiddle
ages.SonyaBowmerandLaurieWhite,ownersofBellaMiSoapCompanyhavedevelopedtheir
recipefurtherbyaddingskinlovingcoconutandpalmoilstothemixascomplementstothe
widelyusedoliveoilbase.Althoughcoconutandpalmremainstaplesinalltheirsoaps,Sonya
andLauriehavenofearofexperimentingwithotherbuttersandoilsaswell,usingthemasa
substituteforanimalproducts.Someoftheseincludebutarenotlimitedtoavocado,argan,and
jojobaoilsaswellascocoa,mangoandsheabutters.
Theingredientsthatmakeupartisansoapmakersrecipebooksarearguablythemost
importanttricksoftheirtrade.FormanylocalcompanieslikeBellaMi,theaddedskincare
benefitsoftheiringredientsdistinguishthemfromthestandard,massproducedbarsoapfoundin
mostpeoplesshowers.Oneofthebiggestdifferencesisthatwhatwemakeissoapandwhat
webuyinstoresmostofthetimeisdetergent,saysSonya.Inaddition,thesoapweuseona
dailybasishasbeenfoundtocontainpotentiallyharmfulingredientssuchastriclosan,an
antibacterialagentthathasbeenassociatedwitheyeirritationandliverdamage(SiegelMaier
ComingClean).WhileSonyaandLauriecannotmakeanyclaimsabouttheirproductsatBella

MiSoapCompany,theycanattesttothefactthatcertainingredientstheyusenourishtheskinby
actingashumectantsthatdrawmoisturein.