Learning How to Make Soap
08 March 2011
Herban Lifestyle products include colorful fuzzy soaps, which are wrapped in wool
STEVE EMBER: I’m Steve Ember.
FAITH LAPIDUS: And I’m Faith Lapidus with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. While washing your hands have you ever wondered what materials are in a bar of soap and why it cleans? Today we answer that question with a visit to a soap maker at her home in Falls Church, Virginia near Washington.
Mary Kearns creates soaps that contain inventive combinations of herbs and essential oils. She uses organic and fairly traded ingredients. And she takes great care to operate her Herban Lifestyle business in a way that is environmentally friendly.
(MUSIC)
STEVE EMBER: At the ArtSpring store in Silver Spring, Maryland, visitors can buy products made by local artists and artisans. They might notice some soaps wrapped in colorful paper. This is one of several places where Mary Kearns sells her Herban Lifestyle soaps and other body products.
MARY KEARNS: “People love natural soaps. I love seeing people’s reactions when they pick up a bar and smell it and get a smile on their face.”
FAITH LAPIDUS: One way to learn more about soap-making is to watch Mary Kearns at work. She shows us the ingredients she will use. They include water into which she has dissolved lye, or sodium hydroxide. She warns that working with lye can be dangerous because it burns the skin. She makes sure to wear special protective glasses and gloves when making soap.
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