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Clean and luxurious: The rise of artisan soaps
Handmade soaps by ArteSana (Courtesy of ArteSana)Now you can change up your regular bathing experience with aesthetically-pleasing handmade bar soaps
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Handmade soaps by ArteSana (Courtesy of ArteSana)
Now you can change up your regular bathing experience with aesthetically-pleasing handmade bar soaps. These bars are beautifully colored and have a delicious smell.
Artisan soapmakers, who are mostly small-batch producers, claim they make their products with natural ingredients, meaning that they leave out unnecessary synthetic ingredients. Their soaps are said to feature improved formulations and are sulfate-free, paraben-free, phthalate-free and palm oil-free.
These handmade soaps, moreover, often have a unique combination of scents rarely found on the racks of convenience stores or hypermarkets. Some artisan soaps even have a compelling story that make them stand out among their competitors.
The Ring of Fire by ArteSana is a case in point. The soap has a warm and fresh smell of local spices: clove, cinnamon and nutmeg. The spiced and rough-hewn soap was inspired by the ubiquitous earthquakes and volcano eruptions in 2018.
“This is nature’s way to remind us who’s the boss and give us a humbling experience on our existence,” ArteSana writes in its Instagram account. “It also reminds me that this is the very same thing that gives us a fertile land to live on.”
You can get one bar of the Ring of Fire for Rp 50,000 (US$3.58). And if you think this is a little too pricey for a bar of soap, you’re not alone. Many customers have wondered why it’s offered at that price. ArteSana cites the raw materials and the labor costs to make handmade soaps.
Moreover, that’s just the average price of artisan soaps. Segara handmade bar soaps, for example, are priced at Rp 65,000, and they are available in many scent variations: cinnamon and kaolin clay; coffee and charcoal; olive oil and peppermint; and dead sea mud.
"Buying soap, then, becomes a political act, the sort of activity that the masses can adopt into their daily lives.
Seven Cactus offers its jamu-inspired bar soap at Rp 60,000 made out of various materials such as herbs, turmeric, lemongrass and ginger. Meanwhile, MONIMICI brings the smell of a bowl of oat, milk, and honey in a bar soap priced at Rp 65,000.
This type of hand soap, however, has won a niche market. Amid increasing conscious consumerism and environmental consciousness, more and more privileged urbanites are encouraged to support brands committed to sustainability, in this case, buying a natural soap bar.
These brands highlight their artisanal soap-making techniques and natural ingredients, inventing a newfound purpose of, not only cleaning the body but also contributing something good to the world: using natural ingredients, avoiding palm oil formulation, paying a decent wage to the soapmakers. In an attempt to reduce plastic waste, many of these soaps are sold without plastic or any packaging at all.
Buying soap, then, becomes a political act, the sort of activity that the masses can adopt into their daily lives.
“More customers are becoming conscious of the products they use. And our values resonate with our customers, especially those of the younger generation,” said Nina Widjaja, who established ArteSana, a Yogyakarta-based company.
“The younger generation, like us, see real problems in the world and envision a different and better future,” Nina adds. “We want to be part of the solution through small but collective behavior.”
In that sense, bathing with artisan soap can mean more than just lathering yourself up with an exquisite, luxury soap. The soap carries both a social message and selling point of making the world a better place.
These artisan soaps, however, are still hard to find. You might buy these handmade soaps at bulk stores or bazaars. If you want the convenience and certainty of getting your desired products, you can order them online by looking up the social media accounts of their brands. If you prefer to make soap yourself, you can attend a soap-making workshop often held by soapmakers and their communities in big cities.
