10 Jun, 2014
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an education on Quality Soap making from LAFCO
10 Jun, 2014
·
·
best
,
boutique
,
clayton
,
gift
,
gifts
,
home
,
house
,
lafco
,
louis
,
lusso
,
quality
,
shop
,
shopping
,
soap
,
st
,
wrap
·
Comments
LAFCO’s House & Home Soap – the story
After establishing House & Home candles as instant classics, LAFCO owner and founder Jon Bresler and creative director Vincent LaRouche began searching for a soap base worthy of LAFCO's signature scents.
What they developed was truly extraordinary: a solvent-free coconut oil based formula made with an unprecedented blend of 14% olive oil, almond oil and silk protein. This unique, proprietary bar soap produces a moisturizing and creamy lather, which creates an event around the daily ritual of bathing and washing.
Read on for more on Jon and Vincent's journey around the world developing the perfect bar of soap.
Jon wanted to create a soap base that would be unique to LAFCO and compliment the already exquisite LAFCO scents. During this
phase, Vincent started working on the shape of the bar, something that would be generous in size and feel great in the hand. The packaging also had to convey the attributes of the soap that would be hand wrapped inside.
Jon found his factory in Italy. This place had the capacity to make the soap base as well as the final soap itself. After a series of meetings and tests, they were able to mix a soap base from pure pressed coconut oil and 14% olive oil. Only time-tested experience could provide a base of this kind, as the two oils are very difficult to combine while still retaining a hard bar of soap.
Once the base had been perfected, it was time to mix in the other beneficial ingredients: rice proteins and almond oil for further skin softness, and each one of the natural essential oil based fragrances. Throughout the mixing process (also called milling), Jon would check the scent to make sure that it was just right. The soap “noodles” are blended four to five times until they become a homogenous, bubble free mixture that is ready to be stamped into an actual soap bar.
The beautiful bronze moulds for the soaps had arrived and now it was the time to actually stamp out the first samples. This would still not be the final production but a test to make sure that everything was as it should be. The moulds are attached to the manual stamping machine to make the very first soaps.
The soap comes out of the milling machine in a long tubular bar that is then cut in appropriate sizes for the moulds. The bar is placed directly over the stamp and then pressed into place using a push bar at the bottom of the machine. The technician uses his legs to push and keeps his hands at the sides of the machine at all times so that there is no injury to the fingers or hands. The soap is pressed as tightly as possible and then released, then removed from the machine by hand. Samples are done in this way to be able to gauge the soap density and resilience on the machine. Once approved, the soap is stamped on an automated machine so that the soaps are untouched. The excess soap is removed and the bar inspected to make sure that the edges are clean.
After weeks of work and months of planning, the soaps go into final production. Even then, each batch is monitored and tested to make sure that everything is up to the standards set by LAFCO.
The final stage of production ends with all the soaps being placed into wooden boxes which are moved and stacked up in a drying room. There the soaps remain for weeks prior to packaging. This gives the soap time to "age"; a process where water evaporates slowly from the soap making it more dense, last longer, and dry very quickly after each use.
Here at LAFCO, we are so very excited to offer our customers this amazing soap, It has come after 20 years of passion and experience in the soap and body care industry and we are very proud of the result. You will notice when you use it that it is very different. A silky layer stays on your skin after washing and then after a minute or two is absorbed completely. This sensation comes from the natural oils in the soap that are similar in composition and PH to our own skin’s oils. We have wrapped our soaps by hand in keeping with the artisanal nature of the product and put them in boxes that are already beautifully wrapped for gifting.
Our goal is to always bring our customers the most luxurious and best quality items that we can possibly find or make. We think that we have succeeded admirably with our new House & Home soap collection. We love using these soaps ourselves and we are sure that you will too.
Come check out some of our favorite scents like Champagne and Fleurs de Baies!
xo
the lusso girls