Creator and Owner
Meet the creator and owner of The Dark Island Soap Co., Chiara, originally from Edinburgh, now resides in Stirlingshire with her partner and two young daughters. Opting for the more quieter, simpler life, Chiara creates all of her products from her countryside home. As a certified Reiki practitioner, and a former painter, she has a huge appreciation for nature, the beauty of, and the power to self heal. She also hopes to pursue her Reiki 3, Master Healer degree in 2024.
Our Brand
Here at The Dark Island Soap Co. we make our cold process soaps from natural oils and butters. We carefully craft and oversee each bar to ensure you'll receive the highest quality of soap. At the end of 2022, Chiara studied for and completed a business diploma in soap making, learning about the importance of creating cold process soap safely, and the correct measurements needed for recipes. She is a fully self-taught soap maker, and made her first cold process soap in December of 2022. With a deep love for creating luxurious aromatherapy soaps with the best ingredients that nature has to offer, Chiara has excelled in her profession. Whilst restocking her brand, her products are now at least 90% organic and vegan friendly.
The Big Question!
Cold process soap making is the original, traditional method of making soap by combining fat or oil (animal or plant based) with sodium hydroxide (lye), then blending in an addition of essential oils, fragrance oils, and/or colourants as required. This treatment causes a chemical reaction called saponification which takes up to 48 hours, and the final stage of "curing" (which hardens the bar) takes between 4-6 weeks.
Generic store bought soaps devoid of glycerine can leave skin dry, ashy, itchy, and looking far from its best. Handmade soap, however, traditionally made so as to retain its glycerine content, will leave your skin more moisturised and healthy-looking, which is exactly what you'll get from using our traditionally made, cold process soaps!
