At Bulk Apothecary, we are proud to support and highlight the talented creative makers and businesses that rely on our high-quality ingredients. Every month, we feature a standout creator from the maker community, showcasing their unique journey and passion for crafting.
This month, we’re excited to introduce you to Lana, the artisan behind SoapRoots, a brand known for its Tallow skincare, Handmade soaps, Lip Balms, and even room sprays. Lana’s passion and creative energy have captured our attention, and we’re eager to share her story with you.
Thank you for taking the time to share more about your business with us and the maker community. Could you introduce yourself to our Maker Community?
Hey everyone, I’m Lana. I’m incredibly grateful to be featured as “Maker of the Month”. In my personal life I’m a private person on social media, so doing things like this is a little extra step. When I see makers and products I love I want to know more about them and their business. It helps attach a personality to the person. As a maker/creator it helps lay the foundation of the business in a way.
We agree, Candle and Skincare Makers are an amazing community! We’d love to know what motivated you to start SoapRoots and share your unique creations with the world.
My mom! She went on a trip and returned with some cold process soaps she gifted me. This was about 12 years ago, and my lifestyle was quite different. Back then, I wasn’t too concerned about eating healthy or what I was putting on my skin. I was very used to using cheap, mass-produced junky “skincare”. It was easy and inexpensive, and I just wasn’t very educated concerning the ingredients in skincare products. The scent of the soap was amazing. It was made with Essential Oils (I didn’t know what those were). The first time I used that bar, my skin felt different. You know that tight feeling you get on your skin after you use a junk soap right after hopping out of the shower? I didn’t get that this time around. When I touched the skin on my arm, I FELT the difference, it felt moisturized. That was the point where my curiosity was lit. This amazing smelling bar of soap fascinated me, and how it made my skin feel. I just had to know more about it.
I started researching soap itself, to learn about what real soap is. It’s a fascinating process of how it all comes together. At the start I focused on Melt and Pour soap. It was an easy, convenient process of getting a chunk of something, melting it down, pouring some stuff in it, letting it harden, and then cutting it up. My kids were little, so I didn’t have time to do much else. After further research, I found out about Lye. It made me quite nervous to work with and had read horror stories about people getting burned, which kind of turned me off to the idea of working with it. However, I discovered that “lye soap,” aka “cold process soap,” was the kind of soap bar I had used. Therefore, this is the kind of soap bar I wanted to make. So it began.
This was before social media is what it is today. Many resources weren’t as available, which made learning about soap making a little more challenging. However, after educating myself further, a lot of reading, and experimenting, I figured it out. It makes me proud to say I am 100% self-taught. I started off making Vegan soaps, but once I found Tallow I fell in love with it. This in itself encouraged me to start looking at the ingredients listed on my skincare products, as well as my food. It really changed my life.
Initially, I only made soaps for family, which migrated to friends, and then people encouraged me to start selling my soap. So I opened a website, but I just wasn’t ready to start a business that would take off. It wasn’t easy to keep up with photography or renewing listings, it was a slow process. The main focus at that point in my life was staying at home and being present for my little ones. Eventually, as the kids got older, I was able to turn a little bit more focus on soap making because we needed the money. At this point, I was educated and experienced enough to turn it into something a little more. This has been a huge thing for me. It is humbling even writing it down, because I’m forced to remember my “humble beginnings”. Which I don’t think about as much anymore, it’s been years. Where I was, to where I am now is pretty incredible, and I’m really thankful and proud of myself.
From self-educating concerning soap making to learning the ins and outs of running an online business (I never took any classes for this either), it’s been a huge learning experience which I know doesn’t ever stop. I’ve had the support of my family, and I’m so grateful for that, they have really encouraged me to continue doing something that I love, for myself and for others, and also, practically supported me by using my products and sharing about my business with friends. I’m just so thankful I am where I am today, and that I’m able to share about myself and my business like this, on a large platform. My hope is my story encourages others who found something that they love, to pursue it and know that with a lot of effort and the willingness to learn, to grow, and change, they can absolutely accomplish what they set their mind to.
I love your story, thank you for sharing that important reminder about growth. What values does your business embody?
Honesty and top-quality bases. I use a lot of “organic/raw” bases for my products. There has been times I’ve been tempted to go without the “organic/raw” Coconut Oil/ Mango Butters, etc. But I haven’t. It’s more expensive because it’s raw. Highly processed or more processed oils/fats are cheaper. I’ve stuck with buying “Extra Virgin Olive Oil” instead of regular or highly processed Olive Oil because it is the best there is. You can go online and watch videos and read about the differences, and the nutrient levels start to go down the more processed they are.
What do you love most about creating your products?
Oh gosh, that’s a loaded question. Honestly, the smell! LOL. I. LOVE. SMELLS. The second would be that this is what we use at home. What I create, we use. We save a lot of money, and it’s much healthier than many other options. My family has endless access to soaps, as well as lip balms, moisturizers, and who knows what else may come!
We clearly also love smells! The fact you use everything on your family shows the trust you have in your products as well! What is your personal favorite product you have created?
Ok these questions get harder as I go along. How dare you ask me this lol. Only because your making me choose, I guess I’d have to say my “FAT Stick”, I use this on a daily basis. I’m very conscience of what I use on my face. In a more general answer, everything else. My creations are something I really love to do, so it’s very hard to pick because so much of my love for doing this goes into all my products. I’ve made things in the past that were popular, and successful, but I didn’t enjoy it, so I stopped. Being able to create something and to be able to enjoy it at the same time is a blessing.
What is one piece of advice that has helped you in your business?
Stop comparing yourself to others. THIS IS HUGE. It needs to be applied in every area of life. Comparison is the thief of joy, and poison for your mind, it will rob you of your desire to pursue and continue what you set out to do if you allow it. STOP IT.
What are some of the biggest challenges you and your business face?
1- Room to work. I work from home and my business has slowly started taking over, I need more space. 2- Tallow itself. I absolutely love Tallow. However, I render all my Tallow myself. I don’t ever purchase Tallow for my products. My process is to support a local farm and drive there to restock on fat. It’s a very big job. Rendering Tallow in large amounts takes me an entire day! It’s the one thing about my business I kind of dread lol. I know it would be a lot easier to just purchase it, but that’s one of the things I appreciate about my business, is the fact that I support a local farm, and render it all myself. It’s A LOT of work, and it can get pretty messy too. I literally do everything from scratch.
That is a lot of work! If you ever decide to order Tallow, we are excited to say we recently added it to our line of products. Speaking of, what is your favorite Bulk Apothecary product?
Thank you I am so glad you love our Fragrances and essential oils as much as we do. What was the inspiration behind the name of your company?
Trees are grounded by their roots. The beginning “roots” of my business is soaps, and I just put the two together and really loved the sound of it. Here’s a funny fact though. That’s not actually the original name of my business. It used to be “MrsSoapMaker”. I changed my business name because I wanted it to sound more professional, and Mrs Soap Maker sounded more personal, which was ok for the time. However, after I started building my business on a larger scale, it made sense to change it to what it is now.
What is your favorite part of the creative process? Least favorite?
I’m so good at creating and formulating things now, that I’ve had years to mess up a lot and learn in the process. Whatever I set my mind to do, or product to make, is top quality. Least Favorite: I have such a creative and busy mind, that sometimes I get overwhelmed by all the ideas and things I want to create. It takes discipline to not spend whatever I want, and create whatever I want, all the time. There are specific times to do specific things and sometimes it’s hard to be like that.
Yes, it does take discipline! Speaking of a creative mind, where do you draw inspiration from to create your products?
Mainly from history. Tallow has been used for thousands of years in skincare. Other kinds of fats from animals have been as well. Also, other makers. There’s such a HUGE community of makers, and I don’t just mean soapers. I mean creativity. A piece of artwork or a specific kind of flower. Ideas to create come from so many different areas.
Do you have any words of wisdom to offer any aspiring makers?
Keep going! Work hard, don’t give up. Set your mind to educate yourself so you can learn and grow. Be willing to take chances and mess up. Learn from your mistakes.
It’s been wonderful getting to know more about you and your business! Before we wrap up, can you let everyone know the best way to explore more of your work and connect with you?
If you want to learn more about starting a business check out this blog, How to Make your business stand out online
