Welcome to the Soaping Blog

Hello wonderful people!

My name is Sherry and I'm the owner and Chandler/Soaper behind Old Mill Natural Soap Company. Opening in the summer of 2024 I bring my experience as a chemosensitive person and chem-free advocate to soap making in every way. From the process of soap making itself to the ingredients, with a focus on fragrance free, essential oil free, chem free, dye free, natural soap. 

I started making soap because I had to, suffering for many years being chemically sensitive and trying to find commercial products that I could use. When I discovered the cold lye process for soap making I decided to finally give it a try and I've never looked back. While you can find 5 amazing soap bars here, I also make shampoo bars which I use for making my own shampoo, something I might be adding to the site in the future. Another case of me not having a choice I had to learn to make my own shampoo, and even dish soap after becoming allergic to the most common surfactant found in scent free natural and organic soap products. Even the scent free products had betrayed me, an obstacle which through Old Mill Natural Soap Co. I've turned into a stepping stone. 

While we pretty much take it for granted, soap is a big deal. With global industries of chemical surfactant soaps that are dyed and scented, filled with hardening agents and fillers, so they can reap huge profits with cheap ingredients, and it can sit on a shelf and never go bad, or vanity soaps that are more pretty than useful, and "natural soaps" that are more promises than fact... I wanted to cut through all of that and take soap back to its foundation. Something that serves a pragmatic need in a fantastic way, without compromising our health or environment. This approach effects every part of my process, including the look of the finished soap bars which don't have the aesthetic of vanity soaps, they're meant to be used, and to give you the most for your money. (Soap saving tip, cut your soap bars in half or quarters, they will go a lot farther)

I really struggled to keep the price of our bars down. Using organic, extra virgin, and pure oils which are heavy and costly when shipped, the costs can add up, so while it may seem like the price is a lot for one bar of soap if we compare it to something like a latte, the value that we get for the use and quality we get is definitely worth it. Before I made my own soap I was using a brand that was $12 a bar, while it was only 10% Olive oil, not organic, and had added glycerin rather than naturally occurring glycerin in it, and left my skin patchy and red at times. With our $10 Bare Necessities bar you get 45% Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, and Pure Cocoa Butter, with naturally occurring glycerin created in the saponification process. This kind of price and quality can only be sustained by a micro business, and being so small I don't even have to charge tax. 

I'm a bit of a post modern luddite, so at this time I don't have an online store to make purchases through, and am crazy enough to try to start a company in 2024 without social media. In order to make a purchase you can inquire with the information about which bar you're interested in and how much you would like through our contact page. I will respond to you asap. Payments are accepted through internet transfer to [email protected].

​Old Mill Natural Soap Co. is an official registered sole proprietorship in Ontario, and our bars are registered with Health Canada's cosmetics registry. I'm a one woman business, with my life partner behind me supporting me. In a world of complexity, keeping it simple and possible is what I'm pretty much all about. 

Old Mill Natural Soap Co. is a dream, a hope, and a reality all in one. Thanks for being here and being a part of it!

Sincerely, Sherry