Chelsea family launches homemade soap business

A winter project has quickly expanded into a growing business for Jaime and Mike Echols.

After their son, Xander, a long snapper for the UAB football team, saw a commercial for a cold processed soap and wanted to try it, Jaime purchased some for him.

Both Xander and Mike liked the soap, so the family decided to try to make their own in December. Thus, Downtown Soaps was born.

It has become a real family affair. They also got their daughter, Mackenzi, a senior at Chelsea High School, involved. It gave them a hobby to work on together, especially during the winter months when the sun was setting early.

“We started looking into it and decided to try it ourselves,” she said. “We started off making pine-tar scented soaps for them, then my son’s friends got word about it, and we gave them samples. Some guys my husband knows, he started sharing with them so we began making extra.”

The Echols began receiving recommendations for other scents and said the business took off through word of mouth. They have already shipped orders to Florida and South Carolina.

While the quick growth was unexpected, the Echols said it’s also been fun. It required a lot of research in the beginning.

“When we started, we could get items at the grocery store or Amazon, and then we had to research how to get the products in bulk,” she said.

Because Xander lives on campus at UAB, the Echols converted their basement area into their soap-making workshop. They have all their inventory to create the soaps, which have to cure for at least four weeks before being sold.

Cold process soap is made by combining oils and sodium hydroxide lye, which causes a chemical reaction called saponification. In the process, you get to choose the oils, scents, colorants and any other ingredients.

This curing process allows the lye to be neutralized without any outside sources of heat. It can take four to six weeks for soap to cure before it’s complete.

The Echols said their soaps are made of 100%-natural ingredients and have no preservatives. They lather well and are moisturizing to the skin, she said. The bars are between 4.5 and 5 ounces and usually last for three to four weeks.

“It does make your skin feel different,” she said. “You feel clean, not dry and itchy, especially during winter months when your skin is dry anyway. You don’t feel like you have a film on you after you get out of the shower or feel dry and drawn up.”

Downtown Soaps has about 18 scents available, but Jaime said she definitely expects that number to change. She wants to have several staple scents but may also offer holiday scents as well.

Popular scents for men include Mountain Man and True Grit. For women, top choices include Caribbean Waves and Brazilian Purple.

Just over two months into the venture, Downtown Soaps is now available in several retail stores, including Snider’s Discount Pharmacy, Chelsea Apothecary and Nails Boutique in Mt Laurel. Echols said they are working to get their products in more local businesses.

“We live in Chelsea and do a lot of business in Chelsea.” she said. “A lot of people here know us, and we’ve been using their businesses for a while, so I think that helped.”

Prices range from $5 to $8 per bar, and free local delivery is available with the purchase of three or more bars. Free shipping is offered on orders over $35.

For more information, visit facebook.com/downtownsoap or @downtownsoaps on Instagram.