Val Ristovski, the Soap Artist, was led into soap making as a result of a series of events she had experienced over the years. She always had very sensitive and problematic skin since childhood. During the harsh winters when the weather is really dry, her knuckles would actually split and bleed. During the summers she would sunburn very easily if not careful. In 2006 she had a malignant skin cancer melanoma removed. Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer. This single event was enough to trigger her awareness and made her very conscious about what she put on her skin and that of her family. During this journey of change, she began to focus attention on nutrition and lifestyle and avoided unnecessary chemicals in our home.

Val read and studied many books on soap making, which began with 25 books. She felt that by educating and helping herself she would be helping others by providing an alternative soap product. She started to make soap for her family and friends and developed a new respect for all of the ingredients. Val decided to focus her energy on creating soap from scratch using a version of the Cold-Process Method. The versatility of soap allows her to be as simple or as artistic as she wants to be and have full control of the ingredients. As for the ingredients, it was an absolute must to decide on the oil base she was going to use and not deviate from her “standard”.

Val’s philosophy on soap and its purpose is that using it should be an enjoyable experience knowing that it was made with a lot of effort and care. Getting back to basics and understanding the labor-intensive old-fashioned way of how soap was made many years ago can help reconnect us to something that has been lost in history – replaced by technology and mass production as it exists today. Soap is meant to clean your skin and hair – plain and simple. For those of us who are sensitive like Val, as well as those who have developed sensitivities over the years, her hope is that you will find relief and perhaps gain insight and understanding about real, old-fashion, all natural soap.