Exotic fragrances like lemon grass, lime glycerin, sandalwood, fragrant rose, ocean weeds, lavender flowers, soothing orange, honey, cucumber, coconut base, almond, oats and varied herbs were all well set on the table at Vaishnavi's soap making workshop 'Botanica'.
Vaishnavi Karthikeyan hails from Najundapuram, Coimbatore who shares with us how 'Botanica' emerged and filled her life with fragrant bubbles all over.
'It all started seven years back. One day I spilled a few drops of my dandruff shampoo on the floor while applying it. Later when i came back to clean the floor i was astonished to see a fine discoloration to the floor tile. I couldn't come over the chemical reaction that affected the floor within a very brief time. Post that incident, I was reluctant to use chemical shampoos and soaps, I was scared as to what damage would the shampoos i used would have done to my hair roots and scalp?.
Every time i walked through that discolored floor tile, sense of fear haunted me and I realized the real need to look for a real change. Wasting no time, I goggled for a perfect organic product or an eco-friendly soap/shampoo, yes of course I found many but either it was too expensive or not reliable at all. Impressing and tricky tag lines over powered the ingredient line-up.
Call it a 'coincidence' or a 'calling', I met Anne at Chennai who works for the German Embassy. She had been hosting periodic 'Soap making classes' for women. Enthralled by the idea of making our own skin-friendly, gentle and customized soaps using fun ingredients, I was the first to enroll myself in the list. The three-day workshop was really a bliss. I enjoyed and keenly learned every bit of it including soaps, scrubs, detergents and liquid soaps.
I couldn't any further wait to try my hands in creating my own soap bars as I wanted. I filled my shopping bag with all raw materials like natural fragrances, cold pressed oils and moulds to flag off the process. My first experience is something unforgettable, I was super-thrilled to see the intact bars lying in the moulds, absolutely fresh and inviting! I used my soap bar for myself, it felt it very gentle on my skin and hair. I hesitantly gifted a few of the bars with some exotic flavours to my friends and relatives and awaited their feedback...
First, they all were stunned to believe that soaps could be made at home and secondly their feedback which unanimously quoted the experience as 'unbelievably refreshing'! Their words of motivation and my passion on the craft of soap making has now made me conduct my fifth session on Soap making to women in the city, since last October. Most of the women who have participated in my workshop have been using this craft of making customized soaps as per their skin textures and needs of their family members, which i feel is the success of my classes and gives me a feel of content.
All of us are conscious about beauty. Attributing beauty to fairness, is nothing but a myth. A healthy lifestyle gifts us a healthy skin, through eco-friendly products we can undoubtedly enhance the quality of the skin to better levels. Labeled as 'organic' like wild mushrooms there are so many beauty care products sprouting up in the market with huge price tags. Irrespective of the price tag and the diligence to check on the ingredients, women procure those products as they are lured by the attractive tag lines promised by the brands.
Why to believe in those products and take our skin and hair for a trial. By creating our own soaps, you can feel the goodness and assurance of taking something good from the nature and creating a completely 'natural' product of your choice' says Vaishnavi, Founder of 'Botanica'.
Vaishnavi through her beginners class, shows a detailed demo of how to melt the bases and then cool them to soaps. And, whereas in her advanced classes soap making using various cold-pressed oils will be dealt in detail. In the three hour beginners class the participants are provided with a kit consisting of two bases, a soap making mould, dried rose petals and a guide indicating the procedure. Using this kit one can make 6 soaps weighing approximately 65 grams.
When questioned about the costing, when compared to the readily available soaps in the market. She shocks us by saying it works out just between '50-60 rupees'. She also adds up by saying, 'Soap making creates a great business opportunity for women who can enhance and nourish their own skin and make a sizeable profit through sales.
While Vaishnavi leaves to answer a query of one of her participant. We had an opportunity to interact with Mrs. Shobana from Sivananda Colony who has come in great desire of creating something of her own for herself. 'The very idea of making our own soaps, scrubs is very interesting as it is packed with natural fragrances sans chemical components. It's a great opprotunity for women to create soaps during their leisure time as per their skin needs' says Shobhana.
As we leave from Vaishnavi's classes, the goodness of fragrances was truly mesmerizing!
Interested women can contact Vaishnavi for enrolling in the upcoming classes which is all about exotic natural & organic scrubs - Contact her on 9976342699.