On the scent of all natural soaps in Charleston, South Carolina

A scentsational array of Earth Maiden Soaps

Visitors to the Saturday morning Charleston Farmer's Market will find themselves delighting in the delicious aromas wafting by. And many of these sensational scents will be emanating from the Earth Maiden (all natural!) soap stand: mint, cranberry, almond, vanilla, and a myriad of others will tempt you to stop and take a whiff of the soaps and sprays on display. Owners, Mary and Ron Ernst, will be there to greet you personally and answer any questions you may have about their soaps, manufactured in their own cottage industry here in Charleston.

I asked Mary,  who is a registered nurse, how she started in the soap-making business. She initially became interested in essential oils when she used them for baby massages. Mary was impressed by the oils' ability to naturally soothe and relax infants. In her spare time, Mary also spent hours making pottery, which had a tendency to make her hands dry and cracked. She started experimenting with essential oils and plant and flower extracts, searching for the perfect combination for a moisturizing and naturally-scented soap. Mary said her first batch of soap looked like little shrunken heads. And she had planned to give them away as a gift for Secretary's Day!
 

Ron and Mary Ernst at the Charleston Farmer's Market

Mary persevered and finally found a combination of natural ingredients that would moisturize, yet not leave a residual film on the skin, have a scent but not be overpowering, and contain enough liquid to not resemble shrunken heads! She and her husband, Ron, now produce an incredible variety of soaps as well as body butter, lotions, linen spray, candles, baby soaps, and Soggy Dog pet products.

Mary and Ron personally produce about 3 batches of soap a week; each batch contains 50 bars. Their enticing array of soaps include blackberry oatmeal with sage, cranberry fig, apple jack with peel, almonds and honey, and blueberry verbena among others. The soaps have a delicious scent and the names make the soaps sound almost good enough to eat!
 

Earth-friendly packaging at Earth-Maiden Soaps

When asked what her favorite scents are, Mary answered: organic carrot, orange lavender, rose geranium, and mint julep. "Your skin is a major organ of your body," Mary commented. "Knowing what you put on your skin is very important."

Earth Maiden strives to be earth-friendly and is Green Business Certified. In the manufacture of their soaps, they produce no harmful by-products. Their soap, lotion and candle products are biodegradable and they try hard to make ecologically based sound business decisions. They support local suppliers as much as possible and choose their other suppliers carefully and responsibly. Soap packaging is minimal, using 100% post consumer waste recycled packaging materials. Mary and Ron both support the environment through all of their reuse, renew and recycle efforts at Earth Maiden Soaps.

You can visit Mary and Ron at the Charleston Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings where they display an aromatic array of their products, or you can access their web site  to learn more about their products, and even place an order.