Sunfeather Soap

Take your very own virtual tour of SunFeather!

When you take a shower, do you ever stop to think about how your soap is made? Can soap even be considered interesting? When I visited SunFeather Soap Factory, I found out that not only is soap interesting, it is also a part of some people’s lifestyles.

As I walked in the soap factory on a sunny afternoon, the strong fruity aromas of soap overtook me. It seemed to be a small warehouse at first, but once I started my tour, I realized just how spacious the factory was, complete with several rooms and an outlet store.

Brooke Wells, my tour guide, has been working at the factory for about a year. She is also the company’s sales associate. She was happy to show me the factory and what they did there.

As the tour began, we passed by a closet filled with house-sized bins of scents for the soap. When asked what the most popular soap was, the quick response was “Goats Milk.” Creamy white in color, the soap works well for people with dry skin because it’s formulated to be extra moisturizing, says Wells. Other popular soaps include Fresh Lavender, Sweetgrass, and Dark Chocolate.

SunFeather Natural Soap Company originated in 1979 in Sandy Maine’s farmhouse kitchen. Maine is the founder and director of the company. With less than 20 employees, they remain a loving and caring business. The company enjoys supplying handcrafted soaps and gifts from the Adirondack Region of Parishville, New York.

Maine enjoys inspiring soapmakers to create their own business. Sandy has published four books:The Soap Book, Herbal Home Keeping, Clean Naturally, and Soothing Soaps.

In Maine's words, “One of the main reasons I began making soap was that I could capture the beloved essences that nourished my soul while walking in the Adirondack forest.”

After seeing the scents, we came upon one of the storage areas where I noticed black soap balls. Pine Tar soap has been a very old remedy for dry skin that has been used for centuries, explains Wells. Many people who have skin conditions, such as eczema, find the balls to be very helpful in relieving itchiness.

I laughed when I saw all the herbal pet care products, all of which included a dog biscuit. Herbal shampoo for dogs called “Dog Poo” and a "Flea Flee" spritzer are popular among pet lovers.

Wells stopped for a moment and began to tell me more about their soaps, which are made out of fats and lye. The fats contain glycerin, and when the two interact, soap is formed. The soap contains olive, coconut, palm oils and scented with natural fragrances.

The factory cares about preserving natural resources and makes an effort to avoid using petroleum-based wax, which is non-renewable. “In every case possible, we use pure essential oils,” says Wells. Their soap has 24 percent naturally-occurring glycerin. Glycerin is a great moisturizer for the skin. Its only disadvantage is that the soaps dissolve faster than most.

SunFeather also has marmalade soap made by a melt and pour process. It’s scented and colored glycerin soap with shavings of olive-oil-based soap. Two ladies joined us halfway through the tour. “I’ve been buying SunFeather Soap for years,” notes one of the ladies.

I was then shown how soap is mixed in a giant kettle and then poured into molds. “After the soap is put into the molds, it’s three days before it can be cut,” explains Wells. The huge molds hold about 100 pounds of one kind of soap. It takes about three to four weeks to fully dry before shipping. The factory produces about 5 batches of soap a day. “Sometimes almost 500 or 600 pounds a day,” says Wells. She points out that the factory has more than 250 kinds of soap!

In addition to soap, the company also produces candles, which are made from soy wax. Other products, such as air fresheners, body spritzers, shampoo bars, sun protection, spa soaps, herbal bug repellent called “Bug Off,” and a variety of pet care products, are also available.

“We always keep changing our products to keep people interested,” says Wells.

On January 29, 2004, 60 bricks of natural soap were custom designed with the name of Oprah’s new California home, “Promised Land,” and presented to her on television. The company also appeared on QVC in 2001, selling “Washy Squashy,” a children's magical modeling soap, and 15-inch-bulk soap strips with a personal hand cutter.

SunFeather sells supplies to those who would like to try soap making. Its catalog offers such suppliesas scents, glycerin, shampoo bases, soap stamps and molds, equipment, color chips, and books by Sandy Maine. You can buy SunFeather products and equipment online. All of their products are also sold in 10,000 different retail outlets worldwide and a percentage of their profit goes to several environmental and peace groups.

Although there was a lot to see, I came out of the factory with a new experience, a variety of soap to try, and of coarse smelling wonderfully clean.

Do you have a certain soap that you love? Tell us why!