Cleaning Up
SCRATCHING AN ITCH
Dorie Horne of Cornelius finds a niche in the organic soap-making biz
By Mateusz Perkowski
The Forest Grove News-Times, Aug 23, 2006,
Itchy, irritated skin led Dorie Horne to make a drastic decision: 10 years ago she swore off of using soap. She still washed herself, of course, but found that shampoo was less damaging to her skin. “I have a lot of allergies, so I react to a lot of products,” Dorie said.
It was a long time before she picked up another bar of soap — and when she did, she knew exactly what was, and wasn’t in it. She had made it herself without using any pesky additives. Dorie first stumbled upon organic soap-making while working at an art and craft supply store. Before long, she and her husband, Bruce, were making it at their home in Cornelius and giving it away to friends and family. “That’s actually what everyone gets for Christmas from us,” she said.
The Horne's products received such acclaim that the couple began selling them under the Midnite Oils brand at fairs and bazaars. In 2005, they officially registered their business, and soon plan to sell their soaps and other toiletries over the internet and at the Dutch Country Mercantile in Cornelius. More people are turning to natural soaps like those produced by Midnite Oils because they don’t contain chemicals that can aggravate sensitive skin, said Dorie. “Not everybody can handle over-the-counter products.”
“It’s scary to get a bottle at the store and not know what half of it is, you'd have to be a chemist,” said Bruce, adding that in addition to leaving nasty stuff out of its soap, Midnite Oils leaves one good thing in.
Unlike most store-bought brands, Midnite Oils doesn’t remove the glycerin from its soap. The substance, which is typically extracted because of its value in medical supplies and other products, helps the skin retain moisture — thus preventing the dryness Dorie had experienced in the past.
Although they weren’t initially drawn to handcrafted soap for entrepreneurial reasons, it seems Dorie and Bruce picked a wise time to leap into the commercial market. Last year, 2005, Americans shelled out $4.9 billion for organic and natural personal care items, an increase of 22 percent from 2004. The Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) expects U.S. sales to more than double in coming years, reaching $11 billion in 2009. “The natural trend and the handcrafted trend are going up,” said Marie Gale, president of the Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild. “Baby boomers want more organic and natural products. The trend is occurring in food, personal care, everything.”
As more consumers develop an interest in organic and natural products, many are also bound to experiment with making these items themselves, as the Hornes did. Gale said that when her organization formed in 1998, only a handful of manufacturers were involved. Now, the guild is bursting at the seams with small, home-based craftspeople. In fact, there are at least two other soap makers in the area.
“With the Internet, there’s a lot of access to information, materials and recipes,” she said. “So, there’s more opportunity for people to try it and fall in love with it.” With the number of novice soap-makers swelling, NMI forecasts that small businesses will need to offer more than just an organic label to succeed.
As consumers grow increasingly sophisticated, they will seek out products with “special added ingredients” or “a specific benefit/claim” that “deliver results or deliver a sensory experience,” according to NMI research. Midnite Oils has already picked up on this market niche, infusing its soaps with essential oils and organic materials, such as lavender buds. The oils are believed to produce desirable physiological effects — lavender is soothing, cinnamon acts as a creative stimulant and peppermint aids mental acuity.
"We've expanded our product line as we became more aware of what we could do," said Bruce. The company now also manufactures scented oils, lotions, body washes, massage oils and candles.
As art teachers, Dorie and Bruce try to create products that don’t just smell swell, but are visually appealing as well. Many of their soap bars are composed of separate layers, each of which is colored by therapeutic substances Dorie incorporates during the soap-making process. “I hate anything that’s plain,” she said.
While these stratified creations are made from soap bases that Dorie heats up, tinkers with, and pours into molds, she also makes soap from scratch: using lye, water and vegetable oil. This process, known as saponification, requires a lot more time and elbow grease. The aromatic additives give Midnite Oils soaps a distinct advantage over regular soap, the Hornes say. By binding to both grease and water, conventional soap suspends dirt and then allows it to be washed away, but strong odors can still linger. Midnite Oils’ Farm and Garden bar, however, can defeat those smells with the help of hazelnut meal, cinnamon and ground coffee, said Dorie. “The coffee neutralizes odor, and also acts as an exfoliant.”
Coming up with such novel ideas will be vital for Midnite Oils’ future success, said Bill Shay, whose company supplies Dorie and Bruce with raw materials. “To make a living at this, it’s difficult unless you get major commercial accounts. You always need to expand your line or else they’re going to get tired of you.”
Even so, the Hornes have been lucky enough to find a niche market that is quickly turning into an emerging industry as consumers learn about the benefits of high-end personal care products. “It’s a whole different process, not full of chemicals like the store-bought soap can be,” he said. “Natural bars of soap provide more moisture and have a better feel on your skin.”
To make a batch of soap, Dorie Horne combines granulated lye, a caustic alkaline chemical, with water to activate it; within seconds, the mixture goes from room temperature to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. When the lye cools down, she blends it with coconut, palm, olive or another vegetable oil. Once the mixture attains the consistence of pudding, Dorie pours it into a form, wraps it in a blanket, and “puts it to bed for 12-24 hours.” Even then, the process is far from over. “You have to wait two weeks to make sure it’s cured so all the ‘bite’ is out of it,” she said. At that point, she can re-heat the solid block and add various ingredients to make soaps such as the Oregon Farm and Hazelnut Meal Farm and Kitchen Bar.
Dorie Horne of Cornelius finds a niche in the organic soap-making biz
By Mateusz Perkowski
The Forest Grove News-Times, Aug 23, 2006,
Itchy, irritated skin led Dorie Horne to make a drastic decision: 10 years ago she swore off of using soap. She still washed herself, of course, but found that shampoo was less damaging to her skin. “I have a lot of allergies, so I react to a lot of products,” Dorie said.
It was a long time before she picked up another bar of soap — and when she did, she knew exactly what was, and wasn’t in it. She had made it herself without using any pesky additives. Dorie first stumbled upon organic soap-making while working at an art and craft supply store. Before long, she and her husband, Bruce, were making it at their home in Cornelius and giving it away to friends and family. “That’s actually what everyone gets for Christmas from us,” she said.
The Horne's products received such acclaim that the couple began selling them under the Midnite Oils brand at fairs and bazaars. In 2005, they officially registered their business, and soon plan to sell their soaps and other toiletries over the internet and at the Dutch Country Mercantile in Cornelius. More people are turning to natural soaps like those produced by Midnite Oils because they don’t contain chemicals that can aggravate sensitive skin, said Dorie. “Not everybody can handle over-the-counter products.”
“It’s scary to get a bottle at the store and not know what half of it is, you'd have to be a chemist,” said Bruce, adding that in addition to leaving nasty stuff out of its soap, Midnite Oils leaves one good thing in.
Unlike most store-bought brands, Midnite Oils doesn’t remove the glycerin from its soap. The substance, which is typically extracted because of its value in medical supplies and other products, helps the skin retain moisture — thus preventing the dryness Dorie had experienced in the past.
Although they weren’t initially drawn to handcrafted soap for entrepreneurial reasons, it seems Dorie and Bruce picked a wise time to leap into the commercial market. Last year, 2005, Americans shelled out $4.9 billion for organic and natural personal care items, an increase of 22 percent from 2004. The Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) expects U.S. sales to more than double in coming years, reaching $11 billion in 2009. “The natural trend and the handcrafted trend are going up,” said Marie Gale, president of the Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild. “Baby boomers want more organic and natural products. The trend is occurring in food, personal care, everything.”
As more consumers develop an interest in organic and natural products, many are also bound to experiment with making these items themselves, as the Hornes did. Gale said that when her organization formed in 1998, only a handful of manufacturers were involved. Now, the guild is bursting at the seams with small, home-based craftspeople. In fact, there are at least two other soap makers in the area.
“With the Internet, there’s a lot of access to information, materials and recipes,” she said. “So, there’s more opportunity for people to try it and fall in love with it.” With the number of novice soap-makers swelling, NMI forecasts that small businesses will need to offer more than just an organic label to succeed.
As consumers grow increasingly sophisticated, they will seek out products with “special added ingredients” or “a specific benefit/claim” that “deliver results or deliver a sensory experience,” according to NMI research. Midnite Oils has already picked up on this market niche, infusing its soaps with essential oils and organic materials, such as lavender buds. The oils are believed to produce desirable physiological effects — lavender is soothing, cinnamon acts as a creative stimulant and peppermint aids mental acuity.
"We've expanded our product line as we became more aware of what we could do," said Bruce. The company now also manufactures scented oils, lotions, body washes, massage oils and candles.
As art teachers, Dorie and Bruce try to create products that don’t just smell swell, but are visually appealing as well. Many of their soap bars are composed of separate layers, each of which is colored by therapeutic substances Dorie incorporates during the soap-making process. “I hate anything that’s plain,” she said.
While these stratified creations are made from soap bases that Dorie heats up, tinkers with, and pours into molds, she also makes soap from scratch: using lye, water and vegetable oil. This process, known as saponification, requires a lot more time and elbow grease. The aromatic additives give Midnite Oils soaps a distinct advantage over regular soap, the Hornes say. By binding to both grease and water, conventional soap suspends dirt and then allows it to be washed away, but strong odors can still linger. Midnite Oils’ Farm and Garden bar, however, can defeat those smells with the help of hazelnut meal, cinnamon and ground coffee, said Dorie. “The coffee neutralizes odor, and also acts as an exfoliant.”
Coming up with such novel ideas will be vital for Midnite Oils’ future success, said Bill Shay, whose company supplies Dorie and Bruce with raw materials. “To make a living at this, it’s difficult unless you get major commercial accounts. You always need to expand your line or else they’re going to get tired of you.”
Even so, the Hornes have been lucky enough to find a niche market that is quickly turning into an emerging industry as consumers learn about the benefits of high-end personal care products. “It’s a whole different process, not full of chemicals like the store-bought soap can be,” he said. “Natural bars of soap provide more moisture and have a better feel on your skin.”
To make a batch of soap, Dorie Horne combines granulated lye, a caustic alkaline chemical, with water to activate it; within seconds, the mixture goes from room temperature to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. When the lye cools down, she blends it with coconut, palm, olive or another vegetable oil. Once the mixture attains the consistence of pudding, Dorie pours it into a form, wraps it in a blanket, and “puts it to bed for 12-24 hours.” Even then, the process is far from over. “You have to wait two weeks to make sure it’s cured so all the ‘bite’ is out of it,” she said. At that point, she can re-heat the solid block and add various ingredients to make soaps such as the Oregon Farm and Hazelnut Meal Farm and Kitchen Bar.