INDOCHINE NATURAL HANDMADE SOAP

 

This story goes back to our Ha Noi days. Here we first started saponifying plant oils to make our liquid products. With saponification, temperature control is critical. We monitored constantly with thermometer in hand.

 

Once we moved to Penang Island, we continued. But in mind was scaling up to larger batch quantities. We experimented for another 12 months. Made lots of mistakes. Wasted many batches. And then, when we thought we had it right, took the plunge.

 

We contracted a USA engineering firm to manufacture a large saponification vat. It is water jacketed, with a thermostat control. It’s big and heavy. So getting it into Malaysia was no easy task. Customs for example. They did not know how to rate it for import tax.

 

Anyway, it finally arrived. Problems solved. Set the thermostat. Walk away and leave it. Well, so we thought.

 

Thermostats are wonderful things. But not fool proof. We have had the vat boiling and spilling out contents. And these disasters are costly. Time consuming. But our ever reliable Malaysian artisans persist. But not so lucky, one of our associates in Africa. On their new tank they have burnt out two heating elements in quick succession. And after many months, they have not yet produced a successful batch.

 

What we do is have our artisans monitor and record temperature every hour. Last week the vat temperature reached 95 C. Why?  We don’t know. But disaster was averted. Simply switch off the vat power. Wait until the temperature gets down to where it should be. Then resume.

 

Let’s be honest here. Using synthetic surfactants for our body wash, face wash, and shampoo would so much easier. And cheaper. But hey, it’s not what we do. We are committed to produce synthetic free products for you. And against all odds, that’s what we will continue to do.

 

We don’t care that we are one of the rare companies globally that do it this way. It takes 2-3 weeks from go to whoa to produce your liquid products. We think it’s worth it. And so do our customers. Our sales are souring. And most are repeat customers.