December 18, 2010

Cherokee Soap Factory

Cherokee Nation citizen produces culturally inspired soap

By Tesina JacksonPhillips’ business, the Cherokee Soap Factory, is located in his garage, but he hopes to expand his business some day, he said.

Each soap he creates is inspired by and named after the Cherokee seven sacred directions–North, South, East, West, Sun (up), Earth (down) and Self (where one is).
Some of the soaps:The East-inspired soap is made from olive, palm and coconut oils to revive and renew the skin. The Self-inspired soap is made from canola, soy and coconut oils to moisturize and soothe as it cleans. The North soap is made of natural sea salts and grape seed oil. It can be used to soften the skin and bring freshness to it.Comment:  Is it just my imagination, or do all these soaps do the same thing?

For more on Cherokee businesses, see Cherokee Nation's Entrepreneurship Day.

Below:  "Cherokee Nation citizen Ed Phillips scoops soap into a mold where it will solidify and be ready to cut into bars." (Tesina Jackson/Cherokee Phoenix)

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the interest, and I do appreciate your comment. All soaps do perform basically this same thing; the primary purpose is to clean. But you have to remember this is an inspiration for balance, and is based on the ingredients and scents. Most of the soaps are designed to moisturize the skin but in different ways. The East soap is a very mild soap with Olive oil to be used as a single element to attempt to help keep the water in the skin. The Brown soap has ground oats that act as an exfoliatant, taking away a small layer of dead skin, in order to revive the underlying skin with chamomile and chamomile oil, to help bring health and moisture to the skin.The North has the same basic purpose but uses natural sea salts and grape seed oil. Everyone has different types of skin, requiring different ways to treat the problems we experience. For instance my skin is normally dry all winter long due to the fireplace and gas furnace that we use to keep warm; both provide a dry heat that dries out the air and my skin. In the summer, for the most part I have normal skin that has plenty of moisture due to the humidity in Oklahoma. However, after working in the yard and after my afternoon run, the sun can dry out my skin and needs something like the Aloe Vera that is in the Yellow soap. I hope that better explains some of the reasoning behind the Cherokee inspiration. I am native American and been taught much of what I have learned from not only my elders going back three generations but also our modern world as well. Wado