Soaps Star - Chicago Mom Creates Caitian Soaps

  As I step into Jillian Kegley's kitchen, my eyes are drawn to the white refrigerator adorned with children's drawings, family photos and alphabet magnets.   The kitchen counter stares back at me, stocked with butters and oils.    Five giant drum buckets, a large stockpot and a white electric stick blender make a strange obstacle course on the oak wood floor.   I look to my guide, Jillian Kegley, who is sporting surgical gloves and protective goggles, as she measures out the ingredients for her specialty:   homemade soaps.

Caitian's Soaps is something of a family affair for the Chicago resident.   Named after her two children Cait, nearly eight years, and Ian, age four and a half, Kegley began making soaps shortly after entering the world of the stay-at-home-mom.   

'It was a creative outlet; plus, I was looking for an activity to do with my daughter that would serve as our special time together after Ian was born,' Kegley says.   Mother-daughter bonding fulfilled another need after Kegley's son was diagnosed with eczema.   After the doctor's recommendations failed to soothe Ian's irritated skin, Kegley decided to treat Ian with her soaps, which are made from natural ingredients that are free of detergents and preservatives. Since then, Ian's eczema is history.

Ian's healthy glow prompted Kegley, a former psychiatric nurse, to probe further into the world of handmade skin products.   As Kegley learned more about the benefits of natural products, the hobby quickly became an obsession.  

'I am something of a mad-scientist' I found the process of creating handmade products fascinating.   I make a batch of soap a week and a batch of another product nearly every other week.   Right now, I probably have about four hundred bars of soap,' Kegley says.  

The nooks and crannies of Kegley's home reveal her alter ego.   A spare closet houses buckets, containers and jugs; a rainbow of soaps dots the shower ledge of the family bathroom, and walking down to the basement is like opening Pandora's box.  

What appears to be an old-school apothecary is actually just an extension to the Caitian Soap's lab.    A card table full of baby food and old spaghetti sauce jars are mixed amongst the field of amber-colored bottles that contain special fragrance oils. 

Miniature drop bottles of dye, plastic zipper bags full of soap shavings and bars of soaps,     both finished and curing, neatly line the metal shelves and racks; stacks of wooden moulds that resemble rectangular moving crates are tucked away along the perimeter of one wall.

Detecting a growing interest and need for products free of chemicals and other harmful agents, Kegley considered how her creative endeavor might help her contribute to the household income.   Kegley's creations, which include cold processed and glycerin soaps, lotions, lip balms, body butters, bath salts, and body sprays, blossomed into a business approximately three years ago. 

Kegley keeps up with her clients' needs by creating custom gift baskets, producing seasonal scents and moulds and, recently, accommodating specialty party and wedding favor requests.   One client requested glycerin soaps with multi-colored glycerin music notes inside each bar.   While I admire the leftover samples, Kegley modestly adds, 'Getting the clef note to maintain its shape after mixing it into the bar was difficult.'

Many clients place orders via telephone and e-mail in search of such favorites as Cantaloupe Lily cold-processed soap and Oatmeal Milk & Honey lotion bar.   Kegley welcomes custom orders.   Products are available unscented, or fragrances may be matched to desired products.

Busy year-round testing oils and butters and experimenting with textures, Kegley describes the process as complex and mathematical.    'The recipes are carefully calculated for conditioning and texture,' she says.    Several hours are spent on a batch that may yield twenty bars.   Her recipes are figured by using a soap calculator on the computer.   Kegley says, 'I can spend forty-five minutes or more just to get the right lather and clean.'   Once the additional preparations are made, she measures water and lye, mixes oils, and melts butters.  

While the concept of Caitian Soaps is simplicity, the process of changing materials and variables allows for a palette of moisture rich products.    Like any work of art, no two batches are identical.   Kegley describes the process as magical; there is always an element of
surprise as to how the products will appear and feel.

All it took was a couple of freebies, and my husband was hooked.   The humdrum of a solid bar just won't do.   Even the various fragrances the store-bought brands offer don't compare to the unique Caitian combinations.   While scents like Mango Mandarin and Red Clover Tea are good enough to eat and the appearance of each bar is like a trip to Xanadu, the real deal is in Kegley's mantra:   'Keep it simple.'

 For more information and to place orders visit www.caitiansoaps.com or e-mail    jmkegley@sbcglobal.net.