I Didn’t Start Taking Showers Until College.

Don’t fret! I wasn’t a stranger to cleanliness most of my adolescence. Instead, I was raised in a family with women - my Nan and my mother - that almost exclusively took baths, sometimes as a way to bookmark their long days. As a result, I exclusively washed this way from my toddler days to my freshman year of college, always finding the process of taking a shower to feel so practical and mundane. Standing in a stream of water? Water splashing in my eyes? And the worse as I'd come to find out in my freshman year dorm bathroom that I shared with four other women, water pressure and lukewarm temperatures that felt anything but relaxing. If I was going to get clean I wanted to do it in the way that brought the most pleasure. And showering just seemed to pull up short.

I can now most certainly handle a shower and am known to hop in ours when my long hair needs a deep clean. But in our master bathroom right next to the shower is the most beautiful clawfoot tub complete with a wooden tray that sits across the rim, its top covered with bath salts, scrubs, soap scraps, and serums. The tub and its parts have become an important if not critical part of how I care for myself and elevate both my morning and evening routine.

Bathing is the most simple yet important experience of my day that invigorates my senses, brings peace and calm to my sometimes (often) busy mind, and offers order to my life much like it appeared these baths did for my Nan and mom. I can still picture both women, in different tubs, at different points in their life, soaking their bodies, while I either played in the bathroom or, as I became older, drifted in and out to ask questions or check in. Never did I sense hurry, stress, or disorder in these bathing experiences. But instead, there was a tranquil stillness in their bath-taking rituals, almost as if time stood as still as the water they were steeped in.

I suppose it feels somewhat serendipitous then, that in a personal season of sickness and quest for better physical health, I would stumble into the world of soapmaking, and develop an even deeper appreciation for slowness, the ritual of bathing, and everything in between. Yet, learning to make my own all-natural soap, something so truly utilitarian and functional but with endless potential to be inspiring and beautiful, did just that.

My soaps have been said to cure sadness, soften skin, invigorate senses, serve as striking bathroom decor, and enrich lives. They are also a popular option for pairing with a nice hot bath, as I know from personal experience. While bathing and washing is in theory simple and for many, a basic hygienic practice, my hope is that my products will inspire and equip you to reframe how you look at these rituals. I want the time you spend at sinks, and in showers and tubs, to go beyond getting clean and instead become a powerful part of your daily routine, or better yet, a ritual worth making time and space for.

RB Soap Co.’s products are absolutely amazing! They are, by far, my favorite self-care item and my bathroom is never without a bar. Showering actually feels like being at a spa. I love that the soaps are natural and handmade but my favorite part is that the company is a small, woman-owned business. RB soaps have also become my go-to gifts for friends and family. Each soap launch debuts new and unique scents so I make sure to stock up every time!

Nikki