There are countless stories that show how America fosters entrepreneurship, ingenuity, and above all else — a dedication to quality products. And that’s exactly why the story of the Heavenly Soap and Wellness Company is the quintessential success story of a truly driven spirit!
It all started with the childhood of Barbara Keen, the founder, and CEO of the company. Her roots are as humble as you’d want for a textbook story. She didn’t come from a long line of capitalist entrepreneurs, but the idea that blossomed into her company still came from her parents.
Keen grew up in impoverished Haiti — often enough, without some of the basic household goods that people in the United States just take for granted. However, that did not stop Keen’s strong-willed mother from instilling a sense of empowerment in her daughter; she always showed her how important it was to be independent and self-sufficient.
In order to provide the sanitation, hygiene, and care that she lacked products for, Keen’s mother made her own soap. And this is something that stayed with Keen when she moved to the United States as well. Upon first using generic store-bought soap, she was struck with an immediate realization — the homemade soap that she was using up until then was better!
She started thinking about why that was the case, intensely studying the properties of soap, its manufacturing process, and the chemistry of its various ingredients. Soon enough, she was hooked — Keen began making her own artisan soap, more as a hobby than as a business.
Her curiosity and perseverance made her explore all aspects of soap-making, and she spent the next two years intensely reading, experimenting, and researching all she could about this line of work. Keen proceeded slowly but methodically, giving out samples to her friends and family for some constructive feedback. Once she was entirely satisfied, she decided to share her craft soap.
One of the most important facts about this great soap maker is her devotion to using wholesome ingredients in her handmade soap — such as ethical cacao butter! And in this case, “handmade” truly means made by hand.
Every single bar of soap that comes from this company is all-natural and completely made from scratch using the cold process method. Unlike bigger soap production lines, Heavenly Soap only works in tiny batches — always with an eye on quality control.
Their soap manufacturing methods begin with food-grade oil, before moving onto butter, richer oils, and pure essential oils — along with different clays and fresh herbs. Each batch of Heavenly Soap takes about a month or six weeks to be completely done — and every single bar is packed, decorated, and cut by hand; meaning every one of them retains the unique artisan look, and no two bars of soap are ever identical. This only adds to their unique ess and beauty!
Most important of all — these soaps are 100% natural, unlike the commercial soap found in most retail and grocery stores. Unlike the Heavenly Soap which contains natural oils and fats, these detergent soaps are packed with sulfates and chemicals that can cause harm to your skin.
At the end of the day, Heavenly Soap still has the same goals as the company did in its very beginning — producing 100% biodegradable, environmentally friendly, and healthy chemical-free soap. Barbara Keen makes it clear that she has a simple idea — to revolutionize the soap market by producing the best possible product; one that’s made with wholesome, fine ingredients and not with potentially harmful chemicals.
As a result, she has built great relationships with her local community and her wider consumer base, creating a great product that comes with exceptional customer service. For her, only using environmentally-friendly products is also a huge deal — always staying in tune with her surroundings and nature which, at the end of the day, is the one providing all of the healthy ingredients for Heavenly Soap!