North Lima, Ohio _ Sandra and Richard Evans thought their trip to Florida was the usual winter vacation until they met a woman who made scented soap that was velvet to the touch.

“I knew this meeting was no coincidence,” Sandra says. “My husband is a retired contractor and I’m an independent registered nurse working in homes to take care of patients who have special needs. In looking to the future, I was praying that the Lord would lead me to a craft that the two of us could do together.”

The Florida soap maker was willing to teach them the basics of making this special soap. She told them she had lived in Hawaii and was buying some of her ingredients from suppliers in Hawaii.

“We spent two days learning the basics from her and Rich began to dream big dreams about soap making right away. We came home to Ohio and immediately set up soap making in our kitchen. I give him credit for some of the more creative things we developed through trial and error so that our products are uniquely our own. We call our company “Pure Spa Scentsations.”

What is so special about their soaps and body lotions?

First of all, they begin with 100% natural vegetable glycerin to which they add pure natural scents, colors and shapes that Sandra calls inserts. These are something special they developed the first year they worked on soap making.

“The soap is opaque and yet you will be aware of these wonderful shapes of different colors within the slice of soap,” Sandra says.

If ‘slice of soap’ brought to mind a loaf of bread, you are ready to advance a step further into the mystery of Pure Spa Scentsations. Once Richard was satisfied that they had devised the perfect recipe from a variety of pure natural ingredients, they decided that allowing the soap to dry in special loaf pans would provide square “slices” that would show off the rainbow colored inserts.

“When we’re ready to sell the soap, I cut the end off each loaf to release the fragrace. Although each of the 36 scents is delicate, they are compelling. I love to watch people trying to make up their minds about the fragrance they like the best.”

Among the floral fragrances, she favors old-fashioned lavender. She also mentions lilac, rose and others before naming some of the fruity scents like mango mandarin, pomegranate, “Orange Satsua,” or “Cherries Jubilee.”
“A woman who works for our son in Las Vegas has been selling our soap and she inspired our new fragrance this year. We call it, ‘Vegas! Baby!’ We also have some of the traditional fragrances men like.

In addition to the soaps, Sandra has developed a variety of thick and creamy body lotions that are a healing agent for dry skin. She makes these with mango and shea butters from Hawaii.

Although all their soaps are appropriate for the most delicate skin, they decided to mold “Rubber Ducky” soaps for children without any scent. They also make other tiny molded soaps from the liquid soap that is leftover when they fill the loaf pans.

“We have all kinds of tiny molds – hearts, strawberries, shells, roses, dolphins – just the right size for leftovers. We put a variety of these little molded soaps together in a container that gives a customer opportunity to try half a dozen fragrances with one purchase,” Sandra says.

As they researched the history of soap making, they discovered how important it was during the colonial period of history. Some of the original colonists brought soap from England among the few possessions they could transport. They also brought with them the recipes for making soap, a job most often considered “women’s work,” probably because the process demanded both time and patience.

“What better place than Shaker Woods for us to market our soap,” Sandra says in reference to the Shakers’ frugal ways. They would have labored to make the fine glycerin that the Evans consider very important in their soap making process.

“An awful lot of things fell into place for us and we know that God is the instigator of this new business venture. I’ve always believed that my nursing vocation was a way to glorify God through compassion and service and now we have a new avenue of ministry in our soap business.”

The Pure Spa Scentsations “slice of soap,” from the loaf or a rubber ducky, or a container of mini-molded soaps are priced at $6 each. Body lotions are $8 per jar.