With origins dating back to 2500 BC, soap is still the simplest product used to clean and help fight germs, and is traditionally crafted using natural fats and lye.
Over time, a number of people have experimented with this invention to offer a variety of soaps created with milder ingredients. In fact, in recent times, people are formulating the product using natural herbs and spices as well as upcyled flowers and fruits instead of artificial fragrances.
Queer couple Sneha Rooh and Deepthi K founded Transmutation Soap Studio - they are located in ShahpurJat - a soap-making venture, which takes a sustainable route. The couple's aim is to upcycle discarded flowers and fruit peels to create a range of eco-friendly soaps.
"During events and festivals such as Diwali and New Year, I ask shopkeepers and security guards [of flat buildings] to give us dried flowers that are discarded. We also ask fruit juice vendors to give us discarded fruit peels," Rooh shares.
Rooh, who has grown up in a family that practises recycling and waste reduction, was influenced by her father to adopt a sustainable lifestyle. When she chanced upon a bag of discarded flowers in her office, she brought it home in the hope of utilising the dried flowers in some way.
A fan of handcrafted soaps by British cosmetics brand Lush, Rooh and her partner Deepthi decided to use the flowers to craft their own range of homemade soaps. "My interest in herbs in cosmetics made me want to learn more, and before I knew it, we had a catalogue of 13 types of soaps," mentions Rooh.
Lather it sustainably
Transmutation soaps feature a range of handcrafted soaps - it takes about five months to craft one batch of soap - in three natural bases namely glycerine, shea butter, and activated charcoal. These products are free of artificial additives such as paraben and lye, and formulated only using natural powders and oils.
Their product philosophy is guided by the medical ethics of beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. Another unique feature is the bespoke nature of Transmutation soaps, which can be customised keeping the customer in mind. Currently, the duo is working on an LGBTQIA+ themed collection for Valentine’s Day, which has a range of soaps designed to look like queer flags.
Rooh mentions that their primary aim is to make "good quality" soap. The prime objective behind creating queer-themed soaps is not to increase visibility and representation for the LGBTQIA+ community, it is just to craft soap bars that are funky yet innovative.
However, she concludes, "I am not discounting the fact that a sort of silent assertion is possible through this [range of products]. If a person plans on using a bisexual-themed soap in a homophobic family or a company places our queer-themed product in a fundraiser stall, it shows a silent support and acceptance both of our venture and of gender equality."