about us

Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve is an eco-friendly, family owned and operated small business located in the Chagrin Valley in Northeastern Ohio.

Our mission is to provide you with truly natural and certified organic handmade skin care products made from simple nourishing ingredients each of which does something wonderful and different for your skin. Nothing artificial, nothing synthetic, no GMO’s, just wholesome natural ingredients you can trust. Our products are cruelty free, biodegradable and minimally packaged.

Many of our customers have asked who we are and how Chagrin Valley Soap got started. The story begins in 2001 when I decided to find an interesting hobby. My husband spent his weekends in his wood shop making furniture and lots of sawdust. I wanted to do something equally interesting and creative. In my "prior lives" I was a registered nurse with a master’s degree in biology and later, a middle school science teacher. As my career experiences in medicine and science evolved, I became increasingly concerned about how many chemicals were present in our skin care products and the adverse effects these chemicals were having on us, our children and our planet.

When I could drag my husband away from his tools and sawdust, we occasionally went to weekend craft fairs where I saw many sellers of handmade soap. However, most of these soaps were made with artificial colors and fragrances - more chemicals! I was curious about whether I could make an all natural soap, without artificial or synthetic ingredients, that would be effective and safe. I started researching the subject of "soap" and my hobby was born. I never dreamed that this "hobby" would become a business and my third career.

My husband made me a small wooden mold, I gathered some ingredients, appropriated my kitchen mixer, spatula, and pots, and began. We still laugh about how long it took and what a mess we made to create our first successful batch of soap - eight bars of Goat Milk and Oatmeal soap. With this success under my belt, I developed other recipes, continued the learning process, and made soap whenever I had time. I was fascinated with the science of soapmaking. Studying the chemistry of fats and oils, I learned how the variations in their fatty acid composition would result in soaps with different characteristics. It was quite exciting.

In the summer of 2002, I took a course at a local college to learn about making a website to use with my science classes. For practice, I made a small website for the several soaps I was making and published it - just for fun and to see what would happen.

I got an order! By summer, 2003, we were getting several orders each week and our reputation for our quality and customer service was circulating around the internet. By summer, 2005, my "hobby" was a business and I decided to take a sabbatical from teaching with the intent to return to teach and use my hobby to supplement income. So much for good intentions! Thanks to our loyal customers, the business grew so fast that it was clear that I could not both teach and operate the business effectively. I was torn between my love of teaching and the exciting prospect of creating a truly all natural soap company. My husband, Howard, encouraged me to concentrate on the business, and here I am.

A picture of my Mom

In September, 2007, my son, Sam, returned from Spain and joined the business together with his then girlfriend, and now wife, Lindsey. Then came Christine and Ben. My husband, Howard, is still there to help, build, repair and most importantly, to continue his encouragement and support (he also makes all the soap decks). And, last but not least, my 94 year old mother, Sophie, who drives (yes, she still drives) to the shop two days each week to help with product labeling. Chagrin Valley Soap is truly a "family business."

Well, that’s a brief history of Chagrin Valley Soap. We have now expanded into many other skin care products, a certified organic line, and we are shipping to every state in the US and, at last count, to over 70 countries, worldwide.

What we are most proud of is that we have adhered to our original mission and goal - to make all natural skin care products with nothing artificial, nothing synthetic, no GMO’s, just wholesome ingredients you can trust . We will continue to pursue this mission and goal without wavering. You, our customers, deserve nothing less.