Are All Handcrafted Soaps Created Equally?

Are all handcrafted soaps created equally? - No!

I would not wash my face with my laundry bar, nor would I use my Premium face soap to remove a stain on my shirt. More important than scent, exfoliates, or color, the characteristic of a soap (IE hardness, cleansing, conditioning, bubbly, creaminess) is dictated by the oils used to create it's base. For example the higher the content of coconut oil the more bubbly the soap. The more bubbly a soap is, the more drying it is to the skin.

The key to finding a good soap is to always read the ingredient list. Read what oils formulate the base and if present, where in the order of ingredients is coconut oil listed? If it is presented close to the top of the ingredients list, expect a very bubbly soap likely to dry your skin. Also, bear in mind that coconut oil is one of the cheapest plant oils used in the soap industry. Often its not about the bubble but the buck.

Ronald Caron

When I bump into old colleagues from my corporate world days (rehab. psychologist) they usually say at some point “I bet you never thought you’d be selling soap for a living?”  “True”, I say, but I guess I ended up practicing what I always preached about not being afraid of change and being open to taking chances in life.

It has now been a wonderful ten years of being blessed with the opportunity to work side by side with my wife and three sons building Olive Authentique our natural skin care manufacturing business. The road has not been an easy one as we progressed from selling at local church bizarres, and high school gym craft shows to retail and wholesale sales across Canada and more recently into Hong Kong and mainland China.  The challenges ahead are daunting in this increasingly competitive world, however, we will continue to produce environmentally friendly products based on the best that nature has to offer and in the process hopefully help to make the world a better place.  We welcome you to come along and share in our journey.

Ronald Caron

David Caron

Hello, my name is David Caron and I sell soap.

I've been helping my parents both full and part time for the better part of the past ten years. After graduating from Concordia in 2009 with a major in Political Science I've become even more involved with the family business.

My duties include a little bit of everything - from making sure that all the products are ready and prepared for the retail season to selling them to our loyal customers. I particularly enjoy planning out logistics, and anything where I get to exercise my creative flair - whether it be working on website design, label design or packaging design. I also love interacting with our customers, whether that happens face to face, through our website or on the phone. Even though it can get pretty hectic during the holiday season, I enjoy the challenge.
One of the great things about working for my parents is that they don't operate the business in an authoritarian manner. We might not always see eye to eye on all decisions but more often then not I feel that my opinion is always taken into consideration. We often work long hours in close proximity and this might lead to conflict for a lot of families yet we seem to make a great team. We each have very different strengths and weaknesses and we each bring something very unique to the table. As the summer draws to a close I know that it won't be long before we'll be rolling up our sleeves and getting ready for the holiday season. I can't wait to see and hear from you guys in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa!

David Caron

Stephen Caron

Since I first found out about the whole blogging culture, I figured that it was simply a tool used by hipsters to vent about life. I couldn't be more wrong! Blogging has become such a crucial part of the web and above all E-Commerce that it would be silly to ignore this tool any longer.

I would like to take this moment to formally introduce myself to any of our followers who do not know who I am. My name is Stephen Caron. I am 22 years old and am an ambitious entrepreneur. I am currently enrolled at John Molson School of Business studying administration and marketing. I have been working part time in the family business since its inception - roughly 10 years ago.

For those of you who have met me in the past (From The One of a Kind Toronto or Vancouver) and for those of you who are with us now, I would like to thank you for being involved in growing our family business. I look forward to seeing all of you during this upcoming season! In the mean time, you can follow us here on our blog to become more familiar with our company.

Stephen Caron.