MyShoppingConnection is a resource for people who love shopping for unique, high quality or handmade items from reputable online vendors and independent artisans.

Spotlight on Rebecca D. Dillon

Rebecca D. Dillon is the talented soapmaker behind Rebecca's Soap Delicatessen, a shop that specializes in deliciously fragrant handmade, cold process soaps.

Rebecca is a 33-year-old wife and mother of one with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Roanoke College. When she's not creating delectable new soaps, she's most likely reading.

In addition to running her soap deli, Rebecca and her husband Adam recently launched the highly successful ByHand.me, a free social network for those who make and buy handmade goods.

How did you get started with making soap?

I have fairly sensitive skin, and as I've gotten older, it's only gotten worse. As a result, I started using handmade soaps in place of commercial brands as commercial soaps often irritated and dried out my skin. (Yes, I'm one of those people who has to use unscented laundry detergent.) After becoming a hopeless handmade soap addict, I decided to try my hand at making soap myself. It all sort of took off from there.

How do your handmade soaps differ from the kind you find at the drug store?

Soap is by definition comprised of an alkali and a fat. What I make is real soap. Most of what you find on the drugstore shelf is not even soap at all, but rather a commercial foaming agent that is combined with other things. These foaming agents are often what cause people to have reactions to so-called soap as they are not gentle at all and often times will dry out the user's skin, as well.

Handmade soap is gentler because it's made with natural ingredients, not synthetic ingredients whose sole purpose is to create a foam or lather. Because of this many individuals who can't use commercial soap, like myself, can use handmade soaps. Worried about the lather in handmade soap? There's no worry. All of my soaps use specific oils known for their properties in soapmaking to create a wonderfully rich lather while being gentle on your skin. I even use my soaps to shave with as do many of my male customers!

What's your inspiration for your fragrances?

Many of my fragrances are inspired by food, thus the name of my company. Since Rebecca's Soap Delicatessen was founded, however, I've moved into some more traditional scents to appease a broader population and to fulfill customer requests. The result is a bit of everything. But the smell of something tasty always inspires me most.

Which soap is your most popular seller?

My Falling for You Soap for Dry Skin is by far my biggest seller followed by my Unscented Goat Milk Soap for those who have allergies to fragrances. Falling for You is a knock-off scent of Philosophy's Falling In Love. (Falling in Love is a registered trademark of Philosophy. Rebecca's Soap Delicatessen is not affiliated with Philosophy in any way.) It is an alluring blend of Lemon Peel, Vanilla, Musk, and Mandarin. Not only is it a wonderful, more subtle scent, but it's specifically formulated to be gentle on dry skin and leave some of your body's natural oils behind.

What's your personal favorite soap fragrance?

My favorite seems to change with the seasons as I'm always creating something new. I'm a huge fan of my Pomegranate soap, but my newer Lemon Verbena Salt Bar definitely tops the list.

Not only is my Lemon Verbena Soap completely natural with no artificial fragrances, it works great as a facial bar in addition to an all over body bar and shampoo bar. It contains both shea and cocoa butters as well as an abundance of skin-loving oils such as Olive and Rice Bran, both known for their moisturizing properties. It also contains sea salt, known for its healing properties, and contrary to what you might think, it doesn't dry your skin out.

Do you have any new scents on their way for spring and summer?

I have a huge selection of soaps available now for spring. New spring scents include Lemon Verbena, Grapefruit Twist, Lavender & Vanilla, Mango Raspberry Ice, Southern Sweet Tea, Chocolate Mint, and my Lemon Spice Chef's Soap just to name a few. Two new soaps that customers can look forward to are Angel Wings and Mango & Papaya.

Angel Wings is curing now and is a cream and pink colored bar made especially for dry skin and contains both cow and goat's milk, shea and cocoa butters, rice bran and olive oils, and palm and palm kernel oils. This feminine soap smells like a romantic blend of juicy Macintosh apples enhanced and sweetened by rich French jasmine, cyclamen and fresh rose petals. The Mango & Papaya smells just like a strong, lush blend of these two fruits.

What's your first olfactory memory (memory triggered by a smell)?

Definitely the smell of the ocean. Every family vacation my parents took me on - and later my brother - was to the beach. I have a picture of me somewhere at the age of two climbing down out of our camper. We'd always camp at these beach side campgrounds - that nowadays seem to be disappearing for hotels - and I'd sit in the sand digging holes and watching as the water would rush back in to fill them back up. I could always seem to dig up neat little critters then, too. Funny crab-looking things and clams. Funny how I've never made a beach-scented soap.

What do you do to relax and unwind?

Oh my. Well, relaxing is VERY important to me. I was diagnosed with agoraphobia a few years ago and will have constant panic attacks if not medicated with an anti-anxiety drug. I will even have panic attacks in my own house! So I try to wind down by either reading - I'm a big sucker for paranormal fiction - watching episode after episode of my favorite series on Cox on Demand - HBO's "True Blood" is to DIE FOR - or getting out to the city market - which is our city's version of a farmer's market but with the addition of local made crafts - and just socializing with friends. If I get overly stressed I have a bad habit of retreating to my bedroom and sleeping.

Any advice for people who want to try making soap as a hobby?

Research, research, research. Soapmaking is not to be taken lightly as it involves using the chemical sodium hydroxide - more commonly known as lye or your alkali in soap - and it can cause serious burns if precautions aren't taken.

Just an FYI, properly made soap has no lye left in the bar as it is all used up during the chemical process called saponification, which converts the fats - or soapmaking oils used - into actual soap. But for those who really want to give cold process soapmaking a go, I've written up a basic how to with all the starter information you'll need on my blog, Soap Deli News.

Rebecca D. Dillon's soap creations are available at:

http://soapdeli.artfire.com
http://soapdeli.etsy.com