New Sharon Bath Product Company Developed Organically

A new Sharon handmade natural bath and body product company developed organically.

S.S. Soap & Body Company owner Stephanie Sousa says she became interested in organic gardening, and "a more natural approach" in general, at the time she and her fiance bought their Sharon home, in 2010.

"And I wanted natural bath and beauty products. I just wasn't happy with a lot of the things that were in most of the products that were out there," Sousa says.

"A lot of them are advertised as being natural, but still include a lot of ingredients that I don't really feel comfortable using. I think a lot of people don't realize what's in a lot of products that are out there.

"I really wanted to start making my own things so I knew what was going into them."

Her fiance's mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer, "found that the products were really great for her skin while she was going through radiation," Sousa says.

Sousa says she made her first products in 2010, and opened her business in 2011.

"I started researching everything I could," says Sousa, who still works as a part-time dental hygienist.

"I was taking books out of the library every day, going online, just reading everything I could for the longest time. And then I would start experimenting with my recipes. I would call the companies that sell the ingredients and just kind of pick their brains."

She prepares her products in the studio in her home, often using products from her garden.

"I don't use any animal byproducts or fats, only vegetable-based oils," which are "heated and melted, and you add in water and sodium hydroxide," Sousa says.

Sousa says she primarily works alone, with help from friends and family.

Sousa says she primarily prepares small batches of her products, which controls her stock and keeps it fresher. She makes larger batches for fairs and other large events.

People with skin allergies and sensitivities are among those noticing a difference between natural and artificial products, because "they can't use a lot of the stuff that has the harsher chemicals and ingredients in it," Sousa says.

The Daily Candy Boston featured the company last fall, and "and recently Jacqueline Laurita from The Real Housewives of New Jersey added some of our products to her celebrity picks on thelookstore.com," Sousa says.

Sousa hopes to open a storefront.

"I have a couple of wholesale accounts right now, but really want to have that personal little shop where people can come in and buy my products," she says.