Made-in-Cape-Cod: Salt-Box Soaps’ All-Natural Goodness

I’ve run away to Cape Cod!  Ok, just for a week, but I’m wishing it could last forever.  It is so beautiful here, even in muggy weather…  Which we had a lot of at the beginning of our vacation.

On one of these muggy mornings, my grandmother and I decided to take a walk into town, where local artisans were selling their wares at a fair.  As soon as we arrived, a certain booth caught my eye–or, more accurately, my nose.

There was such a wonderful smell coming from this booth–sweet and citrus-y without being overpowering.

(Side note: I’m totally scent-obsessed.  I could spend an hour in a beauty store just smelling perfumes and soaps.)

I chatted with the owner of Saltbox Soaps, a small Cape Cod business that proudly uses all natural ingredients.  It turned out that the soap that had drawn me in was the Fresh Minty Orange, which the owner told me was her favorite as well.  The ingredients?  Listed right there on the packaging, they sounded more like a salad recipe than a soap–but that’s probably because we’re all used to seeing chemicals we can’t pronounce on our ingredient lists.

Plus, soap isn’t all you’ll find from this awesome company.  They also make all-natural bath salts and lip balms in lots of scents and flavors.

The Saltbox Soaps Facebook describes the evolution of this family business:

“This project started a year ago in our kitchen. We were tired of plastic waste and chemicals in our everyday personal care.  My grandmother made soap from 100% olive oil as far as I can remember, and that’s all she ever used. I always loved that artisan process, the mixing of all the ingredients, the quiet time when you feel like an alchemist.

Our soap is produced with solar energy, so zero fossil fuels are used in the production of each bar.  We try hard to find the best ingredients with the least impact to our environment, so we can really feel good about our products.”

Is it just me, or does it sound like founder Adela Blanco Roman has been reading Eco-Chick in her spare time?  These sustainably-produced soaps are fabulous.

My grandma and I hadn’t brought any money on our walk (such is the relaxed lifestyle on the Cape) so I didn’t get to actually buy a soap.  But I definitely plan to order some Fresh Minty Orange on the Saltbox Etsy page, not to mention like them on Facebook.

These are the discoveries only summer can lead you to.