* this interview is translated from Korean to English
Tell me more about how you found your journey in making different fragrance, cleansing products.
These days, perfumes and fragrance products are becoming more and more popular. A couple years ago I learned that I have allergies to many synthetic fragrances, so I grew my interest in natural fragrances, like essential oils. Essential oils actually offer many health benefits as well! Being able to study these materials and how to create safer, healthier alternatives to our daily products could be a life-time benefit for me and others, and that is how I first started my journey.
You mentioned synthetic fragrances and natural fragrances, what exactly is the difference between them?
Synthetic fragrances are mostly petroleum based and chemically manufactured, whereas natural fragrances are oils extracted from different plants, trees, roots, flowers.
What kind of products do you make using these natural fragrances?
Well, I mostly make soap—bath soap, hand soap, dish soap, along with perfume, diffusers, candles, etc. It's mostly products for everyday use!
Wow, that is a lot! And I bet you do a lot of experimenting with different scents and materials to make each product?
Yes, a lot of time goes into picking which scent works best with the type of product I'm making, layering scents with each other is another story. But even before thinking about the scent, there is a lot of studying that is needed even before making anything.
Can you tell me more?
Before making things on my own, I take a lot of classes—both in person and online, I research by reading books, and attend different workshops when I can.
Is there anything surprising you learned from exploring soap/fragrance making?
It's quite surprising how much chemicals we are exposed to in our everyday lives. Since more and more people are looking for easier ways to smell nicer or feel cleaner, the industry needs to find ways to cheaply produce large quantities of our everyday products. In the long term, we need to worry for our health as well as the health of our environment. Another thing is, take for example the foam cleansers many people use, many cleansing products contain sulfate and that strips oil from your skin. Your face may feel clean but stripping necessary oils from your skin makes your skin really dry and irritated. On the other hand, soap would be the better alternative, its main ingredients are oils and sodium hydroxide, which also are much more biodegradable than cleansers—better for the environment!
So I know you offer classes, when and why did you decide to begin teaching?
I think it's always important to think about the impact we make on our environment, thinking about it in the long term for future generations as well. In that context, I wanted to make small steps in helping to not only better our health but the earth's health. As a mother too, I wanted to share my knowledge with other people in my community and bring a positive impact. I have a background in education-I used to be an elementary school teacher-so teaching came to me most naturally as a way to bring my community together.
What are some of your hopes or dreams for yourself in this area looking to the future?
Right now, I am happy being able to explore and create for my family and for my community. But hopefully in the future, I can open a shop of my own to share these natural products with many more people. I would also love to go to schools and host programs that teach kids about these everyday products we use, and spend some time making them together as well.
And lastly, do you have a favorite scent?
Orange is my favorite. Any citrus scent really makes you feel refreshed and energized, they also really work well for any type of product! I love the bright energy that comes with oranges.