Buff City Soap, which is opening a new location in Evans’ Mullins Colony shopping center, specializes in plant-based products that employees say are made to nourish the skin and have a wonderful smell.
The company offers soap scents such as Narcissist, Unicorn, Love Potion and Commando. Buff City Soap employees said they have a scent for everyone. With a wide range of scents, manager Des McLeod said they carry products for both women and men, as well as children and even pets.
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For customers with skin conditions such as psoriasis, McLeod said the company prioritizes naturally colored soap made without harsh chemicals to reduce any irritants. Soaps can even be made with no scents or light levels of fragrance to ensure the right ingredients for users.
“It’s made with a coconut base and, since most skin sensitivities boil down to more of a fragrance issue, we can make things less fragrant or with no fragrance at all; unless they have a coconut allergy, they’ll be all right,” she said.
To people who might be skeptical of a new soap bar over older products, McLeod said, “I wish you would give some of our smells a try. You’d be pleasantly surprised. We have a whole range of things, and we can customize it for you right here. It just takes a few minutes, and it’s a lot of fun.”
Along with soap, Buff City offers a variety of products including plant-based laundry detergent, scented dryer balls, body butter, bath bombs, shower oil and body scrubs.
“We can tell you exactly what’s in it and we can make it however you want,” she said.
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McLeod said her favorite products were the body scrub and shower oil because of how smooth and nourished her dry skin feels after using them.
“I’m in love with our body scrub, and I was never really a body scrub person before because I have dry skin and it makes it feel even drier after I get out of the shower,” she said. “But I could feel the difference with this stuff after one use, and it was amazing.”
McLeod said many of her customers, both male and female, are “obsessed” with their scented laundry detergent.
“It makes doing the laundry fun; you open that washer or dryer and really smell the difference,” she said.
District Manager Blake Pearce said the company puts a lot of value into giving back to the community and even making customizable soaps for the area.
“We gave free samples to some schools around here, some businesses; we like to help out whenever we can by even giving out soap to hospitals,” said Pearce.
Pearce and McLeod explained how the company also likes to encourage customers to be environmentally friendly through discounted detergent and shower oil whenever customers save their containers.
“It’s nice to have that small container that you can refill rather than those big detergent containers. Who wants to deal with throwing those big containers out?” said McLeod.
McLeod said Buff City Soap offers endless possibilities and options, “engaged couples or newlyweds can come in and create a scent together. They can give soap out at their wedding as favors.”
With colorful patterns and designs, she further elaborated how couples can create a soap loaf for a baby gender reveal party, cut it at the party, and then hand soap bars to guests.
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In the future, McLeod communicated her desire to incorporate a couples’ or ladies’ night or maybe even small birthday parties.
Employees of the new location shared why they loved the business and getting involved in the very beginning.
“There’s not a lot of opportunities in life where you get to start off from nothing. Lots of times you get into a job, everyone kinda knows each other and everything is sort of established already. Here, we started with nothing,” said Sophia Sgalato, a new employee of Buff City Soap. “Since then, everything was created and built by us, and it’s just been a phenomenal experience. We’ve become almost like a little family in a weird way, just because we’re all starting from ground zero.”
Sgalato said she loved how all the products were plant-based and all-natural, and describes it as a “wonderful product.”
Assistant Manager Patricia Krapes, said she loved the scents and that everything is “clean and natural,” as well as the “nice people” within the company.
Another coworker, Riley Davis, said, “I like how everything is all handmade, and we make it ourselves, so we know exactly what’s in it. You know what you’re using and how to use it, and if you don’t we’ll explain it to you. Everything here is very informative.”
Krapes explained her distaste for mass-produced soap with a prominent, “ick,” and asked, “have you read the ingredients in some of that stuff?”
Davis nodded and said, “and most of it you don’t know what it means. You’ll have to Google half of the ingredients. Most of them you can’t even pronounce; whereas, with this you don’t have to do any googling, you know exactly what’s in it. It’s straight-forward, there’s no 45 letter word or something.”
While Sgalato’s favorite scent is fan-favorite Narcissist, her other female coworkers enjoy the scents Good Morning Sunshine, Breathe and Love Potion.
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Meanwhile, male coworker Blake Smith enjoys scents such as Commando and Ferocious Beast. He said while some men might think of scented soaps as girly, Buff City caters special scents for men that smell very “masculine.”
McLeod said the company values selling products at affordable prices with better ingredients. “I think most people expect us to be an expensive boutique kind of place, but it’s really not that kind of thing at all. Our products are sold for a great price.”
Pearce told of the company’s customer loyalty and even mentioned how one fan attends every single Buff City Soap opening. “She just loves the product and loves supporting us,” he said.
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McLeod and Pearce invite all to attend Buff City Soap’s upcoming grand opening weekend that runs Sept. 8-11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The opening will feature discounted products, free prizes and raffles for attendees, and buy-one-get-one free deals. Additionally, every morning the first 50 people in line will receive a free year’s supply of soap. Buff City Soap is located at 4225-3 Washington Road in Evan’s Mullins Colony.
“Aren’t you tired of the same old scents and soaps? Don’t you want to try something new and fun?” said McLeod.
For more information about Buff City Soap and their products visit: https://buffcitysoap.com or follow their instagram @buffcitysoap.evans
Liz Wright is a staff writer covering education and general assignments for The Augusta Press. Reach her at liz@theaugustapress.com)
