Each soap has a story to tell
View(s):- ‘Teenpreneur’ Rishma Rizvi’s passion as a child to have her own beauty product has taken shape with ‘Soapstoris’
By Dilushi Wijesinghe
Like many a curious kid, Rishma would watch YouTube videos and make lipsticks by melting crayons, mixing them with coconut oil. “I would get scolded by my mother as it wasn’t the correct way of doing it,” she recalls. On a visit to Australia in 2017, Rishma came across handmade soap and still treasures the first bar she bought for the creative impulse it stirred.
Delectable: Assortment from her ‘skincare bakery’
A year later, the chance to go for a soap-making class conducted by an Argentinean soap maker, gave her the basics of soap making. Her mum also being in the beauty industry and with advice from Ayurvedic shops as well as other soap makers, she decided to try it at home.
Her first attempt was a coffee and oat bar. She made a mess but, “it was a fun experience” she smiles and the experience she gained was invaluable.
In 2019, Rishma received her first order for wedding favours. She only had a couple of moulds that could make six bars at a time, and she was tasked with creating 30 bars of soap. “It took 1 ½ days.”
Her parents were constantly supportive even when she was sitting for her Ordinary Level examination. “They didn’t put pressure on me. Rather, they pushed me to do this instead of being at my books constantly,” she says.
So while prioritising her studies, she devoted about two hours at night to focus on her career. Her parents encouraged her to create a brand name. “With every bar of soap, there’s a story to tell,” she says and so it was ‘Soapstoris’; the spelling represents the first three letters of her name, and “speaks what I do”.
As her social media page began to grow, demand increased and she was recognised as a ‘teenpreneur’ (teen entrepreneur).
Rishma made good use of the Covid pause to follow a Certificate Course in Ayurvedic Beauty Product Manufacturing conducted by the International Institute of Ceylon Ayurveda (IICA) , also a Diploma in Ayurvedic Beauty Product Manufacturing while also taking a course in Herbal Cosmetology.
Rishma: Showing how it’s done. Pix by Indika Handuwala
“There were many failed batches and that affected my self esteem,” she recalls. But she learned to focus on the positives and researched how to reuse them without wasting them. She also experimented with new techniques with colour and now uses natural colouring agents such as carrot juice, turmeric and goat milk. Her other ingredients come from ‘The Beheth Korale’ in Kandy or are imported from the United States. Some of them such as black garlic that soothed a cancer patient’s skin and mimosa which is beneficial for eczema prone skin are seldom used here, she says.
The process also matters. “A bar of soap needs to sit for about a month before it can be used,” she explains.
In June this year, ‘Soapstoris’ was awarded the ‘Rising Stars – Women Entrepreneurs’ award at the Sri Lanka Talent Awards. The eight year old who dreamed of creating her own beauty products has made it a reality. Rishma’s recipe for success? “Start something that speaks you.”
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