By Heather Lusk
When Lindsay Reid began creating homemade soaps, her goal was to make something that would help her daughter, Hope, deal with allergies and skin problems.
Now her soaps have turned into a mother-daughter business, Hope Soaps, at the Whitestown Farmer’s Market, online and at the Zionsville Fall Festival.
Diagnosed with sensory processing disorder, six-year-old Hope feels “off balance unless she’s engaging her senses,” Reid said. Creating the soaps with her mom has become one way for Hope to involve a variety of senses.
“With sensory processing it’s really great for her, because you create most of the smells, and she loves that,” Reid said.
Another therapy is horseback riding, which Hope began three years ago in Zionsville. Hope loves her equine friends and wanted to provide them with food and treats. A friend encouraged Reid to sell the soaps that they were making, and Hope decided to earmark 10 percent of the proceeds for the horses.
“It’s a great avenue for her to really use the sensory issues and help the horses, too,” Reid said.
Hope helps to mix and stir the soaps and develop new scents. Her favorites are citrus smells, but she said that she’s recently grown fond of the new chai scent.
Generally 10 of the scents are consistent and another five are seasonal or temporary.
“It’s whatever Hope has been feeling for the scent,” Reid said. “We develop it and see if people like it.”
“It’s a blessing to be able to find something that she enjoys and also show her that she can make a difference,” Reid said.
Lindsay and Hope generally make small batches of soaps weekly, occasionally making several hundred in a day as needed. Orders can be placed online at hopesoapsindy.com.
