Located on the beautiful Hawaiian island of Kauai, Island Soap & Candle Works was first established in the sleepy town of Kekaha in 1984. Beginning with just a few soaps, Island Soap & Candle Works line of products has grown to include botanical lotions, body creams, all-natural lip balms, salves and tropical beeswax blend candles.
The Island Soap & Candle Works Story
Starting up in 1984, the original Island Soap Company factory was housed in a small sugar plantation out-building in the small south shore town of Kekaha. In the beginning, our product line was limited to fragrant coconut soaps, sold in a few local gift shops. As our popularity grew, we added more products including a moisturizing macadamia and kukui nut oil blend handmade natural soap, botanical lotions, and Hawaiian scented beeswax candles. Demand for these products was apparent as gift shops throughout the Aloha state asked to carry them.
In 1993 we expanded our factory and moved it to the town of Kilauea. There, in 1997, we also opened our first retail location, Island Soap & Candleworks, which contained it’s own working factory on view to customers, and soon after a second retail outlet in Koloa.
Later we also added our third Kauai shop, boutique size, in Princeville. Today, our loyal customers can easily buy our glycerin soaps and botanical Hawaiian lotions in all fifty states as well as outlying U.S. territories (sorry, we do not yet ship to foreign countries). We continue to remain committed to providing all-natural products of the highest quality all made with the age-old Polynesian concept of aloha.
Take Part in the History of Polynesian Culture with Island Soaps
Hawaii's native people came from Tahiti around the 9th Century AD; people throughout the South Pacific share Hawaii’s culture and language.
Polynesian peoples have always considered cleanliness a virtue. Bathing and washing was a daily routine, both in fresh and ocean water. The leaves of certain plants were used as washcloths and sponges and are known to produce their own soap-like lather. The awapuhi ginger flower, also used by tribal Hawaiians and known as “shampoo ginger”, leaves the hair soft and manageable; we have captured it and added it to our specially formulated Hawaiian scented shampoo and conditioner. Other materials used for personal hygiene were vegetable oils, used to remove grime from the skin, chunks of volcanic rock – pumice – for exfoliation, and husks of coconut, which can be used as a scrubbing pad. Even beach sand was rubbed in the hair in order to clean the scalp.
Carrying On The Tradition
At Island Soap Company, we are committed to bringing the best of ancient Hawaiian traditions as well as modern know how into the manufacture of our line of handmade natural soaps, body care products and candles. In all of our business practices we remain committed to aloha. This is far more than a greeting; found in many Polynesian languages from Hawaii to New Zealand, aloha also stands for peace, compassion, mercy and love.
Above all, Island Soap & Candle Works wishes you aloha as you enjoy our products.
