Mudds test the waters for soap

Laguna Beach folks can scrub down with locally made soaps, courtesy of a father-son duo by the name of Mudd.

The family is descended from the famous Dr. Samuel Mudd, whose name became “muddied” after he treated John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Pres. Abraham Lincoln.

Bill and Dustin Mudd are not shy about pointing out their ancestry, and have a bubbly sense of humor about their name and product.

Both from welding and construction backgrounds, the pair started their eco-friendly Laguna Essentials Soap Co. in December.

Bill Mudd first formed the idea of making soap while living in Hawaii, when he invested in a small soap company. He got out of the business shortly thereafter, but he always kept soap in the back of his mind.

After Bill Mudd retired and handed his welding and construction business off to his son Dustin, he decided it was time to get back into the soap business.

“My goal was to bring back the ancient art of soap making,” Bill Mudd said.

Dustin Mudd was soon on board there too.

Bill Mudd said their soap, packaged in boxes adorned with pin-up art, is now offered in eight boutiques across Laguna, including Bubbles of Laguna in Hotel Laguna.

Laguna is the perfect place to start a soap-making business, Bill Mudd said, because it’s the type of small town that appreciates locally made products.

“This is art,” he said. “It’s three-dimensional, it’s hand-crafted, it’s something you can consume.”

All Laguna Essentials’ soaps are handmade, cut and packaged. The pair also makes their own wooden display crates and two-bar gift sets. Laguna Essentials also offers lip balms and private labeling.

The Mudds personally deliver every wholesale order to their vendors.

“We meter park and walk all over for delivery,” Dustin Mudd said.

Making soap isn’t as easy as it may sound. It requires precise formulas and techniques as well as time for newly made soap to cure.

“You pretty much have to be a chemist to make this happen, it’s not for the faint of heart,” Bill Mudd said.

Soap is created when oil is mixed with an alkaline solution. A chemical transformation occurs called saponification. When a wax to thicken it and an ingredient for a scent is added, what’s created is the basis for a bar of soap.

The Mudds do this whole process in a small one-room office/workshop on Laguna Canyon Road. Despite how small the business is now, the Mudds feel their soap can’t help but make a splash.

Bill Mudd said he thinks Laguna Essentials has the potential to compete with larger natural soap companies such as Burt’s Bees, but with a different style.

“Burt’s Bees with an edge,” Dustin Mudd said.

They’re especially proud of how eco-friendly their product is.

Laguna Essentials’ soaps are made with a combination of pure vegetable oils, including sweet almond, olive and palm. After the oils are heated, beeswax is added to the mixture as a hardener and antioxidant. The brew is beaten for close to an hour as it saponifies before the scented oil is added to the mixture.

According to Bill Mudd, the key to the soap’s fragrant appeal is its essentials. Essentials are scented oils that are made from pure plant matter, not chemically engineered in a lab.

They also feel they are making a contribution to the global warming concern, because, unlike large firms that make chemically produced soaps, there are no carbon dioxide emissions, aside from emissions from their electricity consumption.

Though marketed mainly to women and sold mostly in boutiques, the Mudds said the soap attracts men, too. They are working on soap scents with more masculine appeal.

“I think we’ve seen some guys sneaking out the back with it,” Bill Mudd said.

He said he hopes his business becomes a family tradition. Bill’s son Dustin is on board with that plan. He’s the only person his father Bill has shared his secret soap recipe with, and he feels Laguna Essentials Soap Co. has a future with his family.

“I saw something in this company,” Dustin Mudd said.

As for the irony of Mudds making soap, they have a good sense of humor about it.

“We’re cleaning up our act,” Bill Mudd said. “And our name.”

For more information, call (949) 547-2372 or visit lagunaessentials.com.