The Weirdly Satisfying Appeal of Soap Cutting

Bet you thought we would be all Valentine-y this month. But actually we want to tell you about our guilty soap-making pleasure. It’s soap cutting.

Soap Cutting is an Internet Obsession

For a long time we didn’t know that other people also liked soap cutting. They like the way it sounds and feels. It is soothing, sort of like white noise. Apparently soap cutting is one of many activities that give rise to something called the autonomous sensory meridian response(ASMR). Now it is an internet obsession.

How We Cut Soap

Honestly, we stumbled on this because we were making handmade cold process soap in big wooden molds and since most people do not want to take a great big log of soap into the bath with them, we had to cut it into more conventional bars of soap. We have a number of different wooden molds in various sizes. This is why our soaps are not all exactly the same size and shape, but we weigh them, so that’s okay. Our soap is not cut by a machine in some factory. We cut it by hand, using a soap cutter.

Soap Cutting As a Hobby

Cutting soap into bars feels nice and makes a pleasant chunking sound, kind of like chopping wood. But people who are not actively engaged in soap making also like to cut soap. They take a bar of ordinary soap from the grocery store and they shave it with a knife, or cut it into smaller cubes. According to the internet, soap cutting is very popular in Russia, which makes us wonder if it has something to do with the long, cold northern winters we experience here.

So if life is getting you down, take a bar of soap and give it a try. You can cut your soap into different shapes, shave off delicate curls of soap, or make cute little bars and pretend you are living in a fancy hotel.

But I forgot to tell you about the cutter. When we sell our soap at markets, we often take our cutter and cut bars of soap into samples for people who stop to visit us. We noticed that people were fascinated by the cutter and often asked us where to buy one. Therefore, here is a Valentine for you. During the month of February, the first five customers to place an order ofSweetie Pie Soaps products (minimum order of $30), we will include a free soap cutter, just like the one we use.

Be careful, keep an eye on your fingers, but enjoy!