Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marie Kube. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Marie, so happy to have you on the platform and I think our readers are in for a treat because you’ve got such an interesting story and so much insight and wisdom. So, let’s start with a topic that is relevant to everyone, regardless of industry etc. What do you do for self-care and how has it impacted you?
Exercising and eating well are my, and everyone’s, self-care powers that impact my effectiveness at everything I do. I love dance and music because together they make it fun to be fit. When you are fit, you feel better, you have more energy and strength, you are more resilient, you can think more clearly and you can be the best version of yourself. I became a Zumba instructor four years ago and my only regret is that I did not know about it sooner. Being a Zumba instructor inspired me to become a certified group fitness instructor by the Athletics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA). In addition to Zumba, a cardio workout, I do strength training lifting weights at the gym twice a week. I walk an hour a day up and down hills to the Mississippi River.
Here in Saint Paul, Minnesota, it is only $30 per year to use weight lifting and cardio equipment and facilities at a number of local recreation centers. No wonder Saint Paul has the second-best public parks system in the nation, according to the Trust for Public Land. Thanks to Saint Paul Parks and Recreation, I offer low cost and free Zumba classes inside recreation centers and outside in the beautiful parks during the summer. I am proud to be a Zumba dance fitness instructor and I love doing it because it is so much fun doing it with others. It makes me happy and that affects every aspect of my life, including how I sleep and interact with others.
I broke both bones in my ankle about 7 months ago, on Christmas eve. I had to have surgery. I started practicing Zumba as soon as I could start walking again, about two months after surgery. I wanted to get back to leading classes by summer, which I did. At first, I could barely do one song, about 3 minutes in length. Then, due to the swelling, I would have to elevate my ankle and rest. I kept practicing and improving for a couple of months until I could do the whole hour-long class of about 17 songs. I think my surgeon and physical therapist were both impressed by the contribution Zumba has made and is still making to my recovery. I gained some unwanted weight during the two months that I could not put any weight on my ankle. This is not very surprising considering that I am 56 years old and I went from being very active, leading 6-8 Zumba classes per week, to being immobilized for months. Zumba continues to help me in my recovery, to lose weight, gain more function in my ankle, and get my endurance back again.
Eating properly is the other critical component, along with exercise, of my self-care routine. I appreciate the power of food to affect our health, especially since I have studied biology and metabolism at the molecular level and been successful at drug discovery and development. When I was in public school growing up in Denver, Colorado, there were posters on the lunchroom wall saying that “you are what you eat.” I wasn’t sure what that meant at the time, but it seemed important. Indeed, Hippocrates, the father of medicine said to let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food. Conversely, don’t get sick from eating the wrong foods. It will cost you a lot more in the longer-term.
More recently, I became a Plate by Zumba coach. The most important thing is to eat real food instead of processed foods or processed meats. Real food is whole, fresh, and as unprocessed as possible. By avoiding processed foods and sodas, you are avoiding an overload of sugar and taking control of what you are eating. Most of us eat way too much sugar and that is why there is so much type-2 diabetes and obesity and more chronic diseases. Artificial sweeteners are not good either. Avoiding sugar takes some work because it is so addictive. We have to retrain our taste buds and keep getting used to less and realize how toxic it can be. I also avoid dairy, gluten, and flours of any grains (bread, pizza, sandwiches, cakes, pies, rolls, donuts, cookies, brownies, etc.). Instead, I eat whole grains including quinoa, brown rice, and oats. For me, slow, continuous improvement has added up to invaluable benefits. Health is wealth, now more than ever.
Thanks to proper exercise, eating real food, and to my ex-husband, Michael, I have survived C-PTSD and I continue to accomplish as many things as possible that I feel good about, like providing truly natural soap made to be good for your skin, which is especially important for people with sensitive skin.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
As a long-term unemployed scientist with a PhD in microbiology and immunology and a BA in chemistry, I have applied my hard-won knowledge, skills, abilities and experience to try and figure out how to make enough money to support myself. Along the way, I started making soap because I am a chemist and a biologist and I have very sensitive skin, and so does my partner, Michael and other family members and friends. Everyone seemed happy to get handmade soap instead of other gifts that they didn’t really want and that I could no longer afford. The only complaints I got about the soap were about the essential oils. Michael and I completely agreed that the essential oils had to go, especially since we are both chemically-sensitive from working many years as scientists in laboratories with toxic chemicals. The overwhelming smell of batches of soap made with essential oils had already been bothering us. But the question was how to make natural soaps without essential oils, perfumes, or fragrances.
I spent more than six years combining herbalism and soapmaking to come up with a variety of different soaps made without essential oils. Essential oils are so concentrated that they are not natural since they would never be found in nature in such a highly concentrated state. Even worse, some are concentrated using toxic solvents and the residues of those solvents can remain in the essential oils. Some people who have used undiluted essential oils on skin have experienced irritation, burning, allergic reaction, rash or even scarring. Therefore, I figured out how to make truly natural soap with high-quality ingredients, such as food-grade, organic and fair-trade oils and herbs that are known to be good for your skin. I have been growing and using medicinal herbs for well over 10 years, and I have been making soap for more than eight years now.
I started selling handmade soaps almost three years ago, both at in-person markets as well as through my e-commerce website. There is a lot of competition in the soapmaking business, but it is a big market that is shifting away from harsh chemicals as more and more people develop skin problems. The soaps I make are truly natural with a subtle scent of high-quality ingredients. I make soaps with and without herbs that are known to be good for skin. Some of the herbs have a wonderful fragrance, like chamomile. The soaps I make leave you feeling and smelling clean. You won’t offend others with your fragrance, and you can comply with scent-free policies. To make soap, I use olive oil as a base. Soaps with ultra-moisturizing, handmade shea butter from Ghana are creamier, while soaps with coconut oil have more lather and that squeaky clean feeling that can be a little drier. Or you can have soaps made with both shea butter and coconut oil for the best of both worlds.
Being a vendor at art and craft shows has inspired us to make some new soaps. The artists inspired us to push the limits of natural soap on natural smell as well as natural colors. I do not use colors or dyes to make soap because they will end up in our water. One of our new, artist-inspired soaps that is both naturally fragrant and has natural color is cocoa butter soap. A top layer that looks like frosting has cocoa powder to make it a little darker and give it a little texture. This soap has a silky-smooth lather that lasts to the end of the bar.
Another artist-inspired new soap has eucalyptus leaf powder to give it more fragrance and color. It has a little texture, but not too much since it comes from a powder of a leaf. I love helping people figure out which soap is right for them at the markets. I also love getting orders online and am currently working on updating my e-commerce site.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Being a chemist has been most impactful in my soapmaking journey because making soap is doing chemistry. A lot of people can follow a recipe to make soap if they have a place to work with noxious lye vapors that can cause skin damage and even blindness if you’re not careful. But to make different soaps with different oils and herbs (rather than just using different essential oils and dyes) requires a greater understanding of the chemistry. Soaps are alkali salts of fatty acids. Soaps are not synthetic detergents or surfactants like sodium lauryl sulfate or SLS.
Being a PhD-level biologist has also greatly impacted my soap-making journey. This is especially true because I used to grow normal skin cells in laboratories for experiments to substitute for animal experiments. I learned how to grow and care for and nurture skin cells. I think that makes me better at selecting ingredients and making soap to cleanse and care for skin.
A third area of knowledge that has influenced and informed my soapmaking journey is my experience in drug discovery and development, which made me appreciate natural plant medicines even more. This is especially true since so many pharmaceuticals are based on compounds found in plants. I have been studying, growing, and using medicinal plants for well over 10 years.
The ingredients I use to make soap are very carefully selected. I have written a blog post justifying my use of ingredients to make soap. Better ingredients make better soap, especially when the ingredients are known to be beneficial for skin. Fewer ingredients pose fewer risks for adverse reactions.
For those who are early in their soap making journey, there is huge opportunity coming as a shift is happening in the market away from toxic chemicals. The demand for truly natural soaps is increasing as more and more people have skin problems. Truly natural soaps are not patentable, so there is a huge opportunity for the demand to be filled by small, local businesses, especially using oils produced locally in sustainable ways.
Becoming a master soap maker requires knowledge and experience and the privilege to get that knowledge and experience. Knowing the chemistry increases chances for success and consistency and allows for variations and substitutions to be made if wanted or needed. You need a safe place to work. Even if you dissolve your lye in water outside, you need to be aware of which direction the wind is blowing and what damage the lye vapors hanging in the air could do to animals, pets, children, plants, or anything or anyone in its path.
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
Ideal clients for Dr. Marie’s handmade soaps care about their skin, their largest organ, and/or the environment. This is often because they have skin issues and sensitive skin. Chemicals can aggravate and cause skin conditions. Ideal clients can be people with sensitive skin and skin conditions such as eczema or atopic dermatitis, itchy skin, psoriasis, chemical sensitivity, and inflammatory skin conditions. Ideal clients also include people who are aware of the dangers of chemicals and are actively trying to avoid them for their sakes, their children’s health, or the future of all people, plants and animals who need water that is not contaminated with toxic chemicals, preservatives, dyes, perfumes, fragrances, and their metabolites.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.art-and-smart.com
- Facebook: @DrMarieSoapmaker
Image Credits
Many thanks to Michael Klug for taking the images.
