Why I Started With a Hand Soap

I'm building a fragrance-free personal care brand from the ground up and I'm bringing you along for the whole messy, exciting process.

Right now, I'm deep in formula development for our first product. And a lot of people ask: why hand soap? Of all the things you could launch with, why start there?

It's the product we reach for most

We wash our hands an average of seven times a day. That's seven daily exposures to whatever is sitting in that pump bottle on your counter. For people with fragrance sensitivities — and I'm one of them — that adds up fast. Headaches, skin reactions, a scratchy throat that takes hours to go away. It's not dramatic. It's just relentless.

Hand soap felt like the right place to start because the problem is so obvious and so consistent. Everyone uses it. Everyone deserves a version that doesn't make them feel worse.

The 'fragrance-free' problem is real

I'll be honest: it is genuinely frustrating to go looking for something this simple and come back empty-handed. Most of the options on the shelf are loaded with fragrance, synthetic dyes, or they carry labels like "unscented" — which, by the way, is not the same as fragrance-free. Unscented often just means a masking agent was added to cover up the smell of other ingredients. You're still getting exposed.

Where we are right now

Our hero product is going to be a plant-based pump soap. We're still working out the exact formulation. I've received the first three sample batches from my manufacturer and I've been testing them for thickness, moisture level, skin reactivity, how the natural base odor reads, and overall feel.

These first samples are a solid start, but they're not quite there yet. I've sent my notes back to the manufacturer and we're actively working to refine the formula. This part of the process takes time, and I'd rather do it right.

So far, I'm genuinely excited about where this is going. I'm learning more about formulation than I ever expected, and every round of feedback gets us closer.

Want to be part of it?

I'm currently looking for testers. If you've been searching for a fragrance-free hand soap and can't find one that actually works, this is your chance to help shape it. Join our testing panel.

 Kynd Alchemy is a fragrance-free personal care brand in development. Follow along as we build it, from first samples to launch.