Kensico Soap Bar, Thornwood

Walking into the Kensico Soap Bar is like entering a scent-filled heaven, where the smell of handmade soaps, body lotions, shower gels, scrubs and other beauty-related merchandise fill the air.

Co-owners Erin Carbone and Kirsten Nagashima can be found dreaming up creative new soaps and other products for their business, located in the Rosehill Shopping Center in Thornwood. Since opening last September, it has drawn shoppers from across Westchester.

“You can feel a real difference on your skin by using these products,” said Carbone.

The store has drawn customers attracted to the healthier products rather than buying regular soap that has the feel of detergents.

Navigating the retail business was at first a steep learning curve for the partners, who sought the help of Marla Bosworth, owner of the Massachusetts-based Back Porch Soap Company and mentor to entrepreneurs looking to establish their own soap-making ventures.

Before officially opening the colorful, brightly lit store, the partners spent several months making different types of soaps and then sharing them with friends and family to gain feedback.

Nagashima’s previous experience in the pharmaceutical industry and Carbone’s former job as a researcher for a women’s reproductive health non-profit helped the partners create a niche business that has been growing in popularity.

Carbone and Nagashima create the sweet-smelling soaps in small batches using what is known in the industry as the cold process method, which includes mixing the base ingredients, then adding the desired scents and colors.  The soap batches are cut by hand and left to cure for three to four weeks, Carbone explained.

The women pride themselves on creating soaps to suit all tastes that are free of phthalate and paraben, chemical compounds that are routinely found in a variety of healthcare products.  Carbone said ideas for products are based on customer feedback and polls they conduct on Facebook.

Their lavender-scented soap has turned out to be one of Kensico Soap Bar’s most popular brands. Customers also find an array of luxurious handmade soaps consisting of olive, coconut and rice bran oils, with ingredients like white ginger, amber, kaolin rose clay, Himalayan pink salt, plumeria and melon. There’s even some beer-inspired scents that contain an oatmeal-stout fragrance.

A range of glycerin soaps include exfoliates like seeds and oatmeal. Some of the store’s best-selling glycerin soaps include lemon chiffon, the Pamper Me Pedicure soap and water lily, a light floral fragrance that’s accented with amber.

Kenisco’s sugar scrubs are big sellers, made from sugar, coconut oil, crushed apricot seeds, vitamin E and a hint of KSB scent.

The store, a 2013 Best of Westchester winner, also sells a variety of soy candles and gift sets, in addition to making favors for a wide variety of celebratory events, such as weddings, bridal and baby showers, graduations and birthdays.

Carbone and Nagashima have opened up the store to children’s parties and happy hour get-togethers for women. Children make a soap of their choice using the melt-and-pour method, which allows them to use a variety of molds and designs. A typical 90-minute birthday party includes two soap-making projects, goody bags filled with the newly made soaps, pizza, juice and ice cream.

Happy Hour, scheduled after business hours, has turned out to be quite popular, Carbone said, giving busy moms and others a chance to unwind, have fun and make a soap of their choice. The package includes two soap-making projects as well as two bottles of wine, a red and a white. Groups are encouraged to bring additional food and drink.

Despite the commitment it takes to run the business, Carbone and Nagashima are happy they took the risk.

“The idea of opening something close to home was appealing to us,” said Nagashima, who also feels good about teaching children a new skill and giving women an opportunity to treat themselves.

“We’ve found that people really like our hand made products and knowing where those products come from,” Carbone added.

Rosehill Shopping Center is at 600 Columbus Avenue in Thornwood. The store is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sunday from 12 to 4 p.m. Call 914-579-2033 to book an event. Products can be ordered online from the Kenisco Bar Soap website.