Interview With The Cleaner Soul Founder
In the days before Nature’s Bodega began, our friends South of the border were carefully crafting a line of multi-purpose cleaners that are not only safe for every surface in your home but have the dual purpose of being aromatherapy.
Our team had the pleasure of sitting down and discussing why natural cleaners are so important for our health and beyond with The Cleaner Soul’s CEO and founder, Amanda.
What is the story behind Cleaner Soul?
Well, it’s a really great story.
I was a very successful personal trainer, Lululemon ambassador, and spinning instructor.
Not only was I super fit, but I was also very thoughtful about what I ate. While I was working in this field, my job also required me to advise all my clients about diet, exercise and the importance of living a healthy lifestyle.
But one day I had a shock diagnosis out of the blue – I had breast cancer.
This diagnosis rocked my world; and when something like this happens and you know that you are very focused on doing everything you can to be healthy… you really start to question things.
“Why have I got this?”
“What am I doing?”
I almost became a little bit paranoid about my diagnosis and what I was using externally and around my home; trying to figure out what might have caused this.
So, I began researching articles about breast cancer tumours. The most shocking one I read was that researchers discovered some of the chemicals found in standard house cleaning products inside the actual breast tumour.
I thought “I am a clean freak; I’m always cleaning and spraying these products around my home… cleaning was almost like my therapy”.
This ignited my own research about the ingredients in these products. I discovered that they are extremely toxic and poisonous; and we are bringing them into our enclosed spaces and inhaling them without a second thought.
I realized that instead of keeping my family and I safe with a nice clean home, I was doing completely the opposite.
I started researching how I can make my own cleaning products. I spent so much time in my kitchen looking around at ingredients and I kept thinking “there has got to be products in here that I can use in a cleaner that are completely safe if I inhale them, if they contact food and other surfaces or if I accidentally ingest them.”
I ended up contacting an old client of mine who is a scientist to look over the formula I finally created and test it to see if it actually worked. He looked at it, tweaked it and got the Ph just right – and that’s how it all started, in my kitchen.
Once I started using my formula, a lot of my friends who came over to my home would ask what I was using because of the aroma. After three months of using the product and selling it to friends and family, I had to move into a facility to keep up with the demand!
How do you source and choose your ingredients?
Very, very carefully. This process is extremely difficult, and it is what took me the longest time when I was formulating the multi-purpose cleaner. I wanted everything to be food and skin contact safe because my oncologist told me that whatever goes on your skin or in the air around you – goes within your body. This was very impactful to me so I decided then I would only use ingredients that are safe in every single way.
We try to ensure our ingredients are pure as possible – all our essential oils are 100% organic, and our coconut soap is as well whenever we can source it.
What Inspires the Scent Profiles?
Coconut Calm was the first scent I created. I have always had a thing for this scent because coming from England where it is cold and wet – I always dream about being on the beach and the scent of coconuts. I wanted this lovely, calming, relaxing beach aroma that the smell invokes from the coconuts.
Breathe, I love eucalyptus and it is a scent that I formulated to remind me of being in a spa. It keeps you stimulated and has such a fresh scent that is perfect for cleaning your bathrooms.
Lavender Love was carefully created to be safe and soothing around children and babies. We wanted a cleaner that could be used to clean toys, sprayed around cribs and other surfaces that they come into contact with and might ingest.
What is Your Favourite Product and Why?
Oh my gosh! Every day is different – but I like the actual multi-purpose cleaner and I love the choice between aromas. I like to have Breathe for the days that I feel tired and need an extra pick me up, and Coconut Calm is great for those days that I want to unwind.
What are the Highlights of Building/Owning This Business?
The most special thing is reading all the reviews from customers and hearing about the results of using the products in their home. There are so many different stories as to why they have chosen our product in place of traditional cleaners – rashes, allergies, sinus issues, terrible migraines and so much more.
I also get such a kick from people feeling as strongly as I do about the product – it makes all the hard work feel worth it and I feel so appreciated.
What’s next for Cleaner Soul?
At the moment we are working on formulating a few new products and launching these in the near future!
The big one for us is candles – we noticed the one thing people love and talk about: the aromas. We want to build on the scents and make the candles entirely toxic-free.
Another product we are formulating is functional fragrance – perfume but completely safe and with cleaner ingredients. We’re very focused on the dangers of synthetic fragrances and perfumes and how everything is absorbed into your skin. This functional fragrance will also have cognitive benefits and we want it to be good for you while smelling amazing.
We are so thankful that we had the opportunity to sit down with Amanda and get an inside look into the inspiration behind The Cleaner Soul. We are so excited to continue our journey with them and see what the future holds!
On a side note - this fall we also had the opportunity to formulate our own, unique scent profile in collaboration with The Cleaner Soul. We created two perfect scents: The Hôtel and Rain Coast. You can find the Hôtel in both an air freshener or multipurpose spray.
If you have not had a chance to get your hands on The Cleaner Soul, we highly recommend it!
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This interview has been lightly edited and all responses and opinions expressed in this interview belong to The Cleaner Soul and CEO Amanda.
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