About Us - KiKi & Lisa

About Nami Soaps

Nami Soaps was created in 2020 during the heart of the Covid-19 pandemic when we all learned just how important it is to wash your hands. As mothers, Kiki and Lisa realized it was going to take some creativity to get their kids to wash up - so they created kid-friendly soaps with bright colours, enticing scents and cute shapes (donuts, gummy bears and popsicles) that made it easy for small hands to use. From here Nami Soaps expanded into creating soaps for people of all ages to love! We believe that taking care of your skin is so important. It is your body's first line of physical defense against the world and during this pandemic, this rings true more than ever. 

What Happens when a Baker and an Artist get together to make Soaps?

Each ingredient found in Nami Soaps was carefully selected by KiKi for their properties and benefits. The recipes are tested thoroughly and undergo trials and tests on willing human participants (never animals). From the fragrances, to  the texture in the shower to the way it lathers and most importantly, to the way the skin feels afterwards, Kiki ensures that each recipe is just perfect! To compliment each soap, Lisa carefully chooses colours and designs that showcase the beauty of each soap - from the little Sakura embeds on the Cherry Blossom soap, to the hand-piped roses, to the fine gold lines and bio-glitter sparkles featured on our Kawaii line.  What happens when a baker and an artist come together to make soaps is that you get wonderful skin-nourishing, beautifully crafted bars you'll love using!

The Soapmakers: KiKi and Lisa

KiKi's Story

Hi! My name is KiKi and am mother to two little girls. I'm born and raised here in Toronto, ON, Canada. I've lived here my whole life. I love baking and experimenting with the ingredients to see how can I adapt it to my our family's needs and dietary restriction. Our family has cut out dairy due to the kids' eczema.

I got into soaping because a family friend had introduced me to Melt and Pour Soaps. Not quite the same to where I am today but that's how my journey started. When I found out Lisa loved soaps too and that she's been using it for years, it got us talking and wanting to learn more about the process. 

My kids, like any parent, are my life and the reason I am filled with joy (and frustration) at times. Seeing my kids struggle because of their skin problem made me went to bed crying some nights. It was an emotional and physical struggle. I felt helpless and depressed and I know there are things I can do to help them. We started reading articles upon articles about what's safe for a child's skin and what can help, and "detergent" came up a lot. Then we looked at a LOT of the things we were using and realized, body wash and soap is not the same thing. 

Growing up I was told, "you are what you eat. Take care of your body and it'll take care of you!" How simple those words are, yet how true! We believe that what we select as ingredients for our soap will directly affect it it turns out and how it'll make our skin feels. Our skin is different, our skin also changes with the season and time. I knew this was especially true when I was going through my pregnancy! Everything changed, some things have changed back, somethings haven't. 

The kids have eczema and I personally developed eczema only in the torso area after being pregnant with my 2nd daughter. We need soaps that are moisturizing and doesn't strip our natural body oils.

My husband, however, has combination to oily skin. He likes things that has a bit of scrubbing to it and exfoliates his skin to keep it smooth. He says it makes him feel like it really cleaned his skin and it's fresher.

As we experiment, we discover what has worked for us and what hasn't. It has been a long jouney with a lot of batches that hasn't worked out. But now we understand what matters and how it affects us. We hope to share this with you so that if you are affected by any of this, may find some relief as well. 

Lisa's Story

Hi there! I'm Lisa - Criminology Professor by day, Mom/Pianist/Soap Artist by night. 

My soaping journey started in my 20's when I picked up and used that handmade bar of soap for the first time. I spent the next few years of my life attending Farmer's Markets and One-Of-A-Kind craft shows buying nothing else but soap. I would buy enough soap to last me a year until the next show. It would be many years before I realized I could make my own!

I am a mother of two and like Kiki, my kids struggled as babes with skin issues. (Kiki's kids are second-cousins to mine and skin issues definitely run in the family). We were lactose intolerant and any exposure to lactose would send their skin into blistering red rashes. I was desperate to find anything that would work to help calm the symptoms. I couldn't believe that what was available commercially (even those products that claimed to be "gentle") were chock full of chemicals. After researching the use of more natural products, including breastmilk, I started creating soaps and creams. My babies' rashes and dry skin almost disappeared immediately! 

I am so thankful for Kiki and everyone else who helped make this little business of ours a reality.  As an artist, I rely on having the best possible canvas to work with. The base soap recipes and choices in fragrances and essential oils are brilliantly crafted and it just makes it so wonderful when I can pull together Kiki's ideas with mine to create beautiful soaps.