Where we began

Spirited Soaps was born when Ailsa Hayes wanted to create a soap using natural ingredients along with the islands natural produce. As an applied chemist, Ailsa knew that transparent soap is better for sensitive skin, and to make this she needed alcohol. Being on the ‘whisky isle’, this sparked the idea of creating soaps using spirits from different island distilleries. And so the story began…

Spirited Soaps is now run by Gemma MacLean, who still makes the soaps by hand to Ailsa’s original recipes.

Our soap-making process

We make transparent soap using the old-fashioned cold process. We cook up the soap base slowly and at low temperatures in our big soap pot. We then add the whisky, gin or rum, plus essential oils and other ingredients to capture the character and aroma of the spirit.

Meet Gemma

Hi, I’m Gemma – chief soap-maker here at Spirited Soaps. I make, cut and label all our whisky soaps by hand at our wee shop in Bowmore. I’m Islay born and bred and live on Jura, so I know a thing or two about island spirit – both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic kind. When I’m not making soap, you’ll find me baking, relaxing on my gin deck, working as part of the Jura Coastguard team or walking my two New Zealand Huntaways, Ruki and Gus.