The story of LWLS
Welcome to our Soap Shop
Based in Ames, Iowa, Little White Lye Soap takes the traditional methods of
the 19th Century and creates hypoallergenic handcrafted bars of soap. Each
bar is as unique as snowflakes in the winter and individually wrapped by hand.
We also crochet our own loofas that allow you to slip a bar of soap into.
The soap making process begins with lye and rendered lard from Iowa-raised
hogs. The mixture is stirred for approximately one hour before it is the right
consistency to pour into our handcrafted molds. The soap is cut into bars the
following day and left to cure for two weeks. The soap is fragrance-free,
leaving it gentle on the skin, whether used at the sink, in the shower, or in the
washing machine.
Our story really begins with owner, Shannon Bardole.
She grew up in the small farming community of Ogden,
Iowa. From there she went on to study at the University
of Northern Iowa and majored in Family Services.
Shannon, having a passion for history and traditional
ways of an earlier America, studied and trained in these
arts by working at Living History Farms. She held the positions of Broom Shop Supervisor and
1900 Farm Domestic Supervisor from 2001 to 2008. It was there that she fell in love with broom
and soap making. And it was also there that she gained the friendship of many a woodsmith and
blacksmith to bring all the pieces together to restore our beautiful equipment as it is today. In recent years she has
become involved with the Ames Historical Society and furthers her love for old world America.