INSIDE THE BATCH · SOAP CRAFT
Inside the Batch: How TJ Varghese Makes Artisanal Soap the Greenwings Way
From cold-pressed coconut oil to a gently cured bar: step inside the Greenwings studio and see the patient method behind every batch.
At Greenwings, every bar of soap begins the same way—with cold-pressed organic coconut oil, a carefully chosen set of Indian botanicals, and a process refined over fifteen years of quiet, patient research.
What you do not see on the label is everything that happens before the bar reaches you: the weighing of oils, blending of botanical infusions, precise trace, slow pour into moulds, and four to six weeks of curing that transforms raw soap paste into a finished bar that lathers gently on your skin.
In this video, Greenwings founder and master soap maker TJ Varghese takes you through the cold process method from start to finish—exactly as it is done in the Greenwings studio in Venjaramoodu, Thiruvananthapuram.
Why cold process?
Cold process soap making preserves the natural glycerin that forms during saponification. Commercial soap manufacturers often extract this glycerin and sell it separately—leaving a bar that cleans but does not truly nourish. In a Greenwings bar, that glycerin stays exactly where it belongs: in your soap, on your skin.
The method also means no heat is applied after the oils and lye combine, helping protect delicate plant compounds—the curcumin in turmeric, the azadirachtin in neem, and the anthocyanins in blue pea flower—that make each bar genuinely functional rather than merely fragrant.
What TJ has learned in 15 years
Soap making looks deceptively simple. The reality is that small variables—room temperature, water quality, the exact moment trace is reached, and how long a botanical has been infused—can change the final bar significantly. The consistency you feel in a Greenwings bar comes from years of observation, adjustment, and honest record-keeping.
Try it yourself
If watching this video has sparked your curiosity, our Basic Artisanal Soap Making course in Thiruvananthapuram is the right place to begin. One day, hands-on, small group. You will leave with bars you made yourself and the knowledge to make more at home.
Begin with the real process.
Learn the craft in a small, practical workshop—or explore the finished Greenwings collection.