Luonkos Skin Bars are Handmade in Naantali
The statement on our website, "we produce our products as inventively and environmentally consciously as possible," is truly accurate. This inventiveness has often been supported by a controlled amount of tape and zip ties, or a grilling spatula borrowed from the home kitchen. It has become clear in the families of the Luonkos women where various tools tend to disappear.
The production of oil cleansing bars is manual work
Our working methods and tools are constantly being reviewed. They are developed, processes are refined, and progress is celebrated. Even a small insight can significantly streamline a process. And generate new ideas, burning enthusiasm, and send us speeding to new heights.
Skin bar recipes, however, are followed with extreme precision. When measuring raw materials, one's focus must not waver. At the small skin bar factory, it's understood that it's best not to disturb someone who is measuring. At least, not if you want your message to be heard and understood. The person on duty by the cooking pot is also in their own bubble. They constantly monitor temperatures and add raw materials according to the manufacturing instructions. With care and love. All available knowledge and skill are used for each batch.
When the mass is then molded, in addition to the pourer, a "sviippaaja" (smoother) is needed. The smoother is the one who evens out the bottoms of the skin bars to make them neat. And runs back and forth between the molding table and the refrigerator.
Every skin bar is artisan work
Since there is a human at the helm, every Luonkos skin bar is unique. The general instructions for the bars even state that the outcome is influenced by, among other things, the cook's mood. Skin bars sometimes have freckles, small cosmetic imperfections, frost, and amusing patterns. When a bar mold is taken from the refrigerator and a unicorn or a heart is clearly imprinted on the bottom of one bar, the makers are filled with joy: true artisan craftsmanship! And at the same time, wonder: how do these manage to be such distinctive individuals, even though the mass is scooped from the same pot? If a totally perfect bar is tapped out of the mold onto the table repeatedly, the handler starts to tingle: Where is the personality? You can't tell these apart! Perfection is boring!
Second-grade quality is a rugged treasure
A new employee at the small bar factory gets to pop skin bars out of molds and tidy them up for packaging right from the start. Quality requirements become tangibly familiar, and even at night, sleep echoes the question, "will this bar bring joy?" This question separates premium from second-grade quality. The latter has the same nourishing properties as the premium, but its appearance has an endearing ruggedness. If every bar brings joy, the second-grade basket in the factory store feels empty. Thus, even the second-grade is a first-rate in its own way. Each skin bar is packaged by hand, one by one. This way, the product is once again subjected to an evaluating gaze. The ecological and beautiful bar box encloses a gem that simplifies skincare. Finally, the user decides whether the bar brings joy.
Marjut Saarinen
The author grew tired of modern journalism's tolerance for compound word errors, found a new path, and was hired by Luonkos in Naantali to bake skin bars. In the meantime, lyrics are still being created.
