The Lab

Small batch skincare and soap made in our Glen Urquhart lab

Tucked away in Glen Urquhart, our lab is where every bar of soap and facial oil begins its journey.  It’s a quiet space, filled with botanical oils, essential oils, and plant extracts, each chosen by christine for their purity and effectiveness.  This is her happy place, especially when experimenting with new formulations.

How We Work: Soap & Skincare

Every batch of soap is made from scratch by Christine in the lab.  The lye and oils are carefully combined to make soap, and each skincare product is meticulously formulated.  Every ingredient is weighed and measured precisely, then blended to create the gentle cleansers and nourishing facial oils in the Ola Ròs range.

Ingredients and Care

All ingredients are selected for quality and effectiveness.  We use high-quality cold-pressed and organic oils and natural botanical extracts.  Some ingredients are upcycled, and clays—as well as locally sourced Scottish botanicals—feature in our soaps and skincare ranges.  Each product is made with care to ensure it is gentle, effective, and thoughtfully formulated.

a colourful selection of botanical and organic oils arranged in lab beakers in a row
Colourful Botanical and Organic Oils used in the lab
Blend of essential oils for the Ola Ros Restore Facial oil in a small lab beaker being tipped to one side by a gloved hand
Essential Oils: German Chamomile Essential Oil
Scottish Ingredient Milk Thistle Extract in a lab beaker
Scottish Ingredient: Milk Thistle Extract
mixing an olegel on the overhead stirrer
Experimenting with Oleogels

A Day in the Lab

A day in the lab begins with a thorough clean and sanitise.  All tools and equipment are gathered and sanitised before use.  Ingredients are then collected, weighed, and combined to make each product, whether soap or skincare.  Notes are taken and records updated to comply with cosmetic manufacturing guidelines, ensuring every batch meets our quality and safety standards.  Finally, the lab and equipment are thoroughly cleaned again.

Soap Making: A Quick Guide

Weighing the castor oil for the shampoo bars.  Castor oil has a unique fatty acid profile that helps create a good lather in natural soaps

Christine weighing out the castor oil for the shampoo bar
I always wear full PPE as per the regulations for working with cosmetics
Christine in the lab blending the essential oils for the shampoo bar
Blending the Essential Oils
mixing the soap mixture prior to pouring using a heavy duty hand blender
Mixing the Soap
Pouring the shampoo into moulds
Once the mixture is ready, at 'trace' the shampoo/soap is poured into sanitised moulds.
Soap poured into moulds
Soap in the Mould, after a couple of days I take the slab of soap out of the mould and cut it into bars.
a row of floral body soaps curing on the shelves in the Made in the Glen lab
The soap bars need to cure for at least four weeks, they continue to saponify, and dry out leaving a firm bar ready to use
Scottish oat soap curing on the lab shelf
Our upcoming oat milk soap bars curing - these have been made using Scottish gluten-free oats
A stack of orange/pink coloured soap bars
Experimenting with colours - a splash of sea buckthorn oil and pink clay gives a glorious colour

Products We Make in the Lab

Ola Ròs Skincare Refine Purifying Facial Masque glass jar with pink label Ola Ròs Skincare Refine Purifying Facial Masque some of the powdered masque is spilled on the grey worktop it is stood on. A green background behind. handmade in Scotland

Refine – Purifying Facial Masque

Price range: £15.50 through £17.00
Restore Facial Oil by Ola Ròs skincare for the ultimate in skin hydration. Handmade in Scotland

Restore – Facial Oil

£50.00
balance oil cleanser in white matte glass bottle against green and pink background. handmade in Scotland with natural and organic oils

Balance Oil Cleanser

£34.50
Two liquid hand soaps by Made in the Glen sweet orange & cinnamon Organic essential oils in an Amber glass bottle with brass metal pump filled with Made in the Glen Liquid hand soap made with organic ingredients on an oak worktop in the bathroom beside it is a bar or handmade soap

Hand Soap – Organic Sweet Orange & Cinnamon

Price range: £28.50 through £45.00
creamy yet invigorating shampoo bar handmade in Scotland with rosemary oil

Shampoo Bar

£6.50
a solid soap bar sat on a handmade linen face cloth. the solid soap bar is called fresh facial bar and is handmade in Scotland by Made in the Glen. It is a natural soap and a lovely creamy colour. The linen face cloth is an oatmeal colour

Fresh Facial Bar

£7.00
Exfoliating-Hand-Soap-on-a-whisky-cask-soap-dish-handmade-in-scotland

Exfoliating Hand Soap

Price range: £5.50 through £7.00
Two liquid hand soaps by Made in the Glen Lavender, Rosemary 7 Rose Geranium Organic essential oils in an Amber glass bottle with brass metal pump filled with Made in the Glen Liquid hand soap made with organic ingredients on an oak worktop in the bathroom beside it is a bar or handmade soap

Hand Soap – Organic Lavender, Rosemary & Rose Geranium

Price range: £28.50 through £45.00
Floral Body Soap on a whisky cask soap dish handmade in Scotland. Scottish Soaps

Floral Body Soap

£7.00