Margaret H.Verified buyer
United States
My daughter noticed
A friend at church gave me a bar from her stash. I cannot say it is magic but the difference is real. Thank you, Ruth.
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HOMESPUN
For 34 Years She Made Soap by Hand. Then Strangers Began Selling Her Recipe Online.
Ruth, 78, is closing her small Sacramento shop for good. Everything left on her racks is now on a complete clearance, until the last bar is gone. We went to meet the woman behind the persimmon soap that thousands of people are trying to copy.
By Diane HollowayContributing writer, Homespun · · 12 min read
Ruth outside her shop on Sacramento's east side, where a hand-lettered sign now announces the clearance.
I came to buy soap. I stayed for the story.
The shop is easy to miss. It sits on a quiet block in Sacramento, between a nail salon and an accounting office, with a wooden sign that reads RUTH'S SOAPS and a window full of orange bars stacked like little pyramids.
I came because a reader wrote to us. She had tried a persimmon soap from an online marketplace, it did nothing for her, and she wanted to know whether the real thing exists. It does. Its name is Ruth, and she is about to stop making it.
I'm 78 and my hands aren't what they used to be. I think I've earned some time in my garden.
Inside the shop, the shelves are still full. The sign on the wall says the clearance runs until the last bar is gone.
She greeted me with a bar wrapped in paper and a cup of tea. Within ten minutes I had a pen out.
It started in a village in Japan
Ruth's mother grew up in a small village in Japan, in a hillside orchard of persimmon trees. When she came to California she brought very little with her. One of the things she brought was a way of making soap with persimmon.
Back home, women used it for the smell that comes with getting older. You know the one. You shower, you wash the sheets, and somehow it is still there. Nobody talks about it.
That's what folks used it for. Nobody said it out loud, but everybody knew.
Ruth's mother picking persimmons in the village, with a young Ruth beside her. The photo is one of the few that survived the move.
Ruth was five when the photo was taken. She remembers the smell of the fruit more than the picture.
She learned it in her mother's kitchen
In the 1970s, Ruth was in her twenties and living in California. On weekends she would drive to her mother's kitchen, put on an apron and stir a big aluminum pot while her mother watched and pointed.
There was no recipe on paper. Her mother measured by feel and by sound. Ruth wrote it all down in a notebook, in her own handwriting, and kept it for the next fifty years.
She never said 'good.' She said 'again.'
1978: Ruth stirs, her mother watches. The notebook she began that year is still on a shelf in the shop.
When her mother passed, Ruth decided the recipe would not pass with her.
Thirty-four years of regulars
In 1992 Ruth opened the shop. A neighbor painted the sign. A few friends came with balloons. By the end of the first year she had regulars, and by the fifth she had their stories.
A retired nurse who drove in from Stockton every two months. A trucker who kept a bar in his cab. Her pastor, who bought six at a time and asked her not to tell his wife. She never did, until now. Sorry, Pastor Jim.
I didn't talk about it either. I just made the soap, and people kept coming back.
Opening day, 1992. Ruth at 44, in front of the shop she would run for the next 34 years.
Some of them wrote her letters. She kept every one in a shoebox under the little desk in the back.
How it is actually made
I watched her do it. She weighs the oils on a kitchen scale, olive and coconut, the same amounts every time. She stirs the persimmon herself with a long wooden spoon. She pours the molds, then tucks an old wool blanket around them so they set warm.
Then comes the part nobody wants to wait for. She cuts the blocks into bars, trims the edges with a paring knife, stamps each one and slides the trays onto the racks. They sit for six weeks. Not two. Six.
That is the whole secret. It is why I never could make it cheaper.
Ruth pouring a batch into a wooden mold. Every bar passes through her hands at least five times.
Cheaper soap skips the wait. Ruth says you can smell the difference, and so can your skin.
Customers
What they noticed first
Verified buyer
I keep it in my gym bag now. After a workout my shirt used to hold the smell until the wash. Not anymore. It doesn't smell like soap or like a perfume, it just smells like nothing, and that is exactly what I wanted.
Robert, 64, retired postal worker, Colorado
Verified buyer
Thirty years I bought whatever was on sale at the drugstore. My wife kept saying the new bar was different and she was right. It lasts longer, it lathers softly, and my skin does not feel tight afterwards.
Walter, 72, retired machinist, Pennsylvania
Verified buyer
I ordered two to try. One for me, one for my mom, who is 81 and a stubborn woman. She called me the next morning to say she had never smelled so fresh and could I please send her four more. I do not remember the last time she asked me for anything.
Jessica, 49, teacher's aide, Georgia
Customers who found the real one
"I wish somebody had told me sooner"
Verified buyer
I changed my pillowcase twice a week for years. First week with this bar and my daughter noticed before I said a word.
Linda, 71, Ohio
Verified buyer
It arrived wrapped in paper with a handwritten card. You can tell a real person packed it.
Patricia, 55, Texas
Verified buyer
Two weeks in and my husband asked what I changed. I said nothing. I'm not telling him.
Susan, 66, Oregon
Then the copies arrived
A few years ago customers began bringing boxes into the shop. "Ruth, is this yours?" It wasn't. The label read "Handmade Japanese Persimmon Soap," with a sweet old lady on the front who looked a little like Ruth.
Four dollars, shipped from who knows where. Ruth opened one. It smelled like candy and it was gone in a week. She could not tell whether there was any persimmon in it at all.
They couldn't copy my soap. So they copied my words.
Ruth checks one of her own bars against a copy a customer left behind.
What bothered her was not the money. A woman told her at the register: "I tried one of those online. It didn't do a thing. I figured persimmon soap was just a gimmick." She almost didn't come in.
After the copies
They tried the copy first
Verified buyer
I bought a three-pack from an online marketplace before I found Ruth. It was fine, it smelled sweet, and it did nothing. When the real one came I understood the difference in the first shower. It is not perfumed. It is just clean.
Dennis, 58, retired electrician, Nevada
Verified buyer
Mine arrived wrapped in paper with a handwritten card that said thank you. A real person packed it. I have not had that from a company in years. I kept the card on my refrigerator.
Susan, 55, nurse, Texas
Verified buyer
I was one of the people Ruth writes about, I tried the copy and almost gave up on persimmon soap. Three bars of the real one later, I'm a believer. The free shipping and the dish made it an easy yes.
Harold, 69, retired deacon, Ohio
Why it works
What persimmon does that perfume can't
After forty, the skin's natural oils change, and a greasy compound called nonenal clings to skin, sheets and clothes. Regular soap rinses the sweat but leaves that film. The tannins in persimmon bind to it and let it go down the drain with the lather. That is what Ruth's mother knew.
- Persimmon tannins bind the oily film regular soap misses
- Olive and coconut oil clean and keep skin soft
- No perfume, nothing to cover. Just clean
Honey, if I make it cheaper, I make it worse. And then what were the last 34 years for?
4.9 · 1,284 reviews
Ruth, to her granddaughter
The day she locked the door
She could have kept up with the copies. Cheaper oils. Less persimmon. Six weeks of curing cut down to two. Her granddaughter even asked her about it. In March, Ruth locked the door for the last time.
When they cleaned out the back room, the racks were still full of bars curing, along with gift boxes she had wrapped for a Mother's Day she was not going to have. She did not have the heart to throw them out.
Grandma, there are people out there who still want the real thing. Let me find them.
Ruth and her granddaughter Emily, who now wraps and ships every order from the kitchen table.
That is how the clearance began. Emily ships every box, persimmon bars first and then the gift sets. If it does not work for you, she refunds you, no questions asked. That part was Ruth's idea.
Messages for Ruth
Verified customer
Thank you for 34 years of honest soap, Ruth. We will miss you.
Barbara, Texas
Verified customer
My mother used your soap until she passed. I'm ordering one more bar in her memory.
Linda, Ohio
Verified customer
Enjoy your garden. You earned every minute of it.
Dennis, Nevada
Verified customer
I bought six before the shelves went bare. All the best to you and Emily.
Carol, Oregon
Verified customer
Please never stop writing the little notes in the box. They made my week.
Frances, Michigan
Verified customer
Thank you for 34 years of honest soap, Ruth. We will miss you.
Barbara, Texas
Verified customer
My mother used your soap until she passed. I'm ordering one more bar in her memory.
Linda, Ohio
Verified customer
Enjoy your garden. You earned every minute of it.
Dennis, Nevada
Verified customer
I bought six before the shelves went bare. All the best to you and Emily.
Carol, Oregon
Verified customer
Please never stop writing the little notes in the box. They made my week.
Frances, Michigan
Verified reviews
What people who bought the real one say
4.9Based on 1,284 reviews
90% recommend it
Résumé IA des avis
Customers say the persimmon bar leaves them feeling fresh from the first wash, and most notice the difference on collars and pillowcases within a week or two. They like that it is gentle and unscented, and many order several bars. A few say it did not work for them or arrived slowly.
Summary of 1,284 reviews
Customer photos & videos
Judy P.Verified buyer
United States
I wish I had found it sooner
My daughter told me gently that I smelled different. The first shower felt different, clean in a way I had forgotten.
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Donna C.Verified buyer
United States
Honest soap
I was tired of perfume covering it up. A week in, my husband asked what I had changed. I told all my friends.
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Diane N.Verified buyer
United States
I wish I had found it sooner
My daughter told me gently that I smelled different. The first shower felt different, clean in a way I had forgotten. Packaged beautifully.
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Janet F.Verified buyer
United States
My daughter noticed
A friend at church gave me a bar from her stash. I cannot say it is magic but the difference is real. Five stars from me.
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Complete clearance
Everything must go, until the last bar is gone
When the racks are empty the shop closes for good, and there will not be another batch. Every order is wrapped and shipped by Emily from Ruth's kitchen table.
- Up to 40% off, the lowest price Ruth has ever charged
- Free shipping and free gifts from 3 bars
- 60-day money-back promise, even if the bar is half used
Free shipping · Ships from California in 1 to 2 business days
What readers are saying
10 commentaires
Linda M.
I bought one of those "Japanese persimmon" bars last year and it smelled like candy. Gone in a week and it did nothing. I read Ruth's whole story twice and cried at the part about the pastor. Ordering six today, three for my sisters. Thank you for telling the truth, Ruth. We will miss you.
41J’aime · Répondre · 2 h ago
Barbara K.
Sixty-eight years old and I have changed my pillowcase twice a week for a decade. Nobody ever says it out loud. Ruth said it out loud and I feel less alone. I wish her all the rest and all the garden she can handle.
28J’aime · Répondre · 3 h ago
Robert Q.
My wife made me read this. I rolled my eyes, then I read it twice. Ordered two bars, one for me, one for her so she doesn't feel singled out. If this works half as well as everyone says, I owe her an apology and a dinner.
16J’aime · Répondre · 4 h ago
Patricia R.
The nail salon and the tax office. I know that block. I grew up two streets away and my mother bought soap from Ruth's shop on her way home from work. I had no idea she was closing. I'm buying a box for my daughter. Take care of yourself, Ruth.
33J’aime · Répondre · 5 h ago
Susan T.
Is it really only sold on this site? I almost bought a 3-pack on a marketplace this morning and I'm glad I read the part about the copies first.
9J’aime · Répondre · 6 h ago
Afficher les 5 autres commentaires
Emily, Ruth's Soaps
Hi Susan, yes, only here. Grandma doesn't sell anywhere else and there are no other sellers. If you see a listing with her picture or story, it is a copy. Email me any time and I answer myself. Thank you for reading all of it.
14J’aime · Répondre · 6 h ago
Carol J.
I cried at the part about locking the door. My mother made her own soap too, and I have been looking for one like hers for years. This is the first one that smells like her kitchen. Ordered six for me and my sisters.
52J’aime · Répondre · 7 h ago
Dennis Z.
Bar number two is about to run out and I'm already placing the next order. Ruth, thank you for 34 years. I hope Emily keeps your notebook somewhere safe. A recipe like that belongs in a family.
11J’aime · Répondre · 9 h ago
Margaret H.
Give Pastor Jim my regards. Ha. I'm ordering a box for the church ladies. We have all been using that fancy lavender stuff and none of us ever admitted it did not work. Ruth, bless you and Emily both.
24J’aime · Répondre · 11 h ago
Frances A.
Four weeks in and my daughter says my room smells like nothing, which is exactly what I wanted. I have never been so happy to smell like nothing. Thank you, Ruth. Go enjoy your tree.
19J’aime · Répondre · 13 h ago
AvailabilityRuth's Persimmon Soap BarLimited stock