Kaja Bolken-Malouf began making natural soaps 18 months ago and says she has become “addicted”.

The retired photographer and graphic designer spends hours experimenting with scents and cooking up brews of soaps using natural products sourced from her garden and around the globe, including pink Himalayan salt, Dead Sea mud and Brazilian purple clay.

What started out as a hobby has become a booming internet business for Kaja who ships her KajaMM products throughout Australia and to five different countries around the world.

She has become renown for her unusual and innovative techniques, such as using traditional Syrian and French soaping methods, and was recently selected to feature in a soap making book published in her mother country, the United States.

“I was chosen from over 4500 people to be in the book that's on Amazon.com,” Kaja said.

“Not only am I one of 26 featured soap makers from all over the world, including Italy and Romania, but my soap is also the cover of the book and I also did some artwork in the book too.”

Kaja doesn’t sell her products locally or at markets, but said she would like to make contact with local craftspeople to form a craft co-op.

“I like the thought of everything local,” she said.

“I have recently found a lady to make soap bags for me that lives just down the street and I use bits here and there that are local, like honey.

“ I'm also looking for a person that likes small wood projects to make soap dishes here.

“I would rather have them made local from local woods then get them from china.”

Kaja said she makes small batches at a time and enjoys “experimenting” with different ingredients.

“It’s really addictive,” she said.

“There’s always something new to try.”

Kaja makes three different lines of soap including her pure range, which uses milk products such as almond and coconut milk and has no fragrance, through to her botany soaps, which use flower extracts, as well as nuts, oatmeal and seaweed, and finally her earth range which features mineral-filled clay, mud and salts.

She said using natural products was  beneficial for all skin types.

“Soaps with petroleum tend to dry out the skin, while my products leave the skin feeling invigorated and moisturised.

“The less chemicals we use on our bodies, the better.”

Kaja said he soap making has expanded into a full-blown ebusiness and she spends a lot of her time marketing her products online.

The majority of her soaps are shipped overseas, while she also sell to her friends and neighbours locally.

She has a Facebook page where she supplies recipes for people to try making their own soaps and moisturising oils, at a fraction of the price of store-bought products, and also has a website: kajamm.com