# What do you do? Pls Comment



## Ms.Missy (Jul 27, 2009)

This question is for everyone who has made a business out of soap making:

Do you use the soap making recipes you find on supplier sites or any other site and make the soap and then sell it

or do you come up with your own mixture/recipe?

I was wondering because I'm vary new to all this and I figured I could use the recipes I find, give it a new name and slap my own lable on it or is that like stealing?( I don't wanna steal anything, but if I make a soap recipe I found on a website could I sell it as my own, just with a different name?)

or I figure I could find a recipe and tweek it a little and then sell it

Pls comment...Thank You


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## dagmar88 (Jul 27, 2009)

Welcome!

First of all Missy, you don't sell ANY kind of soap, it may be M&P, CP, HP, handmilled/rebatched untill you know what you are doing! 
You are inexperienced, learn the craft first before you even think of selling. It will take loads of time for you to totally get to know the product, come up with your own recipes and be able to give your costumers good advise.
There is way more to is then just taking a recipe and slapping a label on.
Soapmaking is in no way a quick way to earn money. Think of insurance, taxes etc.

Don't want to sound mean or discourage you in making soap, but it's just the way it is. Please start doing research, research and then some more research and post all the questions you have.

People usually start with standard recipes or the ones they've read on forums like this, and tweek it but by bit untill they can eventually call it their own.

Good luck,

Dagmar


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## Ms.Missy (Jul 27, 2009)

THX for the advice ...I will do all the research I can


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## dagmar88 (Jul 27, 2009)

Hope you'll like it around here!


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## Deda (Jul 27, 2009)

I've developed my own recipes.  They took me years to get 'just right'.

As far as making a recipe (your own or one you got somewhere else) slapping a label on it and selling it.   That wouldn't be the smartest thing to do.  

Test.Test.Test.Test.


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## carebear (Jul 27, 2009)

I started soaping with formulas gathered from here and there.  But over time they evolved to suit my needs, my image, and my budget.

I don't consider it stealing if someone puts it out there, but I do believe in giving credit where it is due.

And yea, "over time" is a key thing.  You need time to get to know your ingredients, to be able to make a consistent and good product, and to know how your products will perform in a customer's home and how stable it is.  You don't want it going bad...

If it was fast and simple there'd be no need for forums


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## Mandarin (Jul 27, 2009)

I only do my own recipes be it soap, lotion, or whatever.  However, I agree that if the info is put out in public, then it is ripe for the picking.  My issue is when a person uses a recipe and claims it is their own.  THAT is stealing.


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## Deda (Jul 27, 2009)

I really don't see the point in using anyone else's recipe.  I mean, to test and tinker, ok.  But isn't developing your own formulas, successes and failures, like 50% of the fun?


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## Vinca Leaf (Jul 27, 2009)

What carebear said.

And, you *can* use someone else's recipe...they put it out to share, but I'd say use it as a starting point.  That person knew the recipe worked, and gave it to you.  Now, you tinker and see if you can create something uniquely your own.


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## Ms.Missy (Jul 27, 2009)

Thank You all!!

I have a lot of research to do, but thankfully I like to read 

what do you all do with your soap from the kits or that you've made that are good?...give as gifts or garage sale?

Or will I have soap pilling up in my home ( I'm sure if  ur just testing u don't make large batches, but small batches of soaps add up over time)



I'm still a newbie so I apoloqize if any of my questions sound stupid or anything


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## Guest (Jul 27, 2009)

edited cause I didn't read it correctly :wink: 

Kitn


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## dagmar88 (Jul 28, 2009)

Hey Kitn, Missy's doing M&P  :wink: 
Give your bars away at family and friends; you can not sell them yet, so not at garage sales either.

 There are no stupid questions, we all have to start somewhere.


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## Tabitha (Jul 28, 2009)

> But isn't developing your own formulas, successes and failures, like 50% of the fun?


Whats the remaining 50% of the fun? Cutting labels    :?  :roll: ?


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## carebear (Jul 28, 2009)

ho ho ho what to do with all the soap.

give it away to family and friends (then discover it in the back of a drawer when you visit), stuff like that.

even now i have at least "odd job" 50 bars to share - I'll give them to the women who come to clean.


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## Guest (Jul 30, 2009)

Once you start giving it away , people start to ask for more , to buy  , IME .. You can donate excess to homeless shelters , safe houses , food banks , etc . My grandkids love the soap ends box , if I don't recreate the ends  , they get to chose a soap end or 2 to take home . 



Kitn,


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## bbkimberly (Sep 8, 2009)

trial and error and pH test strips  :shock:


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