Aloe Vera Juice - is adding a little effective?

[KiwiMoose]

*wind* I do not break wind on my soap, for the record.

You’re right, actually! RBO is inexpensive. I bought 35 pounds @ $59.00 from Soapers Choice just a few days ago. But I get killed on the shipping. I need to add that caveat to my point in regards to RBO.

I actually decided to no longer soap with hemp seed oil for exactly the reason above. It’s expensive and the cost outweighs the benefit. HO sunflower oil is a great substitute and is readily available at a good price.

It works out about the same here $US57 for the same amount. But I just buy it 1 ltr at a time from the supermarket.

 

[penelopejane]

My humble $.02. I do use AVJ every other batch of soap. I don’t mind investing in ingredients to make my soap better but I also really like maximizing my profits. The question for me comes down to how much added value does an additive offer my soap vs. the cost of that additive? To boost lather, I’ve experimented with honey, sorbitol. powdered sugar, AVJ, granulated sugar, rice flour, and fruit juices. That’s outside of using beer, wind, goats milk, etc. I’m thinking more of one-the-fly additives.

I also roughly determine how much it costs/batch to include that additive vs. the noticeable benefit to the soap. If using powdered sugar and sorbitol offers the same qualities in my soap, I would rather maximize my profits by using powdered sugar, which is a lot less expensive and easier (for me) to source. If using rice water (rice that I’ve soaked and then blended, using both the liquid and starch that collects on the bot of my container) is less expensive to use than powdered sugar and both add the same quality, I go with the rice water.

This is the same reason I love to soap with lard. It makes an exceptional bar of soap, it is inexpensive, and I can easily source it. I’d rather spend $$ on good FOs and more expensive butters and fats that I cannot easily source (specifically, rice bran oil).

What you might be forgetting is the very fickle “label appeal”.
This phenomenon is a very regional. With so many very vocal lardites on this forum I assume lard is very popular in handmade soap in the US but it is a very different situation in Australia. So you have to really know your market.
There is no evidence that goats milk adds anything to soap but everyone wants it. I’ve just started to produce one despite the lack of evidence and it is my new best seller. Go figure.
Honey will sell while sugar will not.
Aloe sells.
If I was selling in Byron Bay (hippy dippy area) I would sell a soap with hemp oil despite the fact that it causes DOS because they'd pay and extra $1 to buy it and it would sell like hot cakes!
Olive oil will sell while lard will not (in Australia anyway).
Tallow is what most commercial soaps are made from here so most people in Australia who buy handmade soap want to avoid that too.
Shea butter and cocoa butter both have fabulous label appeal and both are really expensive.
Oat milk has great label appeal while rice milk does not.
Ricebran oil is $36 US for 35 pounds. So it is one of our cheapest oils. No label appeal, unfortunately.
Anything with "soy" on the label will not sell here.

 

[penelopejane]

Mind I ask what you use to keep your soil fertile for plant to flourish.
Sending love and light

Aloe plants thrive in really crappy, very aerated soil. Sand, perlite or even gravel. Anything that allows water to flow through it readily. It's the type of plant that thrives on neglect.

 

[AliOop]

What you might be forgetting is the very fickle “label appeal”.
This phenomenon is a very regional. With so many very vocal lardites on this forum I assume lard is very popular in handmade soap in the US but it is a very different situation in Australia. So you have to really know your market.
There is no evidence that goats milk adds anything to soap but everyone wants it. I’ve just started to produce one despite the lack of evidence and it is my new best seller. Go figure.
Honey will sell while sugar will not.
Aloe sells.
If I was selling in Byron Bay (hippy dippy area) I would sell a soap with hemp oil despite the fact that it causes DOS because they'd pay and extra $1 to buy it and it would sell like hot cakes!
Olive oil will sell while lard will not (in Australia anyway).
Tallow is what most commercial soaps are made from here so most people in Australia who buy handmade soap want to avoid that too.
Shea butter and cocoa butter both have fabulous label appeal and both are really expensive.
Oat milk has great label appeal while rice milk does not.
Ricebran oil is $36 US for 35 pounds. So it is one of our cheapest oils. No label appeal, unfortunately.
Anything with "soy" on the label will not sell here.

So interesting to hear about the different regional differences in label appeal.

Definitely lard and tallow will not sell well in some areas in the US, where vegan soaps are in high demand.

However, in other regions of the US (or sometimes in the same area as the vegans), folks believe in "buying local," following "primal" ways, and using "nose to tail." These folks are gaga over locally-produced, home-rendered lard and tallow. Others just like the nice soap that results from those ingredients, and don't give a hoot about them. They are all about the smells and the colors.

Goat milk is huge here, as are colloidal oats. Despite the admitted lack of scientific evidence, my high-lard GM-colloidal oat soap is the only soap I've ever in my life been able to use on my face without causing breakouts or severe peeling. So I'd add, just because there are no studies to prove something, doesn't necessarily mean that it is all hype.

Vinegar and AVJ both add a je-ne-sais-quoi to my soap; better, softer lather somehow. But AVJ has way more label appeal, for sure!

 

[penelopejane]

So interesting to hear about the different regional differences in label appeal.

However, in other regions of the US (or sometimes in the same area as the vegans), folks believe in "buying local," following "primal" ways, and using "nose to tail." These folks are gaga over locally-produced, home-rendered lard and tallow. Others just like the nice soap that results from those ingredients, and don't give a hoot about them. They are all about the smells and the colors.

Goat milk is huge here, as are colloidal oats. Despite the admitted lack of scientific evidence, my high-lard GM-colloidal oat soap is the only soap I've ever in my life been able to use on my face without causing breakouts or severe peeling. So I'd add, just because there are no studies to prove something, doesn't necessarily mean that it is all hype.

Vinegar and AVJ both add a je-ne-sais-quoi to my soap; better, softer lather somehow. But AVJ has way more label appeal, for sure!

We do have some "nose to tail" restaurants but that hasn't extended to handmade soap as far as I know here. (But who knows? Maybe in Byron Bay!)

Very interesting to hear about GM and colloidal oat soap and your skin. I am sure a lot of people get benefits from various additives and that is why they sell. I know I am allergic to ingredients that don't effect anyone else!

My boys don't like vinegar in soap - they don't like the "plasticy" feel it gives it. That is a totally unscientific small scale opinion poll!
I use Aloe in one soap which is very popular but I don't know why it is popular.

 

[AliOop]

So interesting! I bet different oils react differently with the vinegar to create different "feels." All I know is that if I tell people there is vinegar in the soap, their noses wrinkle up. If I don't tell them, they love the soap.

Obviously folks' opinions are way more affected by labels then one would like to think, eh?

 

[Melysg25]

Have you considered canola for the SAO? I know some call it a trash ingredient but it feels luxurious in the soaps I've had it in. Silky. I do like SAO but it's pricey.

Hope

I second that! Canola oil, IMO, is wonderful in soap. I always add it to my recipes now.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Aloe plants thrive in really crappy, very aerated soil. Sand, perlite or even gravel. Anything that allows water to flow through it readily. It's the type of plant that thrives on neglect.

That's all it gets 'round here!

 

[SoapLover1]

Hi! I just learned that Aloe Vera Leaves have Cancer Causing Agents and must be filtered through a Charcoal Filter! Has anyone else heard of this?

Aloe Vera, Non-decolorized Whole Leaf Extract

Non-decolorized whole leaf extract of Aloe vera is on the Proposition 65 list because it can cause cancer. Exposure to this substance may increase the risk of cancer.
Proposition 65 requires businesses to determine if they must provide a warning about significant exposure to listed chemicals.
What is non-decolorized whole leaf extract of Aloe vera?
Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis Miller) is a succulent plant used in some personal care products and home remedies, and to flavor some foods and beverages.
Proposition 65 lists a specific type of Aloe vera extract: non-decolorized whole leaf extract.
This extract from the plant’s leaves is not filtered to remove cancer-causing chemicals naturally found in the Aloe vera plant.
Most consumer products with Aloe vera do not contain this type of extract, and are not known to pose a cancer risk. They contain decolorized whole leaf Aloe vera extract. This extract is filtered to remove cancer-causing chemicals, and is not on the Proposition 65 list.
How does exposure to non-decolorized whole leaf extract of Aloe vera occur?
Exposure can take place by consuming products with non-decolorized whole leaf extract of Aloe vera or applying them to the skin.
A few consumer products contain this non-decolorized extract, though product labels do not always make this clear.
Home remedies with Aloe vera may pose a cancer hazard if the liquid extracted from the leaves is not properly processed to remove the cancer-causing chemicals.
During pregnancy, some chemicals of concern in non-decolorized whole leaf extract of Aloe vera can pass from mother to baby.
How can I reduce my exposure to non-decolorized whole leaf extract of Aloe vera?
If you are using Aloe vera products that contain whole leaf extract, check the label or check with the manufacturer to be sure that the extract has been decolorized.
If you are using whole Aloe vera leaves to make your own home remedies, take steps to remove the plant’s harmful chemicals, such as filtering the Aloe vera extract through an activated charcoal filter.
https://www.p65warnings.ca.gov/fact-sheets/aloe-vera-non-decolorized-whole-leaf-extract