Christmas Soap List!

[crunchyaf]

Hi everyone!

I am brand new to soap making. I've always loved and paid for home made soaps and was so excited to learn on my own. I would like to create holiday soaps for friends and family and was wondering a couple of things, if you could help?

1. I am sending bundles of soaps per family. How many bars do you think is a good amount? Off the top of my head I have about 10 families I would like to give to. A big project for a noob soap maker!

2. I have made so far: 2 loaves of an 'almost castile' hibiscus tea infused soap, 1 loaf of a oatmeal honey soap and one loaf of a lavender and peppermint essential oil sensitive skin soap. So I guess I currently have about 25 bars (I used one for myself and another was messed up when I cut it).

I would like to add some other types to this mix. Maybe a 'masculine scent' one, also calendula (one of my favorites), perhaps a tea tree and activated charcoal. If I make these plus the ones I have I will have about 4 bars per family.

Do you have any wisdom for me as I think out this project?

Many Thanks!

 

[BattleGnome]

First question: have you used your soap yet? Aka: how new of a soaper are you? If you haven’t used a bar of your own soap by now I would probably stick to melt and pour product. You just don’t want to gift crappy soap if it is in your capabilities not to. Formulating a good soap takes time and multiple batches. But don’t let that discourage you!

Second question: how many people? 4 per family is a reasonable number if they all live together/share bathrooms. My family is old enough that the youngest is college aged so everyone has their own house/bathroom to fill. If I am gifting only handmade stuff I gift one bar per family member but keep it in the basket as a family gift, that way everyone gets to choose what they like best out of the assortment to take home.

Third question: are you adding anything else? If your family isn’t filled with homemade soap people (yet) it would be nice to add something extra to fill it out. It will also make a gift basket under the tree look better. Washcloths or bathrooms are cheap (elementsbathandbody.com occasionally has $.25 poofs), lotion is nice mid winter (if you purchase a base you can make matching scent sets), lip balms are nice, cookies.... anything works. The idea is that you don’t give a family of 6 just 4 bars. It looks like you did more, even if you didn’t.

Fourth: get it done now! Curing takes time and shipping takes time. Holiday shipping takes even longer. If you’re happy with your recipes then start now. Getting everything done by the end of September will give you all of October to fix your mistakes. DOS happens to the best of us. Color morphing or just plain running out of supplies might make you want make a new batch.

Good luck, keep us posted

 

[artemis]

If your family isn’t filled with homemade soap people...

This was my first thought. When we first start soaping, our friends and family are encouraging and we automatically think everyone is just as Interested in soap as we are. [emoji1]

I like the one bar per family member idea. And adding soap-related things is a nice touch. On Etsy, you can get some nice looking wooden soap dishes pretty reasonably. That, plus a simple white wash cloth (or a loofah or something) would look really sharp together, in my opinion.

 

[crunchyaf]

First question: have you used your soap yet? Aka: how new of a soaper are you? If you haven’t used a bar of your own soap by now I would probably stick to melt and pour product. You just don’t want to gift crappy soap if it is in your capabilities not to. Formulating a good soap takes time and multiple batches. But don’t let that discourage you!

Second question: how many people? 4 per family is a reasonable number if they all live together/share bathrooms. My family is old enough that the youngest is college aged so everyone has their own house/bathroom to fill. If I am gifting only handmade stuff I gift one bar per family member but keep it in the basket as a family gift, that way everyone gets to choose what they like best out of the assortment to take home.

Third question: are you adding anything else? If your family isn’t filled with homemade soap people (yet) it would be nice to add something extra to fill it out. It will also make a gift basket under the tree look better. Washcloths or bathrooms are cheap (elementsbathandbody.com occasionally has $.25 poofs), lotion is nice mid winter (if you purchase a base you can make matching scent sets), lip balms are nice, cookies.... anything works. The idea is that you don’t give a family of 6 just 4 bars. It looks like you did more, even if you didn’t.

Fourth: get it done now! Curing takes time and shipping takes time. Holiday shipping takes even longer. If you’re happy with your recipes then start now. Getting everything done by the end of September will give you all of October to fix your mistakes. DOS happens to the best of us. Color morphing or just plain running out of supplies might make you want make a new batch.

Good luck, keep us posted

Thank you so much for your advice! The one bar a family member is a great idea As well as accouterments to bathing! I am starting now

This was my first thought. When we first start soaping, our friends and family are encouraging and we automatically think everyone is just as Interested in soap as we are. [emoji1]

I like the one bar per family member idea. And adding soap-related things is a nice touch. On Etsy, you can get some nice looking wooden soap dishes pretty reasonably. That, plus a simple white wash cloth (or a loofah or something) would look really sharp together, in my opinion.

Haha well I hope they like the handmade soap cause that is what they are gonna get!!

 

[penelopejane]

JMO, I don’t think you can label (even for family) A soap with peppermint in it as suitable for sensitive skin.
I am allergic to peppermint EO and a lot of other people (including on this forum) react unfavourably to peppermint in soap - especially on certain areas of their body.

PJ

 

[dixiedragon]

I wouldn't label anything as being for sensitive skin, unless you do a bar with no added scent. If you have people with sensitive skin in your family, a no scent bar might be a good idea!

I must say, I find it so refreshing to have a newbie talking about this in August! Usually we get in early November, "I've never made soap, but I am going to make a bunch for Christmas! I'm going to do hot process so it's ready in 2 weeks!"

Assuming you have a digital food scale (not postal), and you find a good recipe (post here if you have questions), you should be fine.

You can also check out Bargain Hunt for things to add. I often find washcloths and hand towels for CHEAP there.

 

[earlene]

When gifting to family, I really like including soap dishes that lift the soap up out of the water. It's a must in all my soap gifting to family and friends the first time. If I have visited their homes and know their bathroom colors and their personal design styles, all the better for choosing what to include in the gift. Sometimes I might include a small storage basket or box as well because they can come in handy in a number of situations, not all of which has to be in the bathroom.

And making really pretty soap wrapping is a nice touch when gifting to family. I have used burlap wrap bought at fabric stores, ribbons, lace, fancy paper, scraps of fabric, and a variety of various items for soap wrapping and I think it really lends a lot when gifting.

 

[NsMar42111]

I would go with melt and pour bases, and then next year learn cold process/hot process soapmaking. Much easier in the beginning because all you need to worry about is scent and color!

I second the "add stuff" thought...even the $1 type stores have a great selection of bath stuff you can add to fill out the basket!