Have any of you never calculated the average cost for production of your soap? I get about $0.93 per ounce before labor. Does that make sense?
Cost of production
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Gryfonmoon
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I made a spreadsheet that calculates that for me, after using my other spreadsheets that calculate lye cost and oil cost per ounce. 
A lot if you took into consideration the time, the supplies, the preparation, the labor, all the water. :razz: It would be an expensive bar of soap and so when I see high-priced soaps I think, oh I think I know why. Really though if you sit down and add everything up and how hard you worked I hope you never shortchange yourself and that your soaps sell.
Actually, I'm asking because my mom asked me to make soaps to give as gifts to Thai teachers on an upcoming missions trip. The church wants to at least cover my costs. Of course I'm not going to charge my mom's church for labor, but I'd love to help. Started calculating on a spreadsheet and came up with the following:
Fragrance Cost per Oz $0.16
Lye Cost per Oz $0.47
Oil Cost Per Oz (Calculated) $0.24
Color Cost per Oz $0.06
Total Cost Per Oz $0.93
- That's actual costs of the oils as I plan to mix them.
- Actual cost of lye purchased from Lowes @ $15 for 2lbs
- For fragrance, I hit the middle of the road assuming $10 for a 4 oz vial of generic fragrance like tea tree oil and 1 Tbsp per lb of soap.
It does not include my time, any packaging or shipping costs to my mom in the next state. I was surprised at how expensive it really is.
kdaniels8811
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Wow, you guys have expensive ingredients. I track my cost and even with expensive essential oils, I am at about $1.10 per bar which weighs about 4 ounces.
green soap
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$0.16 x 16 oz in a lb = $2.57 a lb for fragrance oil. I want to know your supplier :razz:
I think you slipped a decimal point and you meant $ 1.6 an oz?
Actually, the number was indeed supposed to be $0.16 per ounce of soap, but now that I check it, I believe it's actually $0.07 based on these assumptions: $10 for a 4 ounce bottle (that's an estimate based on the lavender and tea tree oil I just bought, but I know that EO cost varies greatly based on the oil, source, quantity, etc). Anyway, 4 oz = 8 Tbsp, so $10/8 = $1.25 per lb assuming 1 Tbsp per lb of soap. This divided by 16 oz in an lb = $0.07 per oz of soap. Is that correct, or did I miss something?
Gee, for a hospital CEO, simple math seems to be difficult suddenly.
Gryfonmoon
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Do you include shipping in your costs?
I'm not in the "business" and I'm just experimenting, so I have been buying in small quantities. $15 for 2 lbs of lye at Lowes, $10-ish for EO from the local health food store. Oils from Kroger and Walmart. The cost surprised me too. That's why I asked. I already see that I can get lye for about half this price from ebay with no shipping. That will help as I estimate lye to contribute to about HALF the current cost of my soap per ounce.
Thanks to all you soap professionals out there for your assistance.
I did not. Mom lives in Birmingham, the next state over, and she may pick it up or I may drive it over to her...it's a good excuse to see her for extra brownie points :shh: I also did not include any packaging, because her mission team wants to package them once they arrive in Thailand to save space....plus I have NO idea how to package soap.
Desert Karen
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I'm still in my infancy here. I started making soap the week between Christmas and New Years. I estimated my soap to cost me around $2.00 to $2.50 per bar depending on what essential oils I am using. I am using organic oils and essential oils, some of which are very expensive. I made a wonderful shampoo bar that had a lot of Tea Tree oil in it as well as Peppermint Oil and mica to color it. Since then I have been out to Clark's, a store that carries essential oils, and certified organic powders, etc. I have not calculated the cost of "production" because I am having a blast making soap. Eventually I'd like to make some money making soaps. Social Security sucks!
Desert Karen
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Shipping costs
I will be taking a few soaps to a postal annex, along with a couple of sizes of envelopes to see which carrier will be the least expensive. You can't send oils that have a low flash point through the post office, and I'm wondering if that is the same for oils that has been made into soap.
I will be taking a few soaps to a postal annex, along with a couple of sizes of envelopes to see which carrier will be the least expensive. You can't send oils that have a low flash point through the post office, and I'm wondering if that is the same for oils that has been made into soap.
I will be taking a few soaps to a postal annex, along with a couple of sizes of envelopes to see which carrier will be the least expensive. You can't send oils that have a low flash point through the post office, and I'm wondering if that is the same for oils that has been made into soap.
How could they possibly know what's in your soaps? I can't imagine that even if they inspect it that soap would cause a concern.
Desert Karen
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Oops I forgot to add that my first oils, essential oils, lye, etc. I bought on line. I paid for shipping and added that into my first three batches. Now I am shopping at Clarks Nutrition and Sprouts for the things I need, so my cost will be much lower, I am purchasing larger amounts as well. We are not figuring in gas, as for hubby and I, a trip across town is a day away from home, and we enjoy getting out. Hubby is an ex banker type, and loves numbers. I'll have him calculate out what each bar costs. I received a note from someone who came onto my Facebook page, and asked why my bars were $6.00. She said she was buying soaps for $3.00 and gave me the web site. Well YEAHAAAA She was using TWO oils. $3.00 is good for a Castille bar that's basically olive oil without any essential oils in it. I lowered my bars down to $5.00 but I'm going to charge shipping.
No, PO is only interested in the fragrances in liquid form under a certain flashpoint. But I recently had little on ozers with FPs below 200 degrees come to me via PO, not ground, because the amount was so small.
If you weigh your pkg you can plug in the weight, size, where it coming from and going to and get a shipping quote on USPS website for priority or parcel post or first class if small.
If you weigh your pkg you can plug in the weight, size, where it coming from and going to and get a shipping quote on USPS website for priority or parcel post or first class if small.
Desert Karen
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I don't know. I will find out though. My son is a letter carrier. He might know, but I assume they wouldn't know unless you tell them. All my supplies I bought on line came UPS.
Gryfonmoon
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I will be taking a few soaps to a postal annex, along with a couple of sizes of envelopes to see which carrier will be the least expensive. You can't send oils that have a low flash point through the post office, and I'm wondering if that is the same for oils that has been made into soap.
That's a good question, but I just don't think it'll be a huge issue if you have a few MLs in a bar. It's not really concentrated in it's pure form -and its not even in it's original form- kinda like lye sometimes requires special handling if sold in it's pure form but as soap it's not even lye anymore, you know?
I've only found 1 specialty soap store here in Jackson, MS. Their soaps are $8.95 each. http://bk2natur.com/shop.html I was thinking about the local gift merchants, and I don't remember seeing any soap in their stores either...of course I probably wouldn't have noticed because I just got interested in the subject, and I HATE shopping.
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