Finished soap ready to sell

[UnScented Arizona]

Started this October. Finally finished with labels. Ready to sell, I think. Basic lard recipe. Been fun. My son did the labels for me. All unscented.

 

[AliensrReal]

Did you come up with the recipe yourself? Have you tested your soap? The labels look pretty.

 

[UnScented Arizona]

Did you come up with the recipe yourself? Have you tested your soap? The labels look pretty.

No. Recipe came from here. Basic lard. Yes we have tested. So far people like it. Thanx on the labels.

 

[lsg]

Your soap looks great!

 

[AliOop]

Agreed, those look great!

 

[not_ally]

They are very pretty, I like the labels too.

A dampening note, though. If you have only been making soap for a month or so it is problematic to start selling because you don't know what you don't know yet. Whether the formula is a good/safe one, whether the scents (if you use them) will stick, whether the soap will discolor, whether you used the wrong ingredients/techniques/storage environments and they will get DOS, lots of other issues. It is generally recommended here that people soap for a year before they start to sell. I don't know if that specific amount of time is the right one, but I think a month-ish is not.

 

[artemis]

Started this October. Finally finished with labels. Ready to sell, I think. Basic lard recipe. Been fun. My son did the labels for me. All unscented.

Cute!
I am assuming all the important information is on the back?

 

[UnScented Arizona]

Cute!
I am assuming all the important information is on the back?

yes. on the side/back of the label.

They are very pretty, I like the labels too.

A dampening note, though. If you have only been making soap for a month or so it is problematic to start selling because you don't know what you don't know yet. Whether the formula is a good/safe one, whether the scents (if you use them) will stick, whether the soap will discolor, whether you used the wrong ingredients/techniques/storage environments and they will get DOS, lots of other issues. It is generally recommended here that people soap for a year before they start to sell. I don't know if that specific amount of time is the right one, but I think a month-ish is not.

These are unscented. Playing around with that now. Thanx.
Not really 'my' formula. Gleaned from all the knowledge here. Lard, coconut oil, Olive oil, Sunflower oil, Castor oil, Natural clay, activated carbon, turmeric, coffee for color.

Thanx for all the kind words. Here is my exact recipe:

550g Lard
200g Coconut Oil
200g Olive oil
50g Castor oil.
280 Water
140 lye

Started splitting the Olive oil in half and using 100g High Oleic Sunflower oil.

 

[not_ally]

Your recipe looks really good! And you seem like a really nice person. You probably have made beautiful glass for many years, tried soapmaking as an experienced craftsperson, and had friends/family say "this is amazing, you should sell it!" (the latter happens to almost all of us, I think, as so many soap buyers otherwise only have experience with syndets, not CP).

The problem is that with such little time under your belt you really don't know what will happen with your soap down the line, after it is in the possession of the person who bought it. For example, there are all kinds of ways we know of for DOS (rancidity) to develop, not to mention the ones that we don't understand. Around here, a 4 oz bar of soap sells for $7-$10 at farmer's market/street fairs. Someone who shucks out that kind of money will be really bummed out if their soap starts to develop yucky, bad smelling discoloration and becomes unusable.

And a person who could have become a lifetime buyer of handmade soap will instead warn others never to use the fancy foofoo bars because they are kind of disgusting, definitely not as good as the stuff the big companies sell, even though they cost ten times as much. That hurts all of us who sell or gift soap, we are all ambassadors for the damn stuff because we love it, almost no one gets rich from selling soap.

At this point I have made several hundred batches and things still go wrong that I don't expect for reasons (less frequently these days) that I don't understand. If you're human like the rest of us you'll never get it completely right. But if you're like the rest of us you'll also make more than a few mistakes over the next months, better not to have them on the sales rack.

I really do wish you well and hope you continue to contribute here. I like hearing your "voice", I hope my posts on this thread do not make it seem otherwise.

ETA: d**n, the cussing censor is tough around here! I've never had that bleeped before.

 

[UnScented Arizona]

Your recipe looks really good! And you seem like a really nice person. You probably have made beautiful glass for many years, tried soapmaking as an experienced craftsperson, and had friends/family say "this is amazing, you should sell it!" (the latter happens to almost all of us, I think, as so many soap buyers otherwise only have experience with syndets, not CP).

The problem is that with such little time under your belt you really don't know what will happen with your soap down the line, after it is in the possession of the person who bought it. For example, there are all kinds of ways we know of for DOS (rancidity) to develop, not to mention the ones that we don't understand. Around here, a 4 oz bar of soap sells for $7-$10 at farmer's market/street fairs. Someone who shucks out that kind of money will be really bummed out if their soap starts to develop yucky, bad smelling discoloration and becomes unusable.

And a person who could have become a lifetime buyer of handmade soap will instead warn others never to use the fancy foofoo bars because they are kind of disgusting, definitely not as good as the stuff the big companies sell, even though they cost ten times as much. That hurts all of us who sell or gift soap, we are all ambassadors for the **** stuff because we love it, almost no one gets rich from selling soap.

At this point I have made several hundred batches and things still go wrong that I don't expect for reasons (less frequently these days) that I don't understand. If you're human like the rest of us you'll never get it completely right. But if you're like the rest of us you'll also make more than a few mistakes over the next months, better not to have them on the sales rack.

I really do wish you well and hope you continue to contribute here. I like hearing your "voice", I hope my posts on this thread do not make it seem otherwise.

ETA: d**n, the cussing censor is tough around here! I've never had that bleeped before.

Thanx for the input. Let's try these c$$s words. San Antonio Tejas. Bean and rice. dern. lol.

Yes. experienced crafter is acurate. I'm a hobby guy. I deep dive for years on them. I always try to break even so my hobbies are free for me. Borosicilicate glass making is crazy. Very expensive. Eye protection alone set me back $300. Custom venting system in my garage, cost unknown. lol. It's great for mixing lye tho. Vents all that vapor outside. Luckily, I found a 'patron' that buys all my marbles, so my long term cost is at a break even.

I still have a million questions for all ya'll. Seems like a group live chat would be cool.

$8 to $12 is what people are telling me in my area. My plan is $5. I just want to move it so, I can make more and cover my costs. I also sell caladiums at FM's. My cost per bulb is around $.50 and I sell for $5. People here love to pay $5 for everything. Overhead with soap is cheap compared to glass. I pay $6 to $8 average per oz for colored boro glass. My cost on a marble wine stopper is around $10 and I sell for $40.

We have only seen MP soaps with FO. My goal was to make very clean soap w/out any fragrance for family. People have been wanting to buy my soap and saying they will pay lots more than $5. So, here we go!

 

[Zuleika]

I wanna see the back of the label! Like how do you list ingredients and how the label sticks together at the end.

 

[UnScented Arizona]

I wanna see the back of the label! Like how do you list ingredients and how the label sticks together at the end.

Ok then. Here ya go!

 

[Jorah]

Ok then. Here ya go

I'm starting planning for my first table at a 'semi-public' event* in March or April, about one year after I started my soaping journey, and I hope I can get my labels looking as nice as yours do.

-=-

*meaning we probably know 3/4 of the people at the event; kind of a friends-n-family roll-out of the business at an event my wife's lace guild holds each spring.

 

[UnScented Arizona]

I'm starting planning for my first table at a 'semi-public' event* in March or April, about one year after I started my soaping journey, and I hope I can get my labels looking as nice as yours do.

-=-

*meaning we probably know 3/4 of the people at the event; kind of a friends-n-family roll-out of the business at an event my wife's lace guild holds each spring.

Thank you. I saw these labels on here somewhere and ordered from Amazon. My son is a wiz with printing things. They stick pretty well, even on bars that are too fat to allow the label to stick to itself on the back.

 

[paradisi]

Be aware that colorants, even natural ones, can be allergens & irritants too, so listing them would help people avoid things they can't use.

 

[UnScented Arizona]

Be aware that colorants, even natural ones, can be allergens & irritants too, so listing them would help people avoid things they can't use.

good idea. thanx

 

[AliensrReal]

This is just a personal preference, but I prefer ingredients listed like INCI or FDA cosmetic standards. I just don’t think a lot of people know what saponification is.

 

[TheGecko]

I'm not seeing the name of your company, manufacturing address and weight of soap in ounces/grams on the front of your label.

 

[Ford]

Hi,
The way I approach it. Anything on the inside should be on the label. Sodium Hydroxide "LYE" as well.
there are labels on prominent e-sites. That do not list "LYE" at all. It is on mine. Just seems proper.
I list it as "sodium hydroxide". Does not have the fear/shock value as the word "LYE". Just my $00.02

 

[Vicki C]

Hi,
The way I approach it. Anything on the inside should be on the label. Sodium Hydroxide "LYE" as well.
there are labels on prominent e-sites. That do not list "LYE" at all. It is on mine. Just seems proper.
I list it as "sodium hydroxide". Does not have the fear/shock value as the word "LYE". Just my $00.02

The counterpoint is that the lye is actually gone - it has reacted with the fats and oils to make soap - so saying saponified oils is ok too, I think.