greetings from Texas

[fredntan]

I made my 3rd batch of soap today! I am hooked. Made my first batch in August after I read a great book from library...ordered the lye from amazon. found palm oil at my local krogers....Its red though... so soap has a orange color. We have a closeout grocery store where I find oils much cheaper....They had EO recently much cheaper...Seems I had much of the soap making stuff allready.

What the heck do I do with all this soap I have?
I think I am making cold process soap? I have also watched a lot of you tube videos. figured out the soap calc and how to calculate to fill up my mold I got off amazon.
I added some red clay to one of the batches. also used some walnut oil I got at that crazy discount grocery store. I printed off the recipes. and wrote down how much and which EO I added.

my dog is my avatar

 

[lsg]

Welcome to the forum. Make sure you run any recipes through a reliable soap calculator before making. Sometime a printing or publishing error can occur and it doesn't take much time to double check with a lye calculator.

 

[AliOop]

Welcome! It does sound like you are hooked.

May I make a suggestion? Since you are buying close-out oils, they are probably less than fresh and may be tending towards rancidity. This is especially true for certain oils that aren't as shelf-stable as others. Since rancid oils can contribute to rancid soap, you might want to by some rosemary oleoresin (ROE) to add to the oils to keep them fresh longer, and also keep them in the fridge. We have some very helpful threads here about how to use ROE; only tiny amounts are needed, so don't be put off by the steep price for a small bottle. It will last a looooong time!

Regarding the over-abundance of soap, I put mine in zip-lock baggies and donate them to the local homeless shelter, along with a printed sheet of paper that lists all possible ingredients used in the different soaps. That helps folks who might have allergies to avoid using the soap and potentially having a bad reaction. My husband normally delivers the soap to them, and says that their eyes light up when they see him coming. It's a wonderful feeling that I get to enjoy creating the soap, and it is also going to a worthy cause.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Welcome to the forum!

I have to say, whenever I read the word "Texas" in my head it's the way that William Shatner's character in Miss Congeniality says it

 

[Cat&Oak]

Welcome Fred! ❤

 

[TheGecko]

Welcome to the rabbit hole.

I donate my excess soap to the local homeless shelter...I cut the bars in half and put half in ziplock bags with washcloths and the other half in a box. The shelter has my information along with a list of ingredients. I also donate fully wrapped bars with ingredients label to the local food bank or to domestic violence shelters (men and woman).

You want to be very careful about buying "discounted" oils...oils and butters have 'shelf lives' and using oils/butters past their prime can result in rancid soap. Also, you have to be careful that the "Olive Oil" you're buying really is 100% Olive Oil and not a blend of a little bit of Olive Oil and Canola Oil.

And you want to be very, VERY careful when it comes to buying Essential Oils. Not being very knowledgeable about EOs, I do know enough that when I do use them, I purchase only from reputable soap suppliers and to follow safe usage guidelines to the gram.

 

[fredntan]

My soap smells so good!!

Can one also grate extra soap up and try it in washing machine?? Its a newer HE model... Moving my EO s to fridge now.

I have a big aloe vera plant now inside due to winter coming. going to freeze some of its pulp for soap. I saw a youtube on that.

Youll would not recommend beginning to sell soap until one has been doing this probably a year or so?
Thanks for the idea to donate soap with labels of course.

 

[Catscankim]

Welcome to the forum!!

 

[ResolvableOwl]

Welcome to SMF, @fredntan !

found palm oil at my local krogers....Its red though... so soap has a orange color

Red palm oil is indeed great stuff. I think of it as a “seasoning” (for the eye) rather than a base oil. Orange soap is nice (though it limits you which colours you can achieve with colourants), the yellow lather is stunning, but less so that it stains. If you want to use palm oil in recipes without these limitations, you hardly get around ordering it from soapmaking/cosmetics suppliers.

What the heck do I do with all this soap I have?

This is a good question.

 

[AliOop]

Can one also grate extra soap up and try it in washing machine?? Its a newer HE model...

Maybe, maybe not. For soap that will be used in a washing machine, especially HE, it should be low-sudsing (or be a low percentage of the recipe if it is high-sudsing), have zero or even negative super-fat, and be mixed with some other ingredients (typically washing soda and borax). You will also want to wash in hot water, or at least pre-dissolve the soap in a bit of hot water before adding it to the machine.

I recommend using the Search function at the top of the page to find the laundry soap threads that will give more recipe details, and explain the pros and cons of homemade laundry soap. Notice I said "laundry soap" and not "laundry detergent" - those are not the same thing. You can read more about that in the threads, too.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I personally think that selling soap before a year is a bad idea. Not to mention that almost no other hobby gets monetised to cover the cost of it. If you're going to the cinema too much that it's costing you too much money, you don't become a film critic, but you either go less or accept the cost. Soaping is no different - if you can't afford to make so many batches and give the soap away, maybe make fewer and smaller batches?

 

[TheGecko]

Youll would not recommend beginning to sell soap until one has been doing this probably a year or so?

My story...did a heck of a lot of research when I decided I wanted to make soap. Spent hundreds of hours watching YouTube videos, read hundreds of articles, researched the history of soap making (artesian and commercial), collected as many recipes. Made my first soap in June, was selling soap at a craft fair in November. It should be noted that I hadn't planned on selling soap at all, it just came about.

So anyhoo...had a blast at the craft fairs, sold a good 50 bars, was asked to participate in other craft fairs...I said no. Not because I didn't have enough soap (though that is what I said), but simply because I wasn't ready to sell soap because all the research aside and the several hundreds of bars of soap I had made...I realized that I really didn't know all that much about soap making.

That was two years ago and I have only recently felt that I am ready to sell to the public (which is not to say that I haven't been selling soap...friends, family, co-workers, and I have a wholesale account), but to sell soap to complete strangers???? Anyone can follow a recipe and still not know how to cook. And if you don't know how to cook, how do you know what the problem is if something goes wrong or how to potentially fix it? It's the same way with making soap...what do you do if your batter starts to 'rice', do you even know what causes it? Do you know the difference between emulsion and trace and why it's important? What is the difference between the various oils and butters and how do they contribute to your final product? Will you be advertising how moisturizing your soap is and how great it is for acne and eczema?

A lot of the mistakes I made I shouldn't have made, but I was in such a hurry to 'sell my soap'. Did you know that soap can shattered? It was the result of adding three tablespoons of dry TD to 33 oz of oils. But I was in a hurry and didn't realize that I was supposed to disperse 1 tea of TD in one tablespoon of water and then add 1 teaspoons of dispersed TD at a time. I will say that it was a beautiful white soap with a loverly orange layer and a pretty orange mica drizzel. LOL

I have two bars of soap that sit on my desk...one is the second bar I made, the second is from a year later. Both are made from the same recipe, but there is a marked contrast in the color and texture of the soaps. I have no doubt that if I were to add a recent soap, there would also be a difference.

The thing about soap making...you really have to make soap to understand how it is made. And you need to make soap every week at least to get to know how to make your soap so that it is constant...whether you are using 8 oz of oils or 80 ounces.

Then there is the business end...of running a business. Soap making is not cheap...I've spent around $4k over the last 2 1/2 years and I've been fairly measured about it. My soaping cart (aka rolling kitchen island) was my biggest single purchase, but it was measured too...if I decided to quit make soap, I can still use it in the kitchen. Same with the two shelving units, shelves, rack and drawers...all easily repurposed. Some of my mold purchases didn't work out which is why I only bought one or two at a time and most of them were purchased on sale. I'm still using the same Stick Blender and Scale. The only reason why I have a single-bar soap cutter is because I lucked out with someone selling theirs...elsewise I'd still be using my modified cheese slicer. But a good $3k...that's mainly base ingredients 'cuz I have made a lot of soap over the last 2 1/2 years.

Figure that you're going to spend a grand your first year on R&D (that's what I budgeted). Then you're going to need a business name and you're going to want to register it and you are going to need a website so folks can order soap or you can do markets and there is more expense there. And there is packing and labels and office supplies and don't forget insurance. Figure that it's going to take a good four years before you start seeing black ink.

 

[Becky1024]

My soap smells so good!!

Can one also grate extra soap up and try it in washing machine?? Its a newer HE model... Moving my EO s to fridge now.

I have a big aloe vera plant now inside due to winter coming. going to freeze some of its pulp for soap. I saw a youtube on that.

Youll would not recommend beginning to sell soap until one has been doing this probably a year or so?
Thanks for the idea to donate soap with labels of course.

Assuming your soap has some superfat in it I would not recommend using it in your washer. It will either leave oil spots on your clothes or will put kind of a water resistant coating on them.

 

[fredntan]

It's decided! I certainly don't want to be in the soap selling biz .....

Just want to enjoy my new hobby..

I do have a dog to raise

 

[Johnez]

I personally think that selling soap before a year is a bad idea. Not to mention that almost no other hobby gets monetised to cover the cost of it. If you're going to the cinema too much that it's costing you too much money, you don't become a film critic, but you either go less or accept the cost. Soaping is no different - if you can't afford to make so many batches and give the soap away, maybe make fewer and smaller batches?

With YouTube one *can* become a YouTube critic, heck that platform has spawned the game walk through genre. I agree on the whole though, small batching is the path.

Anyway, welcome fredntan, this is a huge hobby that will instantly hook you and give you years of exploration. Quite a few avenues to walk through and rabbit holes to drop in. I came in as a wetshaver with the express purpose of making a killer shave soap-8 months later still working on that but now planning a hanger swirl, embeds, clear soap....oh so much to try! Lots of oils and fats, additives, options everywhere for those not interested in aesthetics. Anyway, I hope you enjoy your stay, I recommend playing with the search function and if you haven't tried SoapMakingFriend calc I suggest you check it out. Great functionality, user friendly, and you can save recipes.

 

[fredntan]

Hi me again!

I am down the soap making hole...
I found a nice charity to gift my soap to.....I do want to label it up....I am researching labels.

I am interested in soaps for people like me. I have metastatic breast cancer. Our skin can be dry....I did a super fat of 5% on my 2nd and 3rd batch.....

I have been giving them to friends and kids...only 2 kids though....

When I make my labels do give to the charity...I want the recipients to evaluate the soap....do I start a new email just for soap?
Do I put a disclaimer on these first batches? They are going to a charity for new mothers....so children will likely be using.

I one day....want to sell the soap with Metavivor getting most of the proceeds....metavivor is the only MBC organization run by survivors....that gives all the money towards mbc research...

It us a shock to most to learn that the big komen gives very little to research....

In general is coconut oil drying?

I read about adding castor oil to make soap more moistureizing...

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

Fredntan Hello & Welcome
Prayers & Blessings for a complete remission from MBC . Your gonna create a wonderful soap that is gonna be perfect for many ppl especially women one Day. Enjoy your journey don't be in a big hurry' it takes time & a whole lotta trials & error' but w/ each you will learn from.
Happy Soaping Dear