Hello! New, lost and asking questions!

Soapy Frog · Feb 28, 2012

My husband and I have decided to jump into this! We would like to make soaps and candles personal use, gifts and eventually perhaps - a very, very small business.

We have odered a few books on the topic and while we await their arrival to our door we would like to find out more about starter kits! we are dedicated to the job, we just don't know the tools!

Looking for advice on starting points. best websites for kits, supplies, I would like to get a pretty good kit right off the bat. And it needsw to be able to be mailed as we are not currently in the US. if it matters, our ideal soaps are the "earthy block, rugged sided " looking kind you find at little coutry stores and small independant shops, and boutiques. We have no interest in the making art sculptures, just good earthy, possibly organic soap and Candles as well.
Hello again, and thank you in advance for your ideas!

maya · Feb 28, 2012

have fun! let us know when your ready to sell. five years and 5,000 batches and you might be near!

great to meet you!

Hazel · Feb 28, 2012

Welcome!

To answer your questions would take pages. :lol:

I recommend you check out http://www.millersoap.com/. It covers the basics and will answer a lot. You can also pour yourself a cup of your favorite beverage and start reading through the CP section. You'll find tons of helpful info. You might find this thread informative since at some point you may open a business.

http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17621

Soapqueentv has videos on soap making on youtube. I've found them helpful, too. http://www.youtube.com/user/soapqueentv

As for starter kits, I know they're available but I don't know which sites have the best deal. You could google for soap starter kits and also look through the Shopping Recommendations subforum for different suppliers.

I hope this helps you get started.

IrishLass · Feb 29, 2012

Welcome!

What kind of soap are you interested in making- i.e. melt and pour, or lye-based soap (CP and HP)? Melt and pour is pretty easy and straightforward, although with a little extra bit of know-how and practice, you can do some pretty darn fancy and creative things with it to make some awesome looking soap.

Lye-based soap on the other hand (CP and/or HP), is more difficult and requires a deeper level of research. In other words- it's not something one can just jump into without some serious thought. On the surface, the basic mechanics of it are easy enough (lye + water + oil = soap), but there's so much more to it than that, and so many variables to take into consideration and balance out in order to make really good soap as opposed to just soap, and to avoid potential problems. For example, since you'll be making the soap completely from scratch, it truly helps to know some basic things about the different fatty acids of oils and fats and what they each contribute to a good, balanced soap formula so that your soap does not come out too drying or too soft and oily. And you'll need to know about superfatting so that your soap does not come out lye-heavy, or come down with DOS (rancidity) at the other end of the spectrum. And then there's the whole subject of gelled soap vs ungelled soap, not to mention ashing, possible seizing, separation, and overheating issues, and all the safety precautions one needs to take when working with lye. It's truly enough to make one's head spin! :lol:

So, if lye-based soaps are on your agenda, I would take your time and read, read, read all you can in the CP section starting all the way back with the earliest threads and working your way forward, and take as many notes as you can before attempting to make your first batch.

You mentioned kits. Brambleberry is a great company and has some nice kits (both melt & pour and lye-based CP kits): http://www.brambleberry.com/Soap-Kits-C127.aspx

It's not a bad idea at all to start with a kit to get the feel of things, but whatever you do, don't let the kit take the place of good research.

IrishLass