Hi! A few newby quetions

[dagmar88]

Hi everyone

since i'm not able to work because of an chronical illness, i diceded wanted to do something with my life and not sit at home in front of the tv all day... :wink: feeling sorry for yourself is sometimes needed, but doesn't bring you further in life.
my only option is to'be 'selfemployed' cause people see a happy young girl on the outside, but cannot see what lies beneath that. Therefore they tend to ask me to do more than i can handle; and i wish i could do all those things, so normally i'd go with it and after a few months have a major breakdown. So i need to do things in my own pace, and everything be allright; a little slower, but that doesn;t bother my anymore.
Also, my boyfriend is very suppertive and thats means a lot :!: plus he likes the smell of boiling hp soap and is always walking in my path to sniff

i really like making soap and have done it a couple of times now. altough where i live molds and ingredients are either not even existing or they have ENORMOUS prices.
I'm planning to start a semi professional buisiness, whitch means for me and in this country, that soap making is seen as a hobby and you don't have to pay taxes as long as you are not making big bugs. So to begin that's really handy: and when i see all of paul's hadcrafted things, i think i've got a loooot of 'investments' to do haha

i've been doing research now for almost half a year, and there are some things i just can't seem to figure out.

it would be wonderful to have a 'baby' section, but opinions seem to differ a lot.
some actually advertise their soaps WITH EO's as healing diaper rashes
and some say that's harmfull to the baby. I'd just really like to know your opinion, since some of you have such a lot of knowledge. i do believe in the healing properties of EO's and am getting familiar with them, but better be cautius... i've got 3 pregnant friends, who i'd like to give some of my products, and i really want to keep them friends :wink: seriously, harming a baby is awfull.
so here they come:
:arrow: from what age off is it responsible to wash a child with soap?
(what i had in mind is CP soap made with 100% olive oil and no additives; so that breast feeding mummy's can use it also)
:arrow: i've read a lot about bathtee's and bathoils for infants, but these all contain EO's (lavender, chamomille)
Could this be harmfull in a concentration under 0.5 % in a normal baby bath?
:arrow: Baby balms contain the same EO's, or at least almost every single one i've seen so far, since this is not a rinse off product, from what age would it be safe, or is it safe at all? and in what concentration? Would a basicly good recepe work without those oils?
:arrow: are phtalates free synthetic scents harmfull for a baby or young child?

then something different, i've seen recepes and people selling soap shavings do do washes with; i've noticed they all contain soda:
:arrow: do they work
:arrow: because of the soda, are they ok to whas your colored clothes with?

thanks for taking the time for readingthis anyway, made it a bit to long i think
XXX Dagmar

 

[carebear]

I don't want to discourage you, but if stress and responsibility are what causes your breakdown I'm not sure starting a business is a good option. Because your customers don't want to go at your pace - they want things NOW. If your products are not consistently available it's very difficult to build or hold onto a clientele. It is FAR more stressful than going into the office for my day job. Am I being clear?

Starting a business is the hardest thing I've ever done, and I've not even started selling yet!

Regarding the safety of scents (EOs and FOs) on babies, I recommend not using them. Some are probably fine but who knows. Many folks use lavender on babies, but what the safe level is I couldn't tell you. Phathalates - that's a made up issue because that's the name of a family of chemicals.the harmful ones are NOT in fragrance oils. People don't seem to want to understand this though.

Castile (100% olive oil) soaps are the mildest, supposedly, but will sting the eyes terribly and I personally recommend not using it on new babies. In fact unless you come across a MAJOR mess I recommend one doesn't use soap on a baby till they are at least old enough to sit.

Regarding your "soda" questions I simply do not understand what you mean.

 

[dagmar88]

hi carebear, thanks for your answers;
there are so many things on the internet that sometimes you just don't know what to make of it.
i do realise it's hard work; i've been busy for months now, before i'm even able to start. here the market is not so big; and i'm certainly able to have a constant availability :wink: thanks you for you concern.
dagmar

 

[MikeInPdx]

then something different, i've seen recepes and people selling soap shavings do do washes with; i've noticed they all contain soda:
:arrow: do they work
:arrow: because of the soda, are they ok to whas your colored clothes with?

thanks for taking the time for readingthis anyway, made it a bit to long i think
XXX Dagmar

Yes they do fine for normal soil in soft or softened water. I use exclusively soap for all of our laundry now, and love it. With hard water, you need to add a softener (borax, washing soda, or White King Water Softener) and dissolve it BEFORE you add the soap or you will get scum. 1/4 cup vinegar in the rinse also keeps things clean.

Just don't do it with baby clothes....natural soap can damage flame retardent fabrics.

Yes....they're safe for colors. Powdered laundry detergents now all contain washing soda since phosphates have been restricted.

 

[dagmar88]

thank you mike, your information has been very helpfull!