Hi ya :)

[nogud247]

Hi I'm nogud. I have never made soap but I'm going to. I'm a father of 3, I work full time and run a non-profit, that's why I'm going to start making soap. I think it'll sell well at the local fair and the profits will go towards keeping the charity running another year. I make candy for fun. I'm a geek. Ask anything.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Welcome to the forum.

I am sorry, but I have to say that, if you have never made soap before, why are you planning on selling it? It's like someone who has never driven deciding that they will be a taxi driver - it might turn out that they hate driving!

If you want to make soap, make soap for that reason and see what comes. If you need to make money, make money from something that you already know. Getting to know enough about soap to give your customers a product and service that they deserve will take at least a year - at least.

 

[shunt2011]

Hi and Welcome to the soapmaking world.

I have to agree with TEG on this. If you haven't made soap yet please don't think about selling it anytime soon. You need to try many, many recipes and test them after a good cure. Then have others test them out. I, personally was soaping over a year before I even thought about selling. Even now, I go back and look at some of my bars and I have progressed even more since starting to sell. And soap can take anywhere from 4-6 weeks up to 6 months to a year. Totally depends on the recipe you are using. You certainly don't want to sell something subpar that hasn't been tested.

Make soap, have fun and enjoy the ride.

 

[nogud247]

Thank you for the feedback. I do understand what you are saying. I have a pretty good knowledge of how it all works and have been investigating for years. I've just now decided to pull the trigger. If I'm not proud of what I produce I will never sell it of course. I'm pretty smart and lucky however so I guess we will see.

Also everyone loves my beer, candy, candles, food, jams, scarves, bracelets ect. Like I said I'm lucky

 

[cmzaha]

I have to commend you on your organization/ fundraiser and fully understand why you want to make soap to sell. But luck really has nothing to do with soapmaking, time, testing etc make the difference. My suggestion would be to purchase a quality m&p base from WSP, Essentials by Catalina or New Directions Aromatics and make some nice m&p bars to sell while you are working on cp testing and curing. Problems with rushing cp soapmaking is you really do not have the experience to know what a good or poor bar is. Many factors come into play when making soap.

Using a quality m&p soap is much nicer for children and if you do nice children shapes you may be suprised how many you sell. Lego type molds are available and children really like them. Maybe make some nice shapes geared to kids and some nice bars for the adults. There is absolutely nothing wrong with m&p and is much more gentle for children to use. Do not buy craft store m&p it is really not nice stuff. This way you could be selling in a few days while you are perfecting your handmade soap.
I am not trying to get into a long "don't sell to soon", discussion just adding in another plan. A lot of people actually prefer m&p aka glycerin aka transparent soap. Many good wishes to your and your fundraiser.

Your little guy looks great. What a rough start for him, he has gone through more than most adults go through in a lifetime. It is so amazing how resilient children are.

 

[not_ally]

I agree w/Carolyn. Unless you are selling to a "natural everything" crowd, eg, no fragrance, no color, no non-natural additives at all (in which case you generally have to use CP), I'd go w/MP. Learning curve is much shorter, the soaps are ready immediately, many people find them more conventionally attractive, and they seem to do better w/scent retention. Plus, as Carolyn pointed out, you can do great soaps for kids fairly easily.

 

[kumudini]

I have to commend you on your organization/ fundraiser and fully understand why you want to make soap to sell. But luck really has nothing to do with soapmaking, time, testing etc make the difference. My suggestion would be to purchase a quality m&p base from WSP, Essentials by Catalina or New Directions Aromatics and make some nice m&p bars to sell while you are working on cp testing and curing. Problems with rushing cp soapmaking is you really do not have the experience to know what a good or poor bar is. Many factors come into play when making soap.

Using a quality m&p soap is much nicer for children and if you do nice children shapes you may be suprised how many you sell. Lego type molds are available and children really like them. Maybe make some nice shapes geared to kids and some nice bars for the adults. There is absolutely nothing wrong with m&p and is much more gentle for children to use. Do not buy craft store m&p it is really not nice stuff. This way you could be selling in a few days while you are perfecting your handmade soap.
I am not trying to get into a long "don't sell to soon", discussion just adding in another plan. A lot of people actually prefer m&p aka glycerin aka transparent soap. Many good wishes to your and your fundraiser.

Your little guy looks great. What a rough start for him, he has gone through more than most adults go through in a lifetime. It is so amazing how resilient children are.

Wonderful advise. If I were in your shoes, I would follow this.
Carolyn, thank you. Your post alerted me to the fact that there is more to the first post than what my quick glancing over told me. It's always wonderful to know about people who when faced with curve balls life threw at them, they instead choose to hit a home run. Very inspirational. Very cute little fella!

 

[nogud247]

Thank you all very much for the advice. I have done Melt & pour before so I probably will make some of those that's a great idea. I am still going to make cp soap as well though and maybe next year I'll have product worth selling. To me it's science and that's what I wanna do when I grow up.

My son is awesome because of him I have become awesome. We do not keep any of the funds raised we put it all back into the area to make it easier for kids with the same condition.

 

[cmzaha]

Thank you all very much for the advice. I have done Melt & pour before so I probably will make some of those that's a great idea. I am still going to make cp soap as well though and maybe next year I'll have product worth selling. To me it's science and that's what I wanna do when I grow up.

My son is awesome because of him I have become awesome. We do not keep any of the funds raised we put it all back into the area to make it easier for kids with the same condition.

I certainly agree you should continue with your cp making and learning. It can be a nice addition to your fundraiser. But do go with m&p until you are ready to sell cp.
I am sure God blessed with this child knowing you would take wonderful care of him. Special people get special children

 

[Dorymae]

Welcome! I'm glad you understand the learning curve to CP soap making. I'm sure you will find a lot of good information here including information on lye calculators (get really familiar with them and find one you like), some good basic recipes to get you started, and some really awesome links to videos and other soaping blogs. When you are ready to make your first batch be sure to take some pictures. We love pictures, and remember not to judge your soap to harshly until it is at least 4-8 week old.

Again welcome to the forum.