How do you label your soaps?

[Iveta Pelá]

How do you label your soaps? I mean, for example, when you have several soaps ready, so that you know which is which and according to which recipe, and how much soap according to this recipe? Is there a system that is used? I'm thinking about how to arrange this.

 

[not_ally]

I create a word document for each one where the title includes the date, FO, shorthand for oil mix and the mold. This way I can quickly narrow it down by looking at the title in my (eg) Soaps 2023 desktop folder without opening the document. So for example 11-12-23 BB TBL T&SM LACC means:

Nov. 12, 2023, Brambleberry Tabacco Bay Leaf FO, Tall&Skinny Mold, Lard Coconut Avocado Castor oils.

In the document I have all the details of the soap, most importantly for identification purposes, a photo. I also cut and paste the recipe from soapcalc, and include all details of the soap, including names and amounts of additives (usually sorbitol, sodium lactate, edta, sometimes milks, honey, colloidal oatmeal, etc.), Specific details about the colorants - brand, blends, rough amounts, etc. Usually the design, the strategy if it is a complicated design and (eg) I need to work fast with some parts or slower with others, and the order in which they are done.

Basically all the stuff I do in advance to plan the soap that's not included in the formula. If I don't include all that stuff I will 100% forget something during the process of making the soap.

After I make the soap I go back and quickly note anything which went wrong or not as expected. Then after I cut I make notes on how the design/appearance ended up and if I would change anything. Finally, if I remember, I try to check whether or not the FO sticks over time, and if there is discoloration, and make notes on that.

It may sound a bit much, but it is part of the learning process for me, but it is really useful when trying to improve things/figure out what went wrong, and I like having such a concrete record of my soaping journey.

 

[Iveta Pelá]

I create a word document for each one where the title includes the date, FO, shorthand for oil mix and the mold. This way I can quickly narrow it down by looking at the title in my (eg) Soaps 2023 desktop folder without opening the document. So for example 11-12-23 BB TBL T&SM LACC means:

Nov. 12, 2023, Brambleberry Tabacco Bay Leaf FO, Tall&Skinny Mold, Lard Coconut Avocado Castor oils.

In the document I have all the details of the soap, most importantly for identification purposes, a photo. I also cut and paste the recipe from soapcalc, and include all details of the soap, including names and amounts of additives (usually sorbitol, sodium lactate, edta, sometimes milks, honey, colloidal oatmeal, etc.), Specific details about the colorants - brand, blends, rough amounts, etc. Usually the design, the strategy if it is a complicated design and (eg) I need to work fast with some parts or slower with others, and the order in which they are done.

Basically all the stuff I do in advance to plan the soap that's not included in the formula. If I don't include all that stuff I will 100% forget something during the process of making the soap.

After I make the soap I go back and quickly note anything which went wrong or not as expected. Then after I cut I make notes on how the design/appearance ended up and if I would change anything. Finally, if I remember, I try to check whether or not the FO sticks over time, and if there is discoloration, and make notes on that.

It may sound a bit much, but it is part of the learning process for me, but it is really useful when trying to improve things/figure out what went wrong, and I like having such a concrete record of my soaping journey.

Thanks for sharing your experience. After making a few soaps where some soap goes through the gel process and others don't, some soap has other ingredients and I want to start experimenting with color. That's a lot of variables and I'm starting to feel the need to create some sort of system.

 

[glendam]

After experimenting, I settled with one recipe and I masterbatch the oils for it, about 400 oz at a time. Anytime I make a soap I copy this recipe in the lye calculator (I use lyecalc), adjust the oils amount, and save it under a unique name (usually after the fragrance or main decoration). I write the fragrance, colorants, mold and additives in this page, so when I am ready to label I can refer to it. If I do not write these details when planning the soap, I hand write them in the print out, and later type it in.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I create a word document for each one where the title includes the date, FO, shorthand for oil mix and the mold. This way I can quickly narrow it down by looking at the title in my (eg) Soaps 2023 desktop folder without opening the document. So for example 11-12-23 BB TBL T&SM LACC means:

Nov. 12, 2023, Brambleberry Tabacco Bay Leaf FO, Tall&Skinny Mold, Lard Coconut Avocado Castor oils.

In the document I have all the details of the soap, most importantly for identification purposes, a photo. I also cut and paste the recipe from soapcalc, and include all details of the soap, including names and amounts of additives (usually sorbitol, sodium lactate, edta, sometimes milks, honey, colloidal oatmeal, etc.), Specific details about the colorants - brand, blends, rough amounts, etc. Usually the design, the strategy if it is a complicated design and (eg) I need to work fast with some parts or slower with others, and the order in which they are done.

Basically all the stuff I do in advance to plan the soap that's not included in the formula. If I don't include all that stuff I will 100% forget something during the process of making the soap.

After I make the soap I go back and quickly note anything which went wrong or not as expected. Then after I cut I make notes on how the design/appearance ended up and if I would change anything. Finally, if I remember, I try to check whether or not the FO sticks over time, and if there is discoloration, and make notes on that.

It may sound a bit much, but it is part of the learning process for me, but it is really useful when trying to improve things/figure out what went wrong, and I like having such a concrete record of my soaping journey.

I do exactly the same. All documents go into my soap folder along with a PDF of the recipe that was used (or if it's my regular recipe I just write 'regular recipe' on the word doc) and then any additives, amounts of FOs or EOs, colours used, difficulties faced while soaping, etc.

 

[Blufuz]

Whenever I make a batch, even if it’s the same recipe as before, I write it out in a page in a notebook, with dates, comments, etc. I then give the soap a unique memorable name, like “save the planet”, “mirobilia”, “apple pie” that evokes some aspect of the soap, and put a sticky note with the name and batch date under the soap while it cures. If it’s identical to a previous batch, I’ll just give it the same name. More often than not, I did a variant of a recipe, so I’ll indicate in the notebook what the original recipe was. For new recipes, when I finally get to try the soap, if I like it, I’ll transcribe the recipe to OneNote, if I don’t, I’ll indicate in a spreadsheet the recipe and what I didn’t like. When I give the soaps out, I label them with these names, so that people can tell me which they liked, although in the end they just describe the color and scent.

I have little enough soap production that this is enough.

 

[TheGecko]

How do you label your soaps? I mean, for example, when you have several soaps ready, so that you know which is which and according to which recipe, and how much soap according to this recipe? Is there a system that is used? I'm thinking about how to arrange this.

Even though I MasterBatch, I print out my Recipe with notes and then I write the date and stick it in my notebook. I then make up an index card with the name and date of the soap and tape it to the mold. Then when I unmold and cut, the index card goes under the row of soap, under the freezer paper so when I go to package it, I don't forget what I made.

 

[BritS]

I’m have a master copy of each formulation in a binder that I’ve ever made for reference. I’ve included notes that I’ve handwritten to remind myself of details I could envision forgetting.

When I use a formulation, I have a book that contains all weights of everything (including the company from which I purchased them for colorants and fragrances), dates, and notes for acceleration and/or ricing. They’re named based on how I title them when they’re sold. (Lemon Cake is my shea bar that uses lemongrass essential oil.) I’ll also include notes that tell me if a fragrance will discolor/accelerate/rice based on other users’ experiences. Every batch gets recorded on its own page, even if I’ve made it 100 times.

When I organize them after cutting, I include a card that states the name, date, and formulation of the batch with it.

 

[Jorah]

I'm doing about 60% of the things recommended here, but as I'm starting to plan production for my first sales, it's clear that I need to take some additional steps. Please forgive me if I use this as a place to think this through...

What I'm doing now

1. I write out each batch's recipe in a Word document ahead of time, checking the formula against at least two (and usually three) lye calculators, although I may just settle on SoapCalc, as the Soapee and SoapCalc numbers are nearly identical and I'm less fond of the HSCG calculator's interface. I'm attaching a PDF printout of the Word document if anyone's interested. The template is a work in progress.
2. I take photos of my soap.
3. I take notes during the work if something unexpected happens.
4. Each batch is segregated on the drying shelves with an ID card.
5. Each batch goes into its own bin with the ID card.

What I need to start doing or get better at

1. I need to get better at taking notes after finishing a batch (and during the cure) & getting those notes into the batch recipe sheet.
2. I need to start adding at least one photo to the batch sheet afterward.
3. I need to print out the SoapCalc recipe sheet to PDF and file it with the batch sheet.
4. I need to start capturing the scent calculation figures.
5. I need to document the vendor or brand of the raw materials. I have oils, lye, colorants, and scents from several vendors... from Walmart to Bulk Apothecary... and have just been using them as they come to hand; narrowing down my ingredient list will help there, too.
6. I need to settle on one or a small number of base recipes.
7. Similarly I need to settle on a couple of standard bar shapes and sizes. My limited tester feedback is hinting that people prefer oval or rectangular bars, and the cubes, square bars, round bars, and fun shapes, while interesting, aren't preferred. I'll likely do small batches with the interesting shapes if I sell in person, as I suspect that things like the elephant or owl bars will slow shoppers down for a look, but for packaging and shipping, I need uniform sizes and weights so that labeling isn't even more of a nightmare.
8. I need to come up with some standardized packages and labels so that I'm not flailing around when it comes to sales/shipping.
9. I need to improve the cleanliness of the workspace; I work in the back room of my basement, which is also my office for WFH, general storage for camping gear and stuff people with garages keep in their garage, my treadmill, and it's where the cats spend the night, so... yeah. Not sure how that's going to be improved, but more-regular cleaning will help.
10. I need to track cost of raw ingredients along with the vendor or brand, as I'll need that for planning later as I (hopefully*) ramp up production.
11. I have my raw materials on shelves and in drawers in my workspace, but it's still chaotic. Time to get serious here (I was trained in the Navy as a stock management specialist; I have no excuse for the chaos).
    

-=-


*always assuming I can sell this stuff and I don't end up eating my words and my startup costs for Crow Feast & ramping back down to making soap just for me...