How long to cure before you can label & bag?

[tammywolfe]

Hi soapers, I'm a newbie and have a couple questions. I've been making soap like crazy for a couple weeks and I have racks of curing soap covering just about every horizontal surface in my house. I'm wondering how horrible it would be to label these bars and put them in paper bags to finish curing so I can free up some space. Most of the bars feel pretty hard, there are a few batches that do not, and those I'd leave be until they get harder (hopefully they will!), but for the hard bars can I label and bag them?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Editing to clarify that by "newbie" I mean new to the soaping business. I've been obsessed with studying, testing, researching, note-taking, learning the legalities, etc. since last summer - trying to decide if this is something I want to commit to as a business endeavor. A couple months ago I finally decided to dive into this completely and start selling soap. The batches I've made in the past were small. Now I'm making large batches and preparing to sell them.

My labels are paper bands, so I'm wondering if anyone has labeled their soap before they are fully cured. And can you store them in paper bags before the 4-6 weeks is up if they are hard?

 

[Robbiegirl]

I am new, actually only have made one batch.
I do believe you have to let them open up to air to harden and cure and only after you have used and tried one should you really be selling them.
Maybe I am wrong ... but you might want to hold a bar for a few months first to make sure the recipe is good and all is ok with the soap before you sell it.
That is what I am doing ...

 

[tammywolfe]

I'm only asking about labeling and bagging, not selling. I made some to test months ago. Just decided to start selling recently, thus the abundant supply.

 

[Robbiegirl]

I'm only asking about labeling and bagging, not selling. I made some to test months ago. Just decided to start selling recently, thus the abundant supply.

Oh, congratulations.. I cant wait until I am there one day. Good luck to you...

 

[newbie]

If you are doing cigar band labels, I would wait. The bars will continue to shrink quit a bit after 4 weeks and you'll end up with very loose labels. I would bag them and put an identifier in the bag, but label later. I guess it depends on how quickly you think you'll sell them. If possible, I would label as close to sale as possible, but this would depend a lot of how much turn-over you have and the briskness of your sales.

 

[tammywolfe]

If you are doing cigar band labels, I would wait. The bars will continue to shrink quit a bit after 4 weeks and you'll end up with very loose labels. I would bag them and put an identifier in the bag, but label later. I guess it depends on how quickly you think you'll sell them. If possible, I would label as close to sale as possible, but this would depend a lot of how much turn-over you have and the briskness of your sales.

Thank you, that's what I needed to know.

 

[IrishLass]

Hello Tammy, and welcome to the forum.

At the risk of sounding redundant, Newbie is right- packaging too soon means that you will have to repackage later due to shrinkage.

I'm very happy to see that you've putting some thought and research into the craft. Too many who are new to soaping tend to jump right into selling without having a good understanding of the craft and all of its idiosyncrasies- from the simplest things, such as shrinkage- to the things that can and do go wrong with soap over the months after unmolding it- DOS/rancidity, scent fading, color morphing, warping, etc... I always say that one should really have all their ducks in a row for about 1 year before even deciding to sell lye-based soap, not only for the seller's protection, but especially for the customer's protection, seeing as how it is just one of those products that doesn't take kindly to being rushed, much like a fine wine or a well-aged cheese.

If you haven't done so already, here is a thread we like to invite our new members to read before deciding to sell. It's very informative and covers many questions that may not have even been considered, and will help to prepare you for the road ahead: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=17621


IrishLass

 

[tammywolfe]

Hello Tammy, and welcome to the forum.

At the risk of sounding redundant, Newbie is right- packaging too soon means that you will have to repackage later due to shrinkage.

I'm very happy to see that you've putting some thought and research into the craft. Too many who are new to soaping tend to jump right into selling without having a good understanding of the craft and all of its idiosyncrasies- from the simplest things, such as shrinkage- to the things that can and do go wrong with soap over the months after unmolding it- DOS/rancidity, scent fading, color morphing, warping, etc... I always say that one should really have all their ducks in a row for about 1 year before even deciding to sell lye-based soap, not only for the seller's protection, but especially for the customer's protection, seeing as how it is just one of those products that doesn't take kindly to being rushed, much like a fine wine or a well-aged cheese.

If you haven't done so already, here is a thread we like to invite our new members to read before deciding to sell. It's very informative and covers many questions that may not have even been considered, and will help to prepare you for the road ahead: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=17621


IrishLass

Thank you IrishLass. I actually did read that post a while back and it was very helpful and informative. (I've been lurking here long before I joined.)

I've owned my own business for 11 years, so the business end of things is not so new to me. However, the technical end has taken much study. I'm constantly learning something with every new batch. I think that's part of what draws me to this craft, it's like a new adventure with every recipe.

I will refrain from labeling until I'm ready to sell. There is really no need to do so anyway, I just needed to save space and if I can put them in bags that will help. I'll just put the labels with them and apply when it's time to sell. Thanks again for your advice.