How Serious Are You About Soap Making?

[SPowers]

Is it just something you do for fun sometimes?
Soaping is something I've wanted to try for years and a few years back I made some melt & pour. It was ok but didn't really do much for me. Covid gave me the opportunity to look into it again and on May of last year I started. It was first to see if I could do it but I got the bug and dove in. I was accumulating a fair bit so I gave some to friends and family. Later, my daughter who is a graphic/web designer and business owner encouraged me to sell and set crafted a web page and designed my labels for me - bonus! I don't sell a ton but any bit that subsidizes my costs is great. But bottom line I do it for fun and because I love it.
Do you just use pots, pans, and utensils you already owned and use for cooking?
I have dedicated equipment and utensils for my soap making. I have a spare room/office/soap storage area that I use and little by little soap has taken it over. I have a murphy bed in there so I can always bring it down for guests which hasn't happened in over a year.
Do you make your soap in your kitchen?
I do make my soap in my kitchen. I live in a small condo with a small U-shaped kitchen. I do have an island that provides added space. I don't mind the smallness as I'm forced to use and put away ingredients as I use them... really quite an efficient process. I mix my lye on my quartz countertop - I masterbatch so am really just pouring the mixture into a smaller container.
Do you like to try things and see how it turns out? Maybe you keep some sort of log of what you've tried -- maybe you don't.
I tried several recipes until I found the one I use for most of my soap. I have some 'specialty' soaps - only special in that they vary from my go-to. Most trials are for design purposes rather than formula.
Do you make soap to give away as gifts?
I gave a lot away in the beginning and I still do for Christmas, Birthday gifts, etc. I often give away a bonus bar to customers who've made a big purchase.
Have you sold a few bar here and there?
Since I've started I've sold about 400 bars - not all sold actually... some gifted, some donated.
Do you keep a careful log of everything you've tried with pictures of and notes about the final product?
I keep a binder with details of every recipe and every soap indicating the design, additives, colours & fragrances, including notes on how the process went - good or bad. I have a picture file with every soap before and after staged as these photos go on the website.
Are you totally into the science and chemistry of soap making?
I am not a sciency type person at all (flunked it in hghschool) but I've learned a ton of stuff just in the research I did before I started. I know just enought to get by - or maybe it's just enough to get me into trouble. Perhaps some of both.
Did you buy all special equipment specifically for making soap that is kept completely separate from all other similar equipment?
I am a kitchen gadget gal so had a lot of stuff I could take from my kitchen but I added to it over time. I have a few purchases molds and several I've made myself. I got a good scale and a good cutter and planer. Everything is separate from kitchen stuff.
Do you have a separate room or even a separate building for making soap?
No... I have a 5 drawer cabinet on wheels that stores most of the small stuff. The closet in my spare room houses the rest of my supplies. The bookcases on either side of the murphy have been relegated to fragrance/essential oils. The opposite side of that has bookcases that I've turned into a place to stage my photos and I've accumulated a box full of 'props' for the photos.
Do you make your living making and selling soap?
Not even close! When I get a number of orders in a row I start to stress a bit. I came to the realization that this is something I love to do but don't really want to do the hard work necessary to make a viable business out of it. When that happened, I breathed a big sign of relief. In a year I've figured out what sells best and I try to keep them stocked well.l Other than that, I make some for various holidays and seasons - if they sell, great - if not, that's ok too!

 

[amd]

I found several of the questions to be duplicates, just asking the same thing in a different way, so I've regrouped some of the questions accordingly.

Is it just something you do for fun sometimes?

It's fun every time I make soap - even the "hot messes" when things don't go according to plan and I leave the room crying. I get over it and marvel that somehow it's still usable soap. When I first started it wasn't for fun, but for necessity, but I quickly found the #soapistherapy joy of it.

Do you just use pots, pans, and utensils you already owned and use for cooking?

Did you buy all special equipment specifically for making soap that is kept completely separate from all other similar equipment?

Nope. I started with a separate new set of everything. Including a crockpot for when I made the short dive into HP and rebatch. I didn't buy it new, but lucked out getting it for free from a thrift store. I happened to be there when it came in and the lady said it was going to the dumpster because they never sell. I told her I would give her $5 for it, she said "take it". It worked well for 3 years, then I dropped the ceramic liner and broke it. When I worked in the kitchen, I had a cart that a neighbor gave me that kept all of my soap ingredients and equipment. I could wheel it in and out of the pantry when I needed it. When I moved to the dining room, I used the built in buffet and bookshelf there for keeping things. So yes, I always kept everything separate, and still do.

Do you make your soap in your kitchen?

Do you have a separate room or even a separate building for making soap?

When I first started, probably the first year was done in my kitchen, but I was only making one batch a month to tweak the recipe. Then I moved to the dining room for more space. I started my business in the dining room for about 6 months before I rearranged my bedroom to create a soap studio in half of it. When we bought a new house 4 years ago, one requirement was that it have a room for my soap. It was smaller than my space at the old house (I went from 200 sq feet to 90 sq feet), but I've learned to be extremely organized because of that. Now I'm just waiting for a kid to move out so that I can move to that room next door, which will give me 3x the room.

Do you like to try things and see how it turns out? Maybe you keep some sort of log of what you've tried -- maybe you don't.

Do you keep a careful log of everything you've tried with pictures of and notes about the final product?

Yes. I have notebooks and binders for keeping notes. I have boxes for keeping experiments and recipe tweaks so I can see how they age. Every year on Jan 1 I go through the box with my notebooks and add comments - especially if something developed DOS. Typically I find this helpful as oil prices change, I usually have an experiment documented for a recipe tweak that will tell me how shelf stable a substitution is. For example, 4 years ago when I looked into switching from OO to RBO, I had a 3 year old bar in the box with the RBO substitution, so I knew it was shelf stable for my recipe. The one thing I wish I was better at is getting pictures.

Do you make soap to give away as gifts?

Not specifically for gifting on a personal level, although I do an annual clean out (see above) and any soaps that are good that I don't need keep will either go to work or go to brew club to give away. I do make a lot of soap for my customers to gift.

Have you sold a few bar here and there?

Hundreds.

Are you totally into the science and chemistry of soap making?

Yes but no. I enjoy reading the science, and I wish I could retain it better, but I don't get myself too worked up about understanding triglycerides etc.

Do you make your living making and selling soap?

I wish! Some day I'd like to get it to the point where I could leave my FT job and add to our income that way, but I have to get my husband on board with managing finances first...

Did you you learn soap making on your own, or did you take a class?

I learned on my own from reading blogs and YT. The first time I made soap I had a friend come over in case I blew myself up, someone would know where all my bits and pieces were...

Did soap making provide you with a wider range of social contacts or network?

Yes! I've made a lot of friends across the world through this forum, and a couple of IRL soapmaking friends. A good network of other crafters from selling at different markets.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

Do you like to try things and see how it turns out? Maybe you keep some sort of log of what you've tried -- maybe you don't.
Do you keep a careful log of everything you've tried with pictures of and notes about the final product?

I like to design things with a pencil on paper. I usually have written logs (recipe, notes about remarkable things going on). Maybe out of boredom or whatever, I started to document things by photographing them. Photographing the pot on the scale while measuring ingredients, photographing different emulsion/trace states, HP cook consistency, pours, swirl designs, arrangements of recipe variations throughout small individual moulds, thermometer readings, etc. Even silly things like photographing the lye calculator results. And of course how colourants/colouration ideas would turn out, and fade over time. Sometimes difficult (I'm actually not overly keen on contaminations of caustic soap batter on my camera, or the old issue of lathering tests with about zero free hands).

This has proven highly valuable more than once for things I wouldn't have thought of in the first place. Brand/best-by dates/lot number of oils, nutritional information (HL vs. HO sunflower, regular vs. zomi palm oil), subsequent correction of imprecisely measured ingredients. And even meta-information like the date of manufacture, or timing how long a swirl took from pot(s) to CPOP – from the file save date/time. Not to speak about the pencil sketches. I have a terrible time to organise such things in a stringent way, but when I take a shot, I can safely dispose of them, knowing they won't pile up, but their information is saved.

Usually I have a log (file) in the directory where I place the photo files, where I'm taking notes, updated infrequently (e. g. performance notes when engaging a soap after cure). Even if I don't have, I will at least have took a shot from the scale or the recipe design memo, and can reconstruct afterwards (sometimes months later).

To address the wording of your question: Yes, I keep a log of many (too many, according to my hard drive) things, the majority in form of photos. I don't know if it qualifies as “careful”, that's a question that usually negates itself when I'm annoyed I did pics of everything but the single thing I'd need afterwards.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I wanna answer again properly now that I see what everyone else has been saying:

Is it just something you do for fun sometimes?
It started out as just for fun and then, well, you know the drill... It's still fun though
Do you just use pots, pans, and utensils you already owned and use for cooking?
I did originally but have developed a stash of soap stuff over time - some stuff is dual purpose
Do you make your soap in your kitchen?
Yes
Do you like to try things and see how it turns out? Maybe you keep some sort of log of what you've tried -- maybe you don't.
Yes quite often - if I see something on you tube in the way of design, or someone on here posts something that i think looks good. I've used various foodstuffs - pureed lychees and pureed passionfruit ( including seeds) more recently
Do you make soap to give away as gifts?
Initially yes, and it is always my go-to when there's a gift required
Have you sold a few bar here and there?
Yes I sell a lot now
Do you keep a careful log of everything you've tried with pictures of and notes about the final product?
Pretty much. I'm not as detailed as some I see on here, but i can replicate if need be
Are you totally into the science and chemistry of soap making?
Yes I do love the science - it keeps my brain active, and I'm not afraid of it. But if it gets too science-y and not enough creative-y then I think I would lose interest. There's a limit.
Did you buy all special equipment specifically for making soap that is kept completely separate from all other similar equipment?
Yes and no - I've adapted/repurposed several things from the kitchen especially for my soap. I have no problems with cross-contamination because lye is not poisonous. I do get annoyed when hubby unstacks the dishwasher and puts MY silicone spatulas into the 'normal' utensils drawer though. Can't he see they're mine??
Do you have a separate room or even a separate building for making soap?
No but I have a spare bedroom where I store everything
Do you make your living making and selling soap?
I supplement my living but don't make enough to leave my day job. I would need to make AND SELL 10 loaves of soap per week to leave my day job. Currently I average about 5 bars per week in sales (so about 5 percent of what I'd need to sell).

 

[Shy1]

Is it just something you do for fun sometimes?

I always do it for fun. Trying new things and learning about them is fun. A new challenge is fun, to me.

Do you just use pots, pans, and utensils you already owned and use for cooking?

Nope. I read a lot and watched a lot of videos before I started. So over time I built up a collection of soap dedicated utensils. My pouring containers I got online after seeing what worked well for others. My mixing bowls and utensils I mostly got at the dollar store. Some items I stole directly from my kitchen and replaced with something new for the kitchen if there was a need.

Do you make your soap in your kitchen?

Yes. The kitchen is the heart of my home and so all my favorite things tend to happen there. I have a workshop in the garage but never use it.

Do you like to try things and see how it turns out? Maybe you keep some sort of log of what you've tried -- maybe you don't.

Yes. Trying something new is what drew me to soap making. I didn't always keep a log because at the beginning I was using the same basic recipe all the time. When I started out making different recipes to achieve an effect then I started taking notes. New recipes I write out on the back of an envelope and some notes. If it's a keeper I'll paste it into my notebook.

Do you make soap to give away as gifts?

yes, I pretty much give it all awayexcept for the failures (ugly not chemistry problems).

Have you sold a few bar here and there?

None. Maybe someday if I'm registered, insured, licensed - know all the laws inside and out and ready to start working on my hobby at the level and in conjunction with my full time job.

Do you keep a careful log of everything you've tried with pictures of and notes about the final product?

everything. One thing I find pretty helpful when learning a new technique is to watch a video of how to do it and from many different sources if possible. Then I will take screen shots of various portions of the video as a visual reference to supplement my notes. After that it's making sure I have the right recipe and FO/EO and colorants. Notes for all of that is helpful. I take pics of my finished bars and send them to my sisters and mom. Even the botched ones. When my soap is cured I let them come take what they like...unless it's a totally new recipe then I test on myself and hubby.

Are you totally into the science and chemistry of soap making?

Well, no. I don't want to be all Miss Science about it but at the end of the day you have to have fundamental knowledge of the science to assure your bars are safe and also to know when things didn't work out what was wrong.

Did you buy all special equipment specifically for making soap that is kept completely separate from all other similar equipment?

I keep my soapy stuff in the spare bedroom in totes. The closet has been converted to a shelf I can put 12 totes on. Each tote has a purpose. One has beading stuff, one has paper and vinyl for die cutting. One has pouring paint stuff. The rest are pretty much all soap stuff. If we have no guests then I have the totes strung around the room and the door shut. If we have guests then I close them all up and put it in the shelves. No room in there for all my oils/butters so I have a different stash for those.

Do you have a separate room or even a separate building for making soap? Answered.

Do you make your living making and selling soap? Nope. But I make my living so I can make soap as a creative outlet. Making soap is good for my soul (and my skin).

 

[Cheeky Goat]

Is it just something you do for fun sometimes?

No- it’s an obsession. I soap weekly, often daily.

Do you just use pots, pans, and utensils you already owned and use for cooking?

No. I have separate specific soap everything.

Do you make your soap in your kitchen?

No. I have my own studio. I started in my kitchen, but quickly outgrew it.

Do you like to try things and see how it turns out? Maybe you keep some sort of log of what you've tried -- maybe you don't.

Yes, and yes. It’s art and fun to me, and that’s the whole point of making soap. To see what I can make.

Do you make soap to give away as gifts?

On occasion.

Have you sold a few bar here and there?

I sell pretty much everything.

Do you keep a careful log of everything you've tried with pictures of and notes about the final product?

Yes and yes.

Are you totally into the science and chemistry of soap making?

Yes. It’s the funnest part to me.

Did you buy all special equipment specifically for making soap that is kept completely separate from all other similar equipment?

Yes.

Do you have a separate room or even a separate building for making soap?

Yes, I have my own studio attached to our home.

Do you make your living making and selling soap?

No, but it pays for the animals feed and itself, plus a few other household bills, and I’m delighted with that.

 

[The_Phoenix]

Am I serious about soap making? Umm, I have more soap curing than Imelda Marcos had shoes. So, yes, I am serious about soap-making.



(I don't know for certain if I have more soap curing than Imelda Marcos had shoes but it's a fun thought, yes?)

 

[Jupiterjohnson986]

Forgive me I am new to the Soap making forum and culture. I’ve become interested as a number of my co-workers have started home good companies since the pandemic. Looking at the forum so far I see that soap making is a labor of love. But.... I really have to know do people make legitimate money from soap making. I know from previous post that it varies but whom are some of the top homemade soap companies. What are their strategies and further from the over saturated market of soap making what are some “niche” aspects of soap making. For instance mold makers? Ingredient wholesalers? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[earlene]

Forgive me I am new to the Soap making forum and culture. I’ve become interested as a number of my co-workers have started home good companies since the pandemic. Looking at the forum so far I see that soap making is a labor of love. But.... I really have to know do people make legitimate money from soap making. I know from previous post that it varies but whom are some of the top homemade soap companies. What are their strategies and further from the over saturated market of soap making what are some “niche” aspects of soap making. For instance mold makers? Ingredient wholesalers? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

I really think that mold making, cutter making, and other such soapmaking equipment making could be lucrative and there truly is a market for it. Some of the well known makers of some such items started later in life and have moved on from it or will soon due to age or whatever, so there is always room for new business. Some are younger, of course and I suspect they'll be around for some time to come.

I tried to encourage my son to try his hand at soap making equipment when he said he wanted to go into soapmaking business with he, but what he really wanted to do was the website side of things, not the soapmaking or equipment making. Too bad, because I really think he would have been quite good at it, as he can and has been able to design and make anything he puts his mind to creating or building himself instead of purchasing already made or hiring someone else to make for or build for him.

There are so many people here who are very talented at so may aspects of soapmaking, including making their own equipment.

Some folks I know of who started their own soap equipment businesses have sold to larger companies, a lot like small software companies sell to the big guys. Even that may be lucrative eventually; I don't really know for sure.

 

[Jupiterjohnson986]

I really think that mold making, cutter making, and other such soapmaking equipment making could be lucrative and there truly is a market for it. Some of the well known makers of some such items started later in life and have moved on from it or will soon due to age or whatever, so there is always room for new business. Some are younger, of course and I suspect they'll be around for some time to come.

I tried to encourage my son to try his hand at soap making equipment when he said he wanted to go into soapmaking business with he, but what he really wanted to do was the website side of things, not the soapmaking or equipment making. Too bad, because I really think he would have been quite good at it, as he can and has been able to design and make anything he puts his mind to creating or building himself instead of purchasing already made or hiring someone else to make for or build for him.

There are so many people here who are very talented at so may aspects of soapmaking, including making their own equipment.

Some folks I know of who started their own soap equipment businesses have sold to larger companies, a lot like small software companies sell to the big guys. Even that may be lucrative eventually; I don't really know for sure.

Thank you so much for your response. That was very helpful. Much appreciated !

 

[Zing]

I love reading all these responses!
Is it just something you do for fun sometimes? Hard question. I do enjoy soaping but battle my perfectionist demon during a session. I aim for soaping once per month.
Do you just use pots, pans, and utensils you already owned and use for cooking? No, everything is segregated. All thrift store acquisitions.
Do you make your soap in your kitchen? I soaped in our teeny tiny kitchen in our old house and had to schlepp out 2 boxes of supplies every time. Then we bought a new home WITHOUT A KITCHEN! During remodeling I became quite attached to my trusty hot plate. I turned the former wood shop into my soap shop.
Do you like to try things and see how it turns out? Maybe you keep some sort of log of what you've tried -- maybe you don't. Love to try new things. I enter a couple monthly challenges per year. I keep a detailed log on everything – and also search for my own posts on this forum! My bucket list is way longer than my lifetime!
Do you make soap to give away as gifts? I force my soap on anyone who enters my home, and on anyone I visit in their home.
Have you sold a few bar here and there? Here and there. I don’t charge people I know. But in the last several months, friends want to buy soap to give to people I don’t know and I charge for that.
Do you keep a careful log of everything you've tried with pictures of and notes about the final product?
Are you totally into the science and chemistry of soap making? Yes! My undergrad degree is in Chemistry. But I also love to design and think about color and texture.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Is it just something you do for fun sometimes?
Yes
Do you just use pots, pans, and utensils you already owned and use for cooking?
Yes
Do you make your soap in your kitchen?
Yes
Do you like to try things and see how it turns out?
Yes
Maybe you keep some sort of log of what you've tried -- maybe you don't.
I do.
Do you make soap to give away as gifts?
Yes
Have you sold a few bar here and there?
Yes
Do you keep a careful log of everything you've tried with pictures of and notes about the final product?
Not everything.
Are you totally into the science and chemistry of soap making?
Nope. I'm Zany, not Sciencey.
Did you buy all special equipment specifically for making soap that is kept completely separate from all other similar equipment?
Some, yes.
Do you have a separate room or even a separate building for making soap?
Nope.
Do you make your living making and selling soap?
Nope.