How Would You Spend $50 for Soapmaking on Amazon

[MellonFriend]

I just won a $50 amazon gift card on a goat forum, and I would like to use it to buy soap making stuff. What would you buy on amazon for soap making if you had only $50 to spend? I'm not looking for base oils or anything like that, I'm interested in tools, swirl tools, molds (maybe), and additives. Fifty bucks isn't going to get me much in this economy, so I want to spend it wisely. I have some things in mind, but I'd like to hear what you would do in case there are things I'm not thinking of!

 

[Zing]

I'd stay away from colorants, essential oils, and fragrance oils unless they are from a reputable soap supplier. I'd buy a name brand lye.
And what the heck? There are forums that give away gift cards??!!

 

[Carly B]

Amazon has a HUGE selection of gorgeous and different silicone single cavity soap molds, as well as multicavity ones. I have quite a few (I have an Amazon Visa, so I get Amazon points every month). And I always have some in my wish list waiting for more. I have also ordered lye and powdered goat milk with no problem.

And I've used Amazon in a pinch when I realized I was running low on castor oil (and other oils in 16 oz bottles, like apricot kernel, etc.). It may cost a buck or two more, but with free shipping and getting it within 2 days, it's worth it.

 

[dibbles]

If I didn't have a stick blender I liked, that would be the first thing I would look at. If you don't have one, a loaf mold with dividers is nice to have, or look for the materials to make one to fit your mold. I've bought lye and sodium citrate on Amazon. But it seems that you want ideas for 'fun' stuff rather than ingredients. Do you have a silicone impression mat? Those can be cut to fit your mold and are a fun. They are especially nice to add a little something extra to a plain soap. I have some silicone cavity molds that are nice to have for left over batter. I use these quite often because they are a little smaller than my others (and I think they are pretty cute).

ETA: I forgot to say Congrats - how fun!

 

[LynetteO]

I’d buy GW415 soy wax because I cannot find it anywhere else in town. Natural Soy 125 (415) Wax (5 lb) https://a.co/d/1TK7XBY
And fun stuff would be silicone cavity molds & impression mats.

 

[Obsidian]

I'd look at cavity molds and neem oil

 

[MellonFriend]

And what the heck? There are forums that give away gift cards??!!

ETA: I forgot to say Congrats - how fun!

Haha yes, Zing, and thank you, Dibbles, I was very surprised to have won. I had a pretty good chance, as not a lot of people entered, but still I've never really won a giveaway before, so I am very happy.

Yes, I am looking for fun stuff to get or tools that would make soap making easier. For example I'm probably going to get a set of little mini spatulas. I'm not crazy about cavity molds as they I really miss getting to cut the soap, but certain embed molds catch my eye sometimes. I will definitely look into silicone impression mats, I didn't know they could be cut to fit molds so that's a great tip!

 

[AliOop]

I really like this mold that Mobjack Bay talked me into purchasing. Well, she didn't have to talk that much, actually. Anyway, it's currently unavailable, but there are similar ones from other brands that also seem to have good ratings.

 

[MellonFriend]

I really like this mold that Mobjack Bay talked me into purchasing. Well, she didn't have to talk that much, actually. Anyway, it's currently unavailable, but there are similar ones from other brands that also seem to have good ratings.

Ooo something like that might be very fun!

 

[MellonFriend]

Thinking maybe about getting one of these. Thoughts on which number of channels you would get, and do I need to find one with more capacity or would that size be okay since I just do 2 lb. batches at most?

 

[AliOop]

Those look fun! How many colors could you realistically swirl into a 2lb batch? I'm not a good person to answer that question, but I'm tossing it out for those with more artistic capabilities to answer!

 

[MellonFriend]

Those look fun! How many colors could you realistically swirl into a 2lb batch? I'm not a good person to answer that question, but I'm tossing it out for those with more artistic capabilities to answer!

I'm interested to hear if anyone else has an opinion too. I think four would be doable. Five might be pushing it, but I wonder if I got the ones with a higher number of dividers, I would think I could just pour the same color into multiple cavities if it was too unmanageable.

 

[MelissaG]

I'd buy two containers of Essential Depot lye. It's my favorite and getting a bit would be a good thing.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I found another divided mold on Amazon on sale for $20.99, which is an excellent price for this kind of mold.

JOONOR Silicone Loaf Soap Mold Dividers 8" Acrylic Partition Clapboard Rectangular White Mould DIY Handmade Swirl Making Tool https://a.co/d/54vWOIn

If you’re in the market for a slab mold, this 10” square silicone mold is also an excellent deal. I put it on a cutting board or similar for support. The sides are plenty sturdy for a single layer soap.

10 inch Soap Mold Large Square Cube Silicone Mold for Resin Square Mold Soap Mold Large Square Silicone Molds for Resin Mold Large Silicone Molds for Square Resin Mold Moldes de Silicona para Resina https://a.co/d/fRPDdV6

I’m not sure what you mean by additives, but I buy my sodium citrate from Amazon and just recently purchased sorbitol. I have also purchased at various times - coconut powder, dried herbs and flowers (usually Starwest brand), goat milk powder, etc. When I buy additives, I look for brands that have 100s+ of happy reviewers.

 

[earlene]

I just won a $50 amazon gift card on a goat forum, and I would like to use it to buy soap making stuff. What would you buy on amazon for soap making if you had only $50 to spend? I'm not looking for base oils or anything like that, I'm interested in tools, swirl tools, molds (maybe), and additives. Fifty bucks isn't going to get me much in this economy, so I want to spend it wisely. I have some things in mind, but I'd like to hear what you would do in case there are things I'm not thinking of!

Congratulations! What fun!
Over the years, I've got many things for soapmaking on Amazon. I tend to shop around and look for the best deal, and even though I do have Prime, which is a costly annual fee, the shipping is not a price I need to factor in when making choices on Amazon, and usually is elsewhere. Of course if I were to factor the annual fee into what I buy from Amazon, it would not be much because I have repeat monthly orders of some things (not soapmaking things, though) so breaking it down per purchase would be negligible.

Some things I have purchased on Amazon that I was not able to find cheaper priced have been:

KD7000 scale
Jeweler's scale for weighing smaller amounts of ingredients
IR thermometer
Soy wax (a bit of shopping around to find the best deal almost always takes me to Amazon for soy wax)
NaOH (where I buy may NaOH has varied over the years depending on the best deal at the time)
various soap molds (although not that many)
KOH
EDTA (chelator)
Artist Tools that I use for soap (carving tools & whatnot)
Badger Air Brush Paint Mixer (for mixing micas into small cups of oil or soap batter)
Herb grinder (for mixing micas to create custom shades to color my soap)
Salad Shooter (for shredding soap to use in confetti soap)
Empty containers of various sizes & purposes for soapmaking, but also for bath & body products
Extruder (for soap dough shaping)
Moon Cake press & other Bath Bomb making tools
Neem Oil to try it out
Starwest products for natural soap colorants
Nitrile gloves
and the list goes on

I’d buy GW415 soy wax because I cannot find it anywhere else in town. Natural Soy 125 (415) Wax (5 lb) https://a.co/d/1TK7XBY
And fun stuff would be silicone cavity molds & impression mats.

Yes on the soy wax

I'd look at cavity molds and neem oil

Yes on the neem oil

 

[MellonFriend]

I found another divided mold on Amazon on sale for $20.99, which is an excellent price for this kind of mold.

JOONOR Silicone Loaf Soap Mold Dividers 8" Acrylic Partition Clapboard Rectangular White Mould DIY Handmade Swirl Making Tool https://a.co/d/54vWOIn

If you’re in the market for a slab mold, this 10” square silicone mold is also an excellent deal. I put it on a cutting board or similar for support. The sides are plenty sturdy for a single layer soap.

10 inch Soap Mold Large Square Cube Silicone Mold for Resin Square Mold Soap Mold Large Square Silicone Molds for Resin Mold Large Silicone Molds for Square Resin Mold Moldes de Silicona para Resina https://a.co/d/fRPDdV6

I’m not sure what you mean by additives, but I buy my sodium citrate from Amazon and just recently purchased sorbitol. I have also purchased at various times - coconut powder, dried herbs and flowers (usually Starwest brand), goat milk powder, etc. When I buy additives, I look for brands that have 100s+ of happy reviewers.

Thanks for those recommendations, @Mobjack Bay . I've got a 10inch mold that looks very similar to that one in my cart. I've been itching to try a column pour, so that's definite. That mold with the dividers, I think I'm going to have to get at some point, if I don't decide to do it now. As far as additives go, I'm talking just what you mentioned, exfoliation, herbs, clays. Anything like that.

Congratulations! What fun!
Over the years, I've got many things for soapmaking on Amazon. I tend to shop around and look for the best deal, and even though I do have Prime, which is a costly annual fee, the shipping is not a price I need to factor in when making choices on Amazon, and usually is elsewhere. Of course if I were to factor the annual fee into what I buy from Amazon, it would not be much because I have repeat monthly orders of some things (not soapmaking things, though) so breaking it down per purchase would be negligible.

Some things I have purchased on Amazon that I was not able to find cheaper priced have been:

KD7000 scale
Jeweler's scale for weighing smaller amounts of ingredients
IR thermometer
Soy wax (a bit of shopping around to find the best deal almost always takes me to Amazon for soy wax)
NaOH (where I buy may NaOH has varied over the years depending on the best deal at the time)
various soap molds (although not that many)
KOH
EDTA (chelator)
Artist Tools that I use for soap (carving tools & whatnot)
Badger Air Brush Paint Mixer (for mixing micas into small cups of oil or soap batter)
Herb grinder (for mixing micas to create custom shades to color my soap)
Salad Shooter (for shredding soap to use in confetti soap)
Empty containers of various sizes & purposes for soapmaking, but also for bath & body products
Extruder (for soap dough shaping)
Moon Cake press & other Bath Bomb making tools
Neem Oil to try it out
Starwest products for natural soap colorants
Nitrile gloves
and the list goes on


Yes on the soy wax

Yes on the neem oil

Great list there, @earlene! An infrared thermometer is something I wanted, but totally forgot about, so thanks for reminding me about that!

I've already got my hands on neem oil, so that's checked off the list.

 

[MellonFriend]

Alright my order is in! I got a ten-inch silicone slab mold, two pouring cups (one three chamber, one five), a silicone impression mat (the same one that I've seen @KiwiMoose use), four mini spatulas, and a set of clay sculpting tools that I figure I can use to make interesting textured tops. I went three bucks over budget, but that's pretty good, I think! It would have been very easy to spend more!

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

 

[Carly B]

 

[dibbles]

Yay! Have fun with all your new toys!

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

Sounds like you got a lot of goodies for your money! Be sure and show us some of your creations with your new toys!