Lotion bars when not in use

[~Dragonfly~]

Want to hear the jumbled thoughts of my brain? Read on
I want to be eco friendly so instead of making bars and putting them in tins, I went with making lotions "sticks" in the cardboard push up tubes. This all sounds good until it comes time to make them. If you pour the liquid in all at once, it ends up with a hollow center. It's recommended to pour in 10% increments, letting each 10% time to cool and set up. That means I have to keep my oils warm for an hour and get up off the couch (oh no! haha) multiple times for an hour. I haven't tried this yet but my plan for the next batch is to pour the tube mostly full, then after it cools and sets, I'll reheat the rest of the oil and pour it in the center and up to the top. Then I'm thinking instead of doing tubes, just make the bars. I don't want to buy a bunch of tins that end up in the landfill, so now I'm thinking of buying small soap dishes that bars would fit into. The ones I'm looking at are small wood ones that have slots in them. Is using a soap dish weird? What do you all use for sitting your lotion bar on when you are done using it? Am I going to have to suck it up and buy tins? I'm planning on selling so want to have a nice solution if I make bars. The bars are faster to make but have a storage issue, the sticks are great for storage but take longer to make.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I use the wee tins. But then I also sell some 'naked' as refills. They go into my little business card boxes ( for some reason they always pack my cards into little boxes about the size of a cigarette packet), so I get to re-use those rather than chuck 'em out. Some people just buy the refills anyway, and don't want the tins. I leave storage up to them...

 

[AliOop]

I package mine in compostable treat bags, like these.

I also happen to put my own lotion bar on a slat-type wooden soap dish in the bathroom, to keep the grease off the counter. Although I should probably move it back to my office where I'll use it more. Anyhoo, great minds think alike, eh?

 

[Carly B]

I love the tins for lotion bars. They're reusable---I don't sell, but when I give away a lotion or shampoo bar to someone the first time, they get a tin. But if they want more, they get them untinned, since they already have one. I put mine in 2" tins and they close securely and are lightweight, so great for throwing in a purse.

 

[LynetteO]

I love the tins for lotion bars. They're reusable---I don't sell, but when I give away a lotion or shampoo bar to someone the first time, they get a tin. But if they want more, they get them untinned, since they already have one. I put mine in 2" tins and they close securely and are lightweight, so great for throwing in a purse.

Same. Don’t sell, but 1st time I gift a lotion bar I place in a metal tin. If a replacement is wanted I place in a compostable Kraft treat bag like @AliOop mentions above.

 

[Zing]

There are so many creative ideas here! Hobbyist here. I do encourage my family and friends to return empty tins to me. Sometimes my gift packs are one lotion bar in a tin and several more in a baggie.