New Zealander looking for local Suppliers

[Stellar]

Hi, I am a brand new baby to M&P soap making who hopes to embark on CP one day when confident enough.
In the mean time I am finding it difficult to find a supplier at a good price without having to go through Australia.
I have a found a number of suppliers here who either sell bases with SLS in them or the organic bases are over $15 per kilo.
Does anyone know of where i can get organic/natural (sls, sles and paraben etc free) bases for less than this? Otherwise i'm going to have to charge a bomb for my soaps, and the whole point was to make natural soaps that were affordable.

Can anyone help? At the moment the best organic/natural products and prices i can find is at www.candlecreations.co.nz

 

[Hazel]

Bump

 

[Stellar]

Thank you I've looked everywhere and am still looking for a good nz supplier, i was however previously looking for melt and pour but i'd also like to do rebatching too as I'm just starting and not ready to deal with the lye yet

 

[Hazel]

I'm not sure how many NZ members we have but I do know there are quite a few from Australia (which doesn't help you). You might have to bump this thread again and hope someone will see it who can help you.

 

[Stellar]

Still no one can help me in NZ? I so wish it didn't cost hundreds to send Bramleberry products to me from Australia That place is soap makers heaven!

 

[Hazel]

Have you checked on Australian soap forums for recommended suppliers in NZ?

The only other thing I could suggest is try CP. It's not hard and you might find you really enjoy it.

 

[Stellar]

Thanks Hazel, where would i find the auzzie one?
And yes I just haven't look much into CP as i assume I'll stuff it up! Lol, but you are probably right and it is probably a lot cheaper to make too!

 

[mel z]

After looking up NZ soap making supplies, those prices on M&P are so high!!! I found was that was only $8.50 per block but it has both common SLS', that was confusing.

Stellar; you could try to order from any company that ships worldwide. Not sure how much shipping would be, that may send you back to the higher NZ prices and you can get it more quickly at home.

I know brambleberry.com and newdirectionsaromatics.com sell worldwide, don't know about their bases. May want to check the M&P section of this forum for which companies have good bases, then find out if they ship to NZ.

Best idea is Hazel's, ask on any forums in NZ.

Best of luck, and let us know what you find!

 

[Hazel]

Stellar -

Here's a link to Kathy Miller's list of links which you might find helpful. I don't know how current the links are on her site.

http://millersoap.com/soaplinks.html#AussieLinks

I don't know if you've seen these other sites.

http://www.aussieslivingsimply.com.au/forum/soaps-and-soapmaking
http://www.aquasapone.com.au/soapmaking/
http://nizzymoulds.com/tutorial%20index%20page.htm
http://nizzymoulds.com/Whipped/

There are some helpful videos on youtube for beginning soapmakers. I like to recommend Soap Queen's (Brambleberry) and Soaping101's channels because I've found them to most informative and accurate.

http://www.youtube.com/user/soapqueentv
http://www.youtube.com/user/soaping101

I will say I have some differences of opinion for some of what they say and demonstrate for both of them but overall the videos are excellent. One of the major differences is I don't recommend using Pyrex glass when making soap. The lye will cause micro-etching of the glass and it can eventually shatter. There have been quite a few discussions about this issue and you can search for "Pyrex" to see the topics. I recommend either stainless steel or PP#5 plastic for mixing the lye solution. You can use HDPE #2 but it's not as heat tolerant as PP#5; however, #2 can be used to store lye solution after it has cooled off. A couple of reasons you may want to store lye solution is if you make a large amount for master batching or if you want to make whipped soap.

Another difference is about using essential oils on animals especially cats (can cause liver damage). I don't recommend it because people can use too much and cause harm to the animals. A comment was made that EOs are only harmful if an animal ingests them. My reply is animals lick themselves so if the EOs are on their fur, they will ingest the EOs! Don't use any EOs without thoroughly researching contraindications and safe amounts. Sorry. I don't mean to rant about it but it worries me when people say they use EOs in pet products. I don't know how careful people will be, if they'll research thoroughly before they use them and animals may be harmed.

Anyway, don't be concerned that you might mess up while learning CP. It's really not hard and batches can generally be saved if you do mess up. You don't even need much to get started. A few oils, sodium hydroxide and containers which food comes in as long as they're made from PP#5 (polypropylene) plastic can be used for soap molds. Read, watch videos and ask questions. People here are usually very nice and can help you get started. I say "usually" because I've been known to post grumpy remarks. But please don't let that scare you off because I'm not posting replies as much as I used to in the past.

 

[Relle]

Thanks Hazel, where would i find the auzzie one?
And yes I just haven't look much into CP as i assume I'll stuff it up! Lol, but you are probably right and it is probably a lot cheaper to make too!

This forum doesn't operate anymore from what I can see but you can use the info on there - suppliers
http://www.aussiesoapers.com/Suppliers.html
Just click on what you need and they come up.

You could try and contact this soap shop in NZ and ask where they get their supplies - they were recently on the Brambleberry site.
http://www.ilovesoap.co.nz/

Here are suppliers in NZ
http://www.soapcraft.co.nz/
http://kiwisoapsupplies.co.nz/
http://www.candlecreations.co.nz/
http://www.gonative.co.nz/