Newbie Needs Advice

[kitty1986]

Hi all! As of now, I've never made anything other than a sugar scrub with two ingredients, but I really want to get started making all kinds of things! I'd love to sell what I make at some point, too.

So I have a few questions:

What are some must have supplies for making soaps, lotions, scrubs, shampoos, etc.?

Where (online, all I have is a Walmart in my town) do you buy supplies, like EO's?

Does anybody make organic/all natural products? If so, what ingredients should I avoid using that are commonly suggested in a lot of recipes?

 

[pamielynn]

Knowledge.. you need knowledge first Visit Susan's blog - she has a wealth of information along the lines of lotions, scrubs, shampoos, etc. Scroll down the page and you'll see links to all sorts of helpful topics: http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/p/hlb-system.html

 

[kitty1986]

Thanks I will definitely check the links out.

If anybody makes organic stuff let me know, I'd love to have someone to contact when I have more questions!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Bear in mind that anything soap based will have manufactured lye in there and most lotions (if they have water in them) will need a preservative - actual preservatives are also non-organic. Oils and so on can be fully organic, but just to keep it in the back of your mind that not everything will be utterly natural in a lot of products.

 

[Dennis]

Thanks I will definitely check the links out.

If anybody makes organic stuff let me know, I'd love to have someone to contact when I have more questions!

Hello and welcome to the forum. Look around, check out the different forums. Read the stickys at the top of the forums and you will find lots of useful forum info, for instance. at the top of the Introduction Forum there is a sticky titled "How to Search on SoapMakingForum like a Pro" and another that lists acronyms and abbreviations.

Look around and you'll find any question you have will generally be answered by many with lots of knowledge to share.

Have fun!

 

[kitty1986]

Bear in mind that anything soap based will have manufactured lye in there and most lotions (if they have water in them) will need a preservative - actual preservatives are also non-organic. Oils and so on can be fully organic, but just to keep it in the back of your mind that not everything will be utterly natural in a lot of products.

That's what I'm finding in my reading...I definitely want to keep products' shelf lives longer than a few weeks. I'm not an organic proponent but I know a lot of people are these days and thought it would be a great market to sell to. I'll just try to keep things as natural as possible while keeping them effective and useful.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I think I read somewhere on the FDA guidance that a product need only contain x amount (x being the majority, but not the entirety) of organic products to be classed as organic, so if I read it right then a bit of preservative is not an issue.

Good luck and welcome to the addiction.

 

[kitty1986]

I will have to look that up, that sounds great Thank you Gentleman!

I have a few things in my cart on a supply site that I think will be good to practice making soap with. The base isn't organic but I don't want to spend a lot at first, not until I get the hang of each type of product. Here's what I have:

Rectangle Basic Silicone Mold
Basic MP Soap Base - White 2 lb Trays
Mineral Oil
Stained Glass Strawberry Red Liquid Color
Plumeria Fragrance Oil

I wanted to add Vitamin E Oil but it was over $10 for 1/2 ounce. Would breaking open a Vitamin E supplement capsule and sprinkling it in have a similar effect? I thought I read that somewhere today!

 

[pamielynn]

Another thing of note: just because you use organic raw materials does NOT mean your product is organic. You must have your products certified before you can use the organic seal. You can say things like "made with 75% organic materials".

As for the Vitamin E oil - depends on what you want it to do.

 

[Lindy]

What's the mineral oil for?

 

[amandaeiben]

Holy vitamin e price batman! ill leave you the link to where I get mine. 9.55 for 2oz they have a lovely fragrance collection and nice prices as well with no small order fees! As for things you might need I recommend a stick blender for lotion type things (i dont do soap so idk if soap needs a stick blender too but ive heard it does lol). I wouldnt be making lotion without my little cuisinart stick blender! they have them on groupon and zulily for 27$ right now actually. I get a lot of my supplies from Bramble Berry, Elements B and B, and Making Cosmetics (good for basic supplies). Definitely price shop first, I think it took me 3-4 days to find good prices on all my basics. Im fairly new to this whole bath product world as well but a lot of it is knowing your products. I dont think ive ever done as much math or chemistry as I do now that I make things lol. Ill leave the links to the places I mentioned andthe vitamin e!

https://www.elementsbathandbody.com/Vitamin-E-T-50-pr-738.html
http://makingcosmetics.com
http://www.brambleberry.com

 

[kitty1986]

What's the mineral oil for?

It was for a moisturizing property but I learned it is superfatting and kills bubbles/lather, so I'm leaving it out. It was cheap so only $2.95 lost. Anybody know of anything else I could use the mineral oil for, like in a different product like lotion or shampoo?

 

[Lindy]

Actually Kitty it's not. Mineral oil is a lubricant and a petrochemical product and most crafters prefer to avoid it as they want natural as possible and mineral oils doesn't quite cut it....

 

[kitty1986]

I actually just learned that and edited my post Do you know of something I could use to help give it more of a moisturizing effect? Coconut oil perhaps?

 

[Susie]

Olive oil is a great moisturizer in soaps.

 

[kitty1986]

That sounds great, Susie, that's very affordable, too. I just purchased some Vitamin E oil at the pharmacy and will be adding that ($10 for 2.5 oz/74 mL but I got a second bottle free this time). In the future I'm going to try pure shea butter in place of the oil.

I have some Extra Virgin Olive Oil but I'm worried about the smell. I sure don't want my soap to have an olive oil fragrance mixed in with the plumeria I have!

 

[judymoody]

Olive oil doesn't smell like anything in finished soap, not to worry.

Also, you can't really make a moisturizing soap. You can make a gentle, conditioning soap (high % of olive oil is one easy way to accomplish this), but technically, soap does not moisturize.

I also recommend you watch some videos - the soaping 101 ones on you tube are good as well as the ones produced by Brambleberry.

 

[kitty1986]

Thanks for the referral to the Soaping 101 videos...I will check those out now.

 

[AustinStraight]

If you're looking for a simple recipe to start off with, I recommend soaping101's bastile soap. It's on the top left corner. You might also consider doing 100% coconut oil soap with a 20% superfat, especially if you can find cheap coconut oil where you live. Save money on lye by having such a big superfat, too :-D Another soap you could sell if you're interested in label appeal could be "old-fashioned" tallow or lard soap. Can be very cheap to make, especially if you render your own fat.

To be honest, I've considered using shea butter in soap, but it seems like a waste. It just washes right over your skin because it's bound to the soap. I recommend whipped shea butter instead to get the benefits of shea. The general ratio is 80% butter and 20% liquid oils (by weight), melted together, and then whipped as they solidify to form stiff peaks like when making meringue.

 

[Lindy]

Actually Austin with the superfat you are keeping 5 - 8% of your oils free-floating which is why our soaps don't dry out your hands and have conditioning properties which is why I do like to add butters to my soaps. You should try it and then compare it to a non-butter soap. You would be surpised.