Oh My, know your product

[cmzaha]

I know I mentioned a soaper that comes into my Friday market. Well I happened to talk to her last night and she does not even know what she makes. Plus the woman is a nurse... I mentioned that her glycerin soaps look very nice but I would lable them. BTW she is the one I mentioned in another thread that sells her soaps for $4 each. They are approx 4.5 oz soaps determined by me from the mold she uses. She told me she does not have glycerin soap but natural Goats Milk Soap...duh, but she is considering making cp soap but is afraid. Good hopefully she stays afraid... So being me, I continued to press and just casually asked where she buys her base, answer was Bulk Apothecary but is says nothing about glycerin soap. Oh my I hope she is never my nurse if she cannot read :razz:. She proceeded to tell me she makes over $200 per night. Do these new sellers think we are stupid? I had mentioned I have been selling in the market for 5 yrs. She had half a dozen lotions on her table and maybe a dozen baskets of soap. She would have to sell 50 bars and it simply does not happen in this weekly market

 

[goji_fries]

Wow. And I drove my car up a telephone pole.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

And people wonder why I give people who want to sell such a hard time! I hope that you don't have to contend with too much damage control with people coming to your stall having been at hers

 

[goji_fries]

And people wonder why I give people who want to sell such a hard time! I hope that you don't have to contend with too much damage control with people coming to your stall having been at hers

The thing that drives me nuts is when someone says they are starting a business having made 0 soaps, know nothing about anything yet are in it to win it gonna do this as a profession.(?) One person was drying their first batch and asked how much they could sell it for. WTH?>! Is this a joke? (Money driven drivel! :thumbdown

Good on ya cmzaha

 

[shunt2011]

Yep, I agree with all of you. I was talking to a gal at one of my shows last week. She told me her sister has been making soap for 4-5 months and selling it. Claims people love it.....whatever. I don't mind competition at all....it's actually good most times but new folks that don't even know what their soap will be like in 6 months selling to others. I'm personally glad I waited as I tweaked my recipes so many times until I found the right recipes that I thought family, friends and customers would love. All the hard work has paid off fairly well. Those that just jump in don't usually stick around from my experience.

 

[seven]

some ppl think selling soap as a way to make a quick buck. totally wrong.

there's a local soaper here who doesn't even know why her soap has cracks on top, yet she's selling. whatever.

 

[JustBeachy]

some ppl think selling soap as a way to make a quick buck. totally wrong.

there's a local soaper here who doesn't even know why her soap has cracks on top, yet she's selling. whatever.

Problem is, neither does the general public. She could probably label her cracked soap as "Fault Line Soap", and someone would think it was cool and buy it.

Then they get home and realize they paid 6 bucks for a bar of soap that dries them out , melts in the shower in a week and decides that home made soap is for the birds.

 

[cmzaha]

I had a customer last night stop at my booth, she did buy a bar, and ask me if my soap would dry her skin out. She told me it was not my soap but from someone up the street. I sold her a really nice, in my opinion, low coconut oil avocado soap.

 

[new12soap]

There is a large well-known supply company that will sell you a soap-business-in-a-box kit. No knowledge required, mix a with b and here's your shingle. No need to learn anything at all!

Not only can the bad ones make it harder on the rest of us in general, all it takes is for one unhappy customer to make a call to the FDA about "this soap I bought at the farmer's market for my psoriasis burned my skin and made me itch".

Won't that be fun?

 

[pamielynn]

Yep, I agree with all of you. I was talking to a gal at one of my shows last week. She told me her sister has been making soap for 4-5 months and selling it. Claims people love it.....whatever. I don't mind competition at all....it's actually good most times but new folks that don't even know what their soap will be like in 6 months selling to others. I'm personally glad I waited as I tweaked my recipes so many times until I found the right recipes that I thought family, friends and customers would love. All the hard work has paid off fairly well. Those that just jump in don't usually stick around from my experience.

Exactly.

 

[Dahila]

I just got s**** on facebook for voicing my opinion. People are trying to convince me that adding a bit of the honey to lotion will preserve it. Vitamin E is added also to preserve it. Hair stand up when I read something like that.
Why would someone say he/she is making so much money when it is a lie?

 

[goji_fries]

There is a large well-known supply company that will sell you a soap-business-in-a-box kit. No knowledge required, mix a with b and here's your shingle. No need to learn anything at all!

We live in the day of eveeything-in-a-box. Easy money, just make bubbly slabs. C'mon it's easy. Get rich quick hype is muting this art.

I just got s**** on facebook for voicing my opinion. People are trying to convince me that adding a bit of the honey to lotion will preserve it. Vitamin E is added also to preserve it. Hair stand up when I read something like that.
Why would someone say he/she is making so much money when it is a lie?

Dahila, some are as much an expert as Bill Clinton operating on someone's colon. Practice, research legit studies, but don't let haters get you down. :wave:

 

[godschild]

This reminds me of a what happened on a local small town sell all group I'm on. I popped on there to bump my post of my soaps for sale and saw someone on there saying they were going to be selling handmade soap to make some Christmas money. The soaps pictured were pretty cp soap. I asked her what her ingredients were and the weight of them. After several people including myself and another soaper asking the same, she said the pic wasn't hers and she was GOING to be making some melt and pour soaps. She hadn't even made any of those yet and couldn't tell me the ingredients when they were plainly on her mp label, I'm sure. I'm still curious who's picture she used. It kinda upset me when I've had my soap on there for a about a month and had great reviews from the people who had used it before, but not really anyone asking to buy any, but yet here she comes with some soap that she hadn't even made yet and really didn't have any idea how to even do her mp and everybody and there mother was asking her about buying it.... WTH? She had 2 scents that she bought at Michaels along with her mp and a mold, but she said she could go buy whatever scent one would want. I have I don't know how many soaps that are awesome and there for the asking with no buyers really other than a few. Where am I going wrong? I even offered to help her with her soaps because I'm nice like that although I'm glad she hasn't asked to be honest. She knows nothing about regulations, labeling, insurance, or anything else. Now that I've soaped for a while, I totally agree with everyone else who's ever said, it's best to wait before selling.

 

[forzadicristo]

I am a brand new soaper and you guys are making me nervous, . I made my first cp loaf and it had a small crack so I know it probably got too hot during setting. I have looked all around my area trying to find classes (even college courses) on how to create handmade soaps. I do want to maybe have a cottage business so I want to learn how to make good soaps and things. Any ideas on how to learn? Also good reputable places to buy from. I would prefer to be making things that are all natural and use Essential oils for aromatherapy needs and not fragrance oils. I noticed someone mentioned soap drying out skin, if the PH is tested and is good why else might soap dry out skin? I will be using myself and willing members of my family as Guinea pigs in my training :wink:
Amanda
homeschooling momma to 4 blessings (so far)

 

[shunt2011]

I am a brand new soaper and you guys are making me nervous, . I made my first cp loaf and it had a small crack so I know it probably got too hot during setting. I have looked all around my area trying to find classes (even college courses) on how to create handmade soaps. I do want to maybe have a cottage business so I want to learn how to make good soaps and things. Any ideas on how to learn? Also good reputable places to buy from. I would prefer to be making things that are all natural and use Essential oils for aromatherapy needs and not fragrance oils. I noticed someone mentioned soap drying out skin, if the PH is tested and is good why else might soap dry out skin? I will be using myself and willing members of my family as Guinea pigs in my training :wink:
Amanda
homeschooling momma to 4 blessings (so far)

Hi Amanda and welcome.

You can learn to make soap and other products just by reading the posts on this forum and reading on making soap. I'm thinking the majority of us here just did a lot of research and then started making soap.

I read just about every post on this forum and others. I learned so much from the folks here. I also bought several books before finding this forum.

You can make nice soap that won't dry out the skin. Play with oils/butters etc that you may want to use by entering them into a soap calculator.

Also, the natural ph of soap is high and can't accurately be measured. However you will read about the zap test that the majority of us use to make sure there is no active lye left in the soap.

If you are unable to find answers to your questions feel free to ask here. You will always get help as long as you've tried to help yourself first.

Good luck to you and welcome to what has become an addiction for many.

 

[JustBeachy]

I agree with Shunt. There is a lot of information to be had here. To me, a giant part of it is also learned by just doing. You can read all day long about what fast trace is, but it becomes a lot clearer when you see it with your own eyes. You need to make a 40% Coconut oil bar, let it cure for 6 weeks and try it in the shower, to really understand what squeaky clean and drying feels like .

Once you see what your soaps look like, feel like and how it lasts in the shower, you will have more of an understanding of how to make soap. I don't think you ever stop learning.

Making soap is simple, it's just not all that easy. And making quality soap, is something that comes with experience. Just my opinion.

 

[Dahila]

I learned how to make it here, without the books, a few days ago I got two books from amazon and I love it. It is very interesting to have a book about my hobby (it is hobby for me) in my hand. I know I will not find anything different than the forum provides. I would think forum provides more knowledge. You do not need the courses they are expensive. Courses in my area ; 2 hours $90 to 100 and even I adore the person who is the teacher, I would prefer to spend the money on supplies))
Welcome to the forum and dive into the ocean of information here, and as side effects be with incredible people; friendly and sharing. It does not happen so much in our world anymore)

 

[new12soap]

Amanda, the short answer to your question, how do you learn about making soap, is "Practice, practice, practice!"

The longer answer is "Patience, patience, patience!"

I agree with everyone else, read all you can on this forum, check out books from the library, ask questions. BUT... your question about testing pH is a good reminder that even tho there is a wealth of good information in the world, there is also a fair amount of bad information. Testing the pH of bar soap is, in my opinion, bad information. A lot of beginners think it is necessary, and a lot of experienced soapers do too, even though it has been shown to be very difficult for the home crafter to test, nearly impossible to get accurate results, and even if you do manage to get a reliable pH reading, it doesn't tell you anything useful! A higher pH does not make a soap drying or irritating, a lower pH does not mean that a soap is gentle or mild. Soap just doesn't work that way.

Read all you can, but don't believe everything at face value. You will be able to learn what works and what doesn't, again practice practice practice!

If you want to some day turn this hobby into a cottage business, that's great. You will need to develop your recipes, test your fragrances, and cure them well to see how well they perform over time. You will need to learn about labeling requirements, good manufacturing procedures, and your local regulations. Insurance is strongly recommended. There is a LOT more to it than just mixing up some oils and lye (but mixing the oils and lye is the fun part!).

Don't be scared, it is a fun journey. But it IS a journey, which is why so many more experienced soapers tell beginners to slow down, make soap for at least one year before you sell, learn everything you can. It is a big time commitment to develop and test your product, and it is not an inexpensive process, either. If you are willing and able to invest the time and money it takes to put a good product out there, then I am sure you will be successful!

 

[forzadicristo]

Thanks everyone! I am so pleased to find this forum instead of just reading an article from wherever and watching youtubers who may not be accurate with their info, I have a place to go to find answers that are out in front of everyone so I am thinking more reliable. Now off to read and play (I mean practice) some more.

Amanda
homeschooling momma to 4 blessings (so far)

 

[KatieShephard]

Thanks everyone! I am so pleased to find this forum instead of just reading an article from wherever and watching youtubers who may not be accurate with their info, I have a place to go to find answers that are out in front of everyone so I am thinking more reliable. Now off to read and play (I mean practice) some more.

Amanda
homeschooling momma to 4 blessings (so far)

Hi Amanda! I'm a newbie too I would recommend watching as many soaping videos on YouTube (soaping101 is a good place to start), read old posts here on the forum, and then come up with a recipe and a plan of action....then post that here and then the more experienced soapers can give you feedback. Sometimes there are little tips and tricks that can make your recipe go smoother.