Overwhelmed! Please help me not fail.

[stephaniezara]

I started out wanting to make some simple goat's milk soap (using my own goat's milk) to sell at my local farmer's market. The more I read, the more complicated it seems. I am hoping someone out there can point me to a tried and true method so that I can minimize my chances of screwing up and pouring a bunch of money down the drain. I've never made soap or lotion or anything similar.
The goal is to make something...

As shelf stable as possible without scaring the farmer's market crowd with too many scary chemicals. From what I've seen Otiphen is a good choice there?

Safe. I have recently ready about home testing kits to make sure each batch is free of bacteria. This is expensive, but it seems important if you're selling to the public. Do you use this?

I'd rather not spend the next year perfecting a recipe that will work well and last well. So can anyone who has successfully made lotions to sell guide me a little in selecting the ingredients and preservatives that work well for them? The basic lotion recipe is easy enough to find, but really I want to get the preservatives right and make something I can feel confident in selling. I'm not looking at huge amounts. Maybe 120 or so ounces pat a time.

Also I had an idea and I'm wondering if anyone has done something similar, or can tell me if it's possible. I was thinking of making a base lotion, and then adding the customer's choice of essential or fragrance oils on the spot. Does that seem like a cool idea, or is it impractical? I was thinking it could be mixed in a cup and poured into a bottle at the time of sale.

Thanks for any guidance you can offer, and sorry for the long post!

 

[cmzaha]

You really need to do some intense studying before delving into making and selling lotions. This is a great place to start learning with books you can purchase from Susan. http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/ Study up on the preservatives a preservative good for one may not be good for another. It would also be advisable to have your batch challenged tested to know for sure your preservative works with your formula. Trying to fragrance a lotion at market is not very sanitary or practical. Markets can suddenly get busy and you will lose customers if they have to wait for you to customize and package a product, sanitation is imperative with lotions and of course all products. Please do not try to jump in and make a goat's milk lotion, they are very tricky to preserve. I never buy gm lotion from crafter's unless I know them and know their product. Your new formula really needs to be tested then left to sit for months and see if it holds up with no beasties growing. Lotion isn't just a make it tonight and sell it tomorrow. Sorry for the long answer! Lotions are fun to make but take time to learn and test.

 

[la-rene]

Stephaniezara,
OMG... slow down sweetie. You are not going to be selling anytime soon unless you want to make some melt and pour or buy a rebatch, but even that takes time to perfect. CP/HP takes time to learn, and I don't think anyone is going to give you their tried and true techniques/recipes that they've spent years developing. It's not fair to you or them.

Take some time, spend the money, learn the craft, learn your oils and what they do, make mistakes, make LOTS of soap. Make sure it's stable for a while. Then get your business ducks in a row. FYI: Solid soap doesn't need a preservative. Maybe an antioxidant....

Also, I personally wouldn't mix at a farmers market. You can't control the bacteria, it doesn't seem like GMP to me.

As far as testing lotions, the home kit would be the least you should do. What kind of preservatives you want to use is up to you. Everyone has an opinion on why they use what they use: ie parabens and formaldehyde donors, and each different one has a percentage use amount. You can find the percentages for lotion making online. As far as what oils, that would be personal too, depending upon what your lotion's goal is. Brambleberry has several lotion recipes, as does lotioncrafter and swiftcraftymonkey, each recipe has a reason for being, so see which one you'd like. Something heavy? Light? For mature skin? So many possibilities....

My advice is, find some recipes, if you have questions after that, ask them. Try out the recipes you find and see if you like them. I will tell you that my first ever soap was goats milk, so even though most people will tell you to start simply, my soap was successful. It can happen. I used a recipe I found online after some research. Seriously, I'd point you at it, but I forgot where I found it. It was simple though. Just three oils.

As far as money, I've spent thousands in research. I expect to spend a lot more. So, you won't get any sympathy from me on that one.

There are no shortcuts in this biz if you really want to learn it and be successful and you can, you just need to do it.

 

[stephaniezara]

Thanks...I was just trying to get a basic launching point. There's so much info out there, it's hard to know where to begin. I was really hoping to be able to make stuff to sell this summer, and I figured someone could verify that one of the common recipes I see online would be reliable and simple enough.
I definitely do want to use goat's milk, though. I've got a freezer rapidly filling up with the stuff and would like to use it.
Ideally I'd spend massive amounts of money and time on perfecting something...but to be honest I don't have that much money and would just like to make the most out of what little I can invest =)
What is your opinion of this recipe? Would it be a good place to start? http://www.feathersontheground.com/2013/08/making-goats-milk-lotion.html

 

[Relle]

Thanks...I was just trying to get a basic launching point. There's so much info out there, it's hard to know where to begin. I was really hoping to be able to make stuff to sell this summer, and I figured someone could verify that one of the common recipes I see online would be reliable and simple enough.
I definitely do want to use goat's milk, though. I've got a freezer rapidly filling up with the stuff and would like to use it.
Ideally I'd spend massive amounts of money and time on perfecting something...but to be honest I don't have that much money and would just like to make the most out of what little I can invest =)

Please re read what la -rene had to say, I agree with her wholeheartedly. As for not having not that much money to invest- we are all in the same boat and did it the hard way. Please do not sell this summer, you won't have the experience behind you. Making a quick buck at others expense is not fair to them or yourself. It's also a bit hard to verify an online recipe without making and testing it.

 

[DeeAnna]

The "feathers on the ground" lotion recipe you are looking at will probably be okay, but you will need to experiment to see what combination of oils and butters will feel right to you. She lists "...Sweet Almond, Avocado, Jojoba, Coconut, and Argan Oils..." and each one will give the lotion a different skin feel. Not to mention jojoba and argan are rather expensive.

Shea butter might be fine in this recipe, but it can also give a grainy feel if you don't melt and mix it correctly.

You might want to play with more or less water in the recipe to get the skin feel you want. The water phase (milk + water) is about 76% of the total. That might be fine ... or it might be too heavy and greasy feeling for a summertime lotion. That's especially true since the goat milk is going to add extra fat to the lotion and add its own skin feel. Hard to say without doing some trials.

The preservative amount seems rather high for the Germall plus liquid that I normally use. You need to convert this recipe to percentages and figure the correct amount of preservative based on the manufacturer's recommended % for the particular preservative you want to use. Do not add preservative blindly -- you risk problems if you under dose and if you over dose.

The recommended fragrance amount is within the realm of reason, but if you add a strong fragrance such as mint, you will want to add less than if you add a lighter fragrance such as some fruit or floral scents. Again, some experimentation is in order to determine the right amount of scent that will play nice with the scent of the lotion itself. Some oils have an odor that doesn't mix well with some fragrances.

She uses bleach water to sanitize her tools, but says nothing about sanitizing her work area, her lotion containers, etc. She also pasteurizes the milk (good), but says nothing about doing a "heat and hold" procedure on the water and oil phases (bad). Heat-and-hold is critical for proper sanitation as well as to create the most effective and long lasting emulsification. She says nothing about working clean and sanitary. If you're determined to make a goat milk lotion and if you're determined to sell your product, it is important to learn the recommended practices for sanitary manufacturing, and I'm not seeing this in her procedure. She is putting her customers at risk.

I recommend getting Anne Watson's book Simple Lotionmaking. She has done a lot of research on what it takes to make lotions for personal use versus making them for sale. She also discusses the sanitation and preservation issues that are specific to making milk lotions, which are more prone to microbial growth than non-milk lotions.

 

[stephaniezara]

Thank you, very helpful!

 

[navigator9]

Well, I had written a very long answer about selling before you're ready, but I think it sounded kind of like if you imagined me, you'd see someone with her hair standing on end, waving her arms, all red in the face, and eyes bugging out, so I very calmly erased it. (takes a deep breath)

So I will just recommend the book on Milk Soapmaking by Anne Watson. DeeAnna recommended her lotion making book, Anne really is a wonderful teacher. I learned to make soap from her book Smart Soapmaking. You would be wise to read all you can. Best of luck to you.

 

[la-rene]

Thanks...I was just trying to get a basic launching point. There's so much info out there, it's hard to know where to begin. I was really hoping to be able to make stuff to sell this summer, and I figured someone could verify that one of the common recipes I see online would be reliable and simple enough.
I definitely do want to use goat's milk, though. I've got a freezer rapidly filling up with the stuff and would like to use it.
Ideally I'd spend massive amounts of money and time on perfecting something...but to be honest I don't have that much money and would just like to make the most out of what little I can invest =)
What is your opinion of this recipe? Would it be a good place to start? http://www.feathersontheground.com/2013/08/making-goats-milk-lotion.html

Begin at the beginning. You are already 6 months behind on making anything to sell this summer and years behind in testing for a lotion that would last. I have read of people testing for 18 months and more. You also need to develop your skills. This is not something you can ignore.

I'm thinking you may have a desperate need or something is wrong that you are thinking you need to do this so quick. I can understand that. But, honestly, you could screw up bad and ruin any chance you have of actually making this work. Seriously, I've got a tried and true, years old, recipe that I just made in Feb, but because the fragrance oil seized, I now have DOS. I have made this recipe for years and I've got years old bars that are great, but... it happens.

Here is what I suggest if you really need to sell to make some money soon. Private label. Until you can get your own recipes working, stable and safe. Surprisingly, some basic lotions aren't that expensive. Hopefully, you can do a farmers market that can support a decent mark up. You can get goats milk soap/lotions from private label sellers, then you can just transition to your own when you are ready. I haven't used goats milk in lotions, but I'm thinking that it requires some serious testing as I can see it going bad with out a perfect recipe. Here is another thought if you go with private label, sell your goats milk locally to a dairy. At least get some money back so it doesn't go to waste.

I am really trying to get you to see that this is not a savior type of business. It will not save you quick. In fact, if you give someone staph from your bad, un-challenge tested lotion, you could lose everything and I don't want to see that for you. Take it slow, do it right. Listen to experience, there is a lot of it talking to you right now. Much more than I have, that's for sure. Do a search for private label lotions. Heck half the ingredient suppliers out there have batch lotions that they sell just for people to bottle up and stick a label on.

 

[Seawolfe]

Here look - you can buy lotion kits from a reputable company for not much more than it would cost to make them (or maybe even less considering equipment): http://www.brambleberry.com/Pre-made-Bases-C180.aspx You can customize them with your own scents, packaging and probably colors or glitter or somesuch - but not goats milk! Though I dont think customizing scents at the booth will work well, its unsanitary and people don't know what they want until they smell your tester, which means you've already made that.

As far as soaps go, you can go with melt and pour - like these kits: http://www.brambleberry.com/Bases-Melt-Pour--C151.aspx or just check out all of their different kits for soaps and many different things.

This gets you fairly decent and SAFE product, provided you follow their guidelines. Your spending isn't going to be much more than for hand-made I would imagine by the end of the day. And your chances of hurting anyone drop to nil.

Its like the old adage - you can have it good, cheap or fast - pick two.

 

[stephaniezara]

Thank you all for the advice! I really appreciate it.
I have looked into those pre-made base lotions. It seems like a good way to get started, if I can't make my own right away. I really didn't know that making my own would take so long, so I'm very glad I asked. It's immensely disappointing, don't get me wrong, but I'd rather do it right than do it fast. Maybe I can look into goat's milk soaps (I think those are easier to make safely? Will have to look that up) or even selling my milk to other crafters for now (getting almost a gallon per day, and the freezers are filling fast).
Thank you again!

 

[AnnaO]

Well, I had written a very long answer about selling before you're ready, but I think it sounded kind of like if you imagined me, you'd see someone with her hair standing on end, waving her arms, all red in the face, and eyes bugging out, so I very calmly erased it. (takes a deep breath)

So I will just recommend the book on Milk Soapmaking by Anne Watson. DeeAnna recommended her lotion making book, Anne really is a wonderful teacher. I learned to make soap from her book Smart Soapmaking. You would be wise to read all you can. Best of luck to you.

Anne Watson's 'Milk Soapmaking', 'Smart Lotionmaking', and 'Smart Soapmaking' books, in Kindle format, are currently selling for 99p ($1.66) each on Amazon.com.

http://www.amazon.com/Anne-L.-Watson/e/B001JP9UWY/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

I can vouch for her Smart Soapmaking book, it has really helped me as a beginner soap maker.
(And seeing as the other two books are currently such a bargain, I might just treat myself to them too...)

 

[navigator9]

Anne Watson's 'Milk Soapmaking', 'Smart Lotionmaking', and 'Smart Soapmaking' books, in Kindle format, are currently selling for 99p ($1.66) each on Amazon.com.

http://www.amazon.com/Anne-L.-Watson/e/B001JP9UWY/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

I can vouch for her Smart Soapmaking book, it has really helped me as a beginner soap maker.
(And seeing as the other two books are currently such a bargain, I might just treat myself to them too...)

Thanks for that! I just went and grabbed the milk soap and lotion making books for my Kindle. For that price, I couldn't resist. I love the way Anne explains things.

 

[stephaniezara]

Wow, thanks! Can't beat that price!