packaging question

[gingerbellsgifts]

Here is a photo of how I have been packaging my soaps. http://www.flickr.com/photos/gingerbell/2196434284/ It is parchment paper underwrap and a handmade paper band. I like the looks of it but there is a problem. I sent some goats milk cp soap to a customer in Hawaii and when she got it she said the wrapping was kind of greasy and ripped. :? I think maybe the soap was a little to fresh.

I could shrink wrap under the parchment and band which is fine for mail order but not so good for craft shows because everyone wants to smell. I used to use suran wrap and people could smell it but I didn't like the look of it.

So my question is does any one have any sugestions as to how to keep the wrap from getting greasy and still be able to smell the soap.

 

[Guest]

It might have been the heat that 'melted' it a bit.......

When was the soap made?
Was this CP or HP soap?

Parchment paper will absorb any oils at all and so i can see why it might have looked greasy even from the natural oils left after the saponification process. (being superfatted) So you might look for another option other than parchment paper just because the nature of the beast of that product. A little tiny drop of oil will look like a whole lot more than it is on parchment paper.


How about using fabric instead? I've packaged my soaps with a pretty fabric before. I used the clear ruler like I showed in my soap liner tutorial to cut it straight. And used a black sharpie marker to mark my lines. (Or i used the rotary cutter and cut my fabric into long strips like you would for quilting, but then cut the strips into squares later as I used it.)

Then I have also used plain white viva paper towel cut to the right size to package as well.

Both methods topped with a label of course.
And they worked great and used wide clear packing tape on the back side and covered it with my label. Leaving the top side free to breath.

But lately i've started to make sure they were fully cured and use shrink wrap the way Paul does it. Leaving the ends open so the customer can smell the soap, they can see the soap but it's protected against little fingers.

 

[gingerbellsgifts]

It was cp goats milk about 3 weeks old so maybe the heat and the freshness of the soap has something to do with it.
Fabric is a nice idea. I wonder if a waxed paper would work in place of parchment so that I can keep the look of my packaging because I like the way it looks? Or what about waxed freezer paper?Thank you so much for your ideas ...Ginger

 

[Guest]

I think it's just that parchment paper absorbs oils so well and quickly that was the problem, and may also was influenced with the heat of the tropical islands of Hawaii.

It can't hurt to try wax paper or freezer paper. If you live in a cooler climate put them close to a register to see how it reacts by being introduced to the heat to see what works for you the best.

But also being 3 weeks old it still has plenty of moisture inside it yet as well, and hasn't had time to fully harden as well. so that very well could have something to do with it. Along with the heat it was introduced to.

Having lived in the tropics before for many years I'm familiar with the climate there.

I'm not sure if the wax paper or freezer paper would be more trouble than it's worth. Because that would hold in any excess moisture and CP soap needs to breath even when it's fully cured. Which is why shrink wrap works for CP soap as long as you leave the ends open so it can breath. Unlike M&P soaps that need to be tightly sealed up.

But fabric on the other hand is pretty inexpensive and you can choose a solid fabric, plain print, or a pretty print. As well as so many other types of fabrics as well, from cheese cloth, to tule, oh just take a look at the fabric dep/craft department and think outside the box !!!! Theme it to holidays and other general themes as you desire, etc.... Christmas, easter, kid prints etc..... Which is one reason why fabric is nice to work with. But if it's going to be in a physical store customers can't see the actual product. But if it's being sold online then you can post picts of the soap and of the finish packaged product. So you need to decide what works for you as well as your method of selling it.

Another thought is soap boxes........

Here is a sample of how i package them for local sales
as well as online at times, when i don't use fabric to make them all purdy.

 

[Lane]

I use tissue paper and fabric. I use to shrink wrap, but my customers have asked for a "non plastic" wrap. I had a donation drive through a local craft club to get together unused, extra pieces of tissue paper and fabric. Recycle! Think about what you might already have around your home. Tissue paper folds very nicely around odd corners, but also tears very easily...

 

[CPSoaper]

WOW! Lane and Gingerbell I absolutely love your packaging!! Both are so cute and very professional looking. Very, very nice.

I use the cigar bands from MMS and put labels on the front and back. Sometimes I use corrugated paper cut into a cigar band that I wrap the soap in, tie with raffia. On these soaps, I tie the tag on with the raffia.

 

[Lane]

Thank you!

I wish I could do my soaps like Faithy, and I believe Paul uses the plastic with the ends cut... I love the professional and "shiny" look of it, but my site is so "recycle and upcycle" based, I had a few people not happy with the plastics... I don't even use plastic coated paper for my labels! I spent an entire day ripping all the fabric into little strips. I don't even use tape! BUT the tissue paper doesn't work well for MP... :cry: I still haven't figured out how to do those ones...

 

[CPSoaper]

Mine look very similar to Faithy's and Paul's. Same concept except my label is on the outside. I do like the idea of putting it on the inside like those 2 do.

 

[gingerbellsgifts]

Thank you for all the input everyone.

Thank you CPSoaper. I was happy with how it looked but not with the problems .

I am going to have to come up with something that looks like I like and is practical for on line and craft show sales. I am going for branding so I want to have the same look for both. I may have to go back to my old way of packaging that I used a few years ago I know it works it's just not as pretty. I have a lot of shrink wrap that I use for M&P so people can see the designs I'll just use that till I have time to test new packaging.

Again thank you all Ginger
http://Gingerbellsgifts.etsy.com

 

[Guest]

Putting it on the inside sure makes it a whole lot easier. I wouldn't have thought of doing it that way unless Paul mentioned it. So he needs to get the credit on that one.

But it's a whole lot less fussing, and I buy a package of paper at wal-mart to print out my labels on. They are soft muted grays, pink or green tint paper, and have a slight tone on tone print going on. So it really looks nice as well. Nothing fancy, but it does the job. Then I go to

http://www.onlinelabels.com/?gclid=COTL ... OAodqF1DHg

this web site and pick out the SIZE label I need, and i repeat the size because I download the template for that label and print them out on my paper, that way i know the exact to work with and they will fit my needs without paying extra for the labels..... And use a ruler and a pencil to mark my lines and cut them out.

And if you don't have microsoft office word you can download openoffice.org for FREE and it's very similar to microfsoft office but FREE and you can open microsoft doccuments with this program as well. It's pretty cool, I use both actually but for my labels i actually like open office better for some reason..........

http://www.openoffice.org/

it's a great program and highly recommended by many in place of the expensive version of MS office....

just thougth i would share that bit for others who need an alternative

 

[Lane]

pick out the SIZE label I need, and i repeat the size because I download the template for that label and print them out on my paper, that way i know the exact to work with and they will fit my needs without paying extra for the labels

That is such a great idea! I am always fussing with exact measurments...I wasted a lot of paper in the beginning...

 

[SouthernEssence]

CP soap should never be shrink wrapped. CP soap needs air at all times.

 

[CPSoaper]

The shrink wrap we are talking about does not cover the whole soap so it is O.K. It is a cigar bands so the ends are exposed.

 

[gingerbellsgifts]

I can turn the shrink wrap bags I have into cigar band type by trimming the closed end. thank you..G

 

[Guest]

That's what I do. I got like 400 shrink bags super uber cheap on ebay so i'm just trimming the ends off. But when i reorder if i can't find a deal on the bags i'll buy a roll of tube shrink wrap. (That's what Paul uses and it's very cheap per use that way.)


I cut them exactly so they are all the same and I found that 1 1/2 inches longer than the actual bar of soap seems to work great. But you can see what works for you.