Soap Weight

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

How do you determine weight of your bars?

  • Scale -Actual weight at the time of sale or packaging

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    2

MellowYellow

Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2008
Messages
23
Reaction score
0
How do you determine the weight of your soap bars?
Actual weight? or mathematical weight (sum of all oils in a recipe divided by number of bars?)

I want to advertise my bars competitively (as in when people compare them to other bars in regards to price, etc.) but I also don't want to be untruthful.
 
When I sell a 12" log mold, I tell everyone this is a "42" ounce mold. All mold makers and soapers, use only the weight of the oils when describing how big a batch to make. For example, today I used 42 ounces of my oils/fats to make a batch. I added the needed lye, the needed goat milk, and the 2.3 ounces of FO. When I cut it, the bars will be 2-1/2" tall, 3-1/2" long, and 1-1/8" thick and will each weigh about 5.5 ounces. There will be 10 bars, plus the 2 small end pieces. !0 bars times 5.5 ounces means the batch was 55 plus ounces when I poured it. After beveling, and a good 4 to 5 week cure, they will loose about .5 to .6 ounces each. I hope I have helped you a bit. :)

Paul :wink:
 
The reason I am asking is because it seems most people that sell soap sell by actual weight of the bar (including milk/water/etc.).
However looking at the FDA labeling regulations it seems the net weight should only be the weight of the oils - to simplify lets assume there are no end pieces in Paul's mold - you'd have 10 4.2 ounce (net weight) bars. But the actual bars would be about 5 ounces in actual weight.

So if I advertise my soap using the FDA labeling guidelines (net weight of 4.2 ounces) it would sound as if my soap was a lot smaller than the soap of people who used current actual weight.
 
I've not read that about the oils. I'd like the link also please.

AFAIK you label with the weight of what you are selling.
 
Lucy said:
Do you have a link to verify that information?

I got the info from Marie Gale's (president of the soapmakers guilde I think) book called 'Soap & Cosmetic Labeling - How to Follow the Rules And Regulations', page 44. 2nd edition.

http://www.forsoapmakers.com/store//store/Soap-Cosmetic-Labeling-Book-2nd-Edition-pr-256.html

It's great book in my opinion, even covers what size font you are supposed to use on what size label and where what kind of info needs to be located.
This was the only part that I found troublesome simply because I think net weight will be lower than actual weight and with so many people advertising actual weight my bars will seem overpriced even though they are the same size or bigger than those of other people.
 
Net Weight is the weight of the finished product minus the packaging. Why would you only use the wieght of the oils.
 
Lucy said:
Net Weight is the weight of the finished product minus the packaging. Why would you only use the wieght of the oils.
because the weight of the water varies. She is assuming that as a bar ages water evaporates.
The weight of the product when packaged may differ from the weight a year later, etc.
 
netweight.jpg
 
weight

maybe all water can be eliminated in commercial soaps, but there is going to be some residual water content in our soaps. i have always used the weight of my soaps after curing for 4 weeks.
 
I sell only well cured soaps that lose very little additional water, and I round down when determining the weight of a soap. I have not had any appreciable loss after that.
 
"When Sold" is the key word in that article. Do you list water as ingredient?
 
Lucy said:
"When Sold" is the key word in that article. Do you list water as ingredient?

Yes, absolutely. I list water as an ingredient.
Thanks. I think I have my answer... :idea:

I'll discount it a little bit and label it as 4.75 ounces I think :D
 

Latest posts

Back
Top