things you know now and redoing it... top 6 scents blends

[deafsoaper]

I was browsing in different areas seeing people having like 21 scents on hand to sell or just perfected scent recipes, does one type of soap, etc

The things you know now ever since you first started soaping... if you had gone back in time and redo it... what would be your top 6 scents blends to start off?

I'm pretty sure that everybody here who started soaping didn't have true high teens or 20+ scents out of the gate lol... it took time and experience to grow, dealt with bad scents combos and manage so many scents like you soap juggernauts been and still doing

 

[lucycat]

My first soaps when I started in 2005 were Lavender Mint (still my favorite), a citrus FO, OMH, MMS' Red Clover Tea, Lavender EO, MMS' Gardenia Lily (no longer available). I made what sounded good and suggestions that I had received from others. I used one supplier, MMS where I also bought supplies and purchased a lot of 2oz and 4oz bottles. I would do the same thing if doing over. Pick one supplier and try things you like.

If you don't like a certain fragrance type how will you know if you are picking a good one? A patchouli lover isn't going to be impressed with a poor quality FO substitute. The same is true for a lot of florals. It's better to just gradually try new things after you have gotten used to working with scents you like. If you sell in person then you will sell more of the scents you like.

To me 6 scent blends would mean a mint or rosemary, a lavender, a sweet fruit, a light floral, a masculine clean or water scent and a patchouli based fragrance. I probably sold soap for a couple of years before I branched out into more masculine scents so I don't think you need to have 6 kinds of scents. Do what you know.

 

[TheGecko]

Knowing then what I know…I wouldn’t change a thing because it’s how I got here.

I started with a good, solid, well-balanced recipe…and then I bought some sample colorants. And then I bought a crap load of 1oz and 2oz bottles of FO and EOs from different suppliers and made soap.

 

[cmzaha]

Actually, when we first started selling I started with at least 30-40 different fragranced soaps and never changed. I did change my soap formulas over the years because frankly back when I started selling I started selling a bit too early and would not sell those soaps today. Actually my daughter was selling my soaps at the time out of trying to survive. Although they did sell well and I sold in the same market for over 7 years and outlasted many soap sellers, I would not consider those first-year soap quality soaps. The reason for my starting with so many choices was the fact when I started selling almost every outdoor market had multiple soap sellers so you needed to have an extra edge. So mine was to go Big and it worked.

Over the years my customers told me my soaps were always good but progressed to awesome, so my changes were good. So one word of advice is, do not be afraid to make changes. When I started out I did not have this forum or any help so I learned by reading on my own. Eventually, thanks to many discussions here, I learned about chelators and other additives that improved soaps and never looked back. My journey has been well over 11 yrs.

I started with 6 lb batches all made in the same molds until the day I retired from selling when covid hit and always purchased min of 1 lb bottles of fo's. I had no patience to fool around with little sample bottles and small batches. I sold in enough markets, 4-5, every week that it worked out for me.