What soapy thing have you done today?

[AliOop]

I pivoted and am trying @IrishLass 's cocoa shea GLS. But I'm waiting on polysorbate 80. Oh, and I'm using your write up of her write up. This is where I stopped

Looks perfect! I do love that recipe.

 

[Firefly24]

I really like how the colors came out in this recipe. Gold, pink & TD white. This formula was perfect!

 

[justsomeguy]

I infused madder root, ancho chili, tumeric, and tomato powder into castor oil (sous vide, 12 hours, 152°)

Life popped up in the tumeric
The tomato didn't seem to do a thing
The ancho and madder root seem to be the same color

 

[Zing]

I tossed a bar of soap today! I feel bad about it. My best friend travels internationally a lot and always brings me a bar of soap. Yesterday I opened a bar from Vietnam that was scented curcumin and it had a strong savory scent. Mrs. Zing says "why does the bathroom smell like movie theater popcorn all of a sudden?" I really tried to like it. But the scent is taking over the house and I can't deal anymore. Shh, don't tell my friend.

 

[AliensrReal]

Ordered scents from WSP. Most I’ve had before. Some are going to be used for wax tarts. * new to me.

WSP
- Farmers Market Vine Ripe Tomato*
- Peach Bellini
- Market Peach*
- Balsam Cedar
- Balsam Pine*
- Avobath
- Sicilian Lime*

Rustic Escentuals
- Fresh Squeezed Oranges
- Green Apple*
- Fresh Peach

Just Scents
- Lime Kicker
- Bergamot & Coriander

 

[Misschief]

Finally making soap again. Two batches down; tomorrow, I might make more. Today's soaps are a batch of Obsidian's Salt Soap and a batch of Love Spell soap. This time, I remembered to put the FO in.

 

[Firefly24]

Been busy adding more soap. The orange soap was made with Orange Patchouli form Nurture Soap. It smells quite unique. Not sure what swirl technique it is as it didn't quite work as I had planned. As usual sometimes. The mermaids are cute. The FO for those were 8th & Ocean. The tail & shell was made with M&P. I am finally going to start selling some soap as they have finally fully cured. (Not these yet.) #Idreamofsellingsoap

 

[AliOop]

@Firefly24 those soaps are very pretty, as all of your soaps are.

I hate to be a downer, but I seem to recall that you started soaping within the last few months, yes? That means even though your soaps are cured, you don't yet know how they do in the long term. You haven't gotten feedback from testers. How long will they last in the shower or at the sink? Will they get mushy with use? Will they develop DOS or develop other rancidity? Will the fragrances fade? Can you consistently create the same results? Can you evaluate a recipe on paper, before you even make it?

Since you are a professional baker, maybe this comparison will make sense. If someone came to you and said they had just baked their first cake two months ago, and loved it so much that they were going to open a bakery, would you agree that they had enough experience and knowledge to do that without risking harm to the public? They almost certainly haven't learned all of the other things required to meet public health and safety standards for selling.

I could go on, but instead I'll recommend reading this thread. It has a lot of great questions to ask yourself before you step out into selling. As you read this, please remember that unhappy soap buyers can turn off lots of people to handcrafted soap. In other words, people who start selling right away can - and often do! - really harm the entire handcrafted market.

We here at SMF are the first to cheer folks on with selling their soaps, once they have the depth of experience to ensure that their contributions will make people more enthusiastic about handcrafted soaps, and not less.

 

[Misschief]

Well, that didn't go quite as planned. I was going to make a pull-through soap with a slow moving recipe (which I've used before) but it accelerated a bit, just enough that it was too thick for a pull-through. I'm looking forward to seeing how it comes out, though. I was pretty happy with the colours I used.

 

[AliensrReal]

Well, that didn't go quite as planned. I was going to make a pull-through soap with a slow moving recipe (which I've used before) but it accelerated a bit, just enough that it was too thick for a pull-through. I'm looking forward to seeing how it comes out, though. I was pretty happy with the colours I used.

I’ve had some thick pull-throughs before that have come out very nice.

 

[Firefly24]

@Firefly24 those soaps are very pretty, as all of your soaps are.

I hate to be a downer, but I seem to recall that you started soaping within the last few months, yes? That means even though your soaps are cured, you don't yet know how they do in the long term. You haven't gotten feedback from testers. How long will they last in the shower or at the sink? Will they get mushy with use? Will they develop DOS or develop other rancidity? Will the fragrances fade? Can you consistently create the same results? Can you evaluate a recipe on paper, before you even make it?

Since you are a professional baker, maybe this comparison will make sense. If someone came to you and said they had just baked their first cake two months ago, and loved it so much that they were going to open a bakery, would you agree that they had enough experience and knowledge to do that without risking harm to the public? They almost certainly haven't learned all of the other things required to meet public health and safety standards for selling.

I could go on, but instead I'll recommend reading this thread. It has a lot of great questions to ask yourself before you step out into selling. As you read this, please remember that unhappy soap buyers can turn off lots of people to handcrafted soap. In other words, people who start selling right away can - and often do! - really harm the entire handcrafted market.

We here at SMF are the first to cheer folks on with selling their soaps, once they have the depth of experience to ensure that their contributions will make people more enthusiastic about handcrafted soaps, and not less.

@AliOop Um thanks for the thread recommendation. It was worth the time to read. Yes, I started soaping a few months ago. However, I spent many months educating & researching before putting my hands to the task. I WAS a professional baker and teacher for 20 years. Therefore, that means I clearly know food regulations, laws, insurance, etc. In other words, I know just a few things about business.

To answer all of your questions above- Yes, I do believe I could evaluate a recipe far better than someone who has never been in business making handcrafted items for personal consumption. I do have many life skills at my age. Let me quote a link that was also posted in the thread from Amanda Aaron from Lovin soap. "Any business when first starting off makes mistakes....the lessons learned...are what can catapult you towards success!"

Oddly enough, I did have a student that came in and wanted to start her own bakery within a few months. She was an older lady with a ton of money & a lot of business education. She hired trained bakers & decorators. She hired me to help her expedite her bakery. To this day, which has been over 20 years ago, she runs an extremely successful, profitable bakery in a touristy town. She wanted to learn from me so that she could oversee "her" business. And guess what? She did make a few mistakes, but it wasn't to the extent of harming anyone.

I completely get what you are saying here. I would NEVER in any way want to harm someone, whomever it would be. I would not want to turn off buyers from handcrafted soaps due to my mistakes. I am not perfect as nobody is. Nobody is ever going to make the best soap or the perfect soap because it doesn't exist. I don't buy cheap quality products and never will. I have invested thousands of dollars in time and products just making soap thus far. I have thrown out what I considered to be bad quality soap. I hold myself to a high standard. I clearly understand there is more to selling soap than just posting pretty pictures of my creations.

I know I can consistently make awesome soap and it will be excellent quality. If there is a will there is a way. You have to start somewhere. I keep my faith in Jesus and I know I can do whatever I set my mind to. I have faith. Cheers to us keeping on keeping on.

 

[Firefly24]

Reposting my photo-wasn't trying to advertise...

 

[AliOop]

@AliOop Um thanks for the thread recommendation. It was worth the time to read. Yes, I started soaping a few months ago. However, I spent many months educating & researching before putting my hands to the task. I WAS a professional baker and teacher for 20 years. Therefore, that means I clearly know food regulations, laws, insurance, etc. In other words, I know just a few things about business.

To answer all of your questions above- Yes, I do believe I could evaluate a recipe far better than someone who has never been in business making handcrafted items for personal consumption. I do have many life skills at my age. Let me quote a link that was also posted in the thread from Amanda Aaron from Lovin soap. "Any business when first starting off makes mistakes....the lessons learned...are what can catapult you towards success!"

Oddly enough, I did have a student that came in and wanted to start her own bakery within a few months. She was an older lady with a ton of money & a lot of business education. She hired trained bakers & decorators. She hired me to help her expedite her bakery. To this day, which has been over 20 years ago, she runs an extremely successful, profitable bakery in a touristy town. She wanted to learn from me so that she could oversee "her" business. And guess what? She did make a few mistakes, but it wasn't to the extent of harming anyone.

I completely get what you are saying here. I would NEVER in any way want to harm someone, whomever it would be. I would not want to turn off buyers from handcrafted soaps due to my mistakes. I am not perfect as nobody is. Nobody is ever going to make the best soap or the perfect soap because it doesn't exist. I don't buy cheap quality products and never will. I have invested thousands of dollars in time and products just making soap thus far. I have thrown out what I considered to be bad quality soap. I hold myself to a high standard. I clearly understand there is more to selling soap than just posting pretty pictures of my creations.

I know I can consistently make awesome soap and it will be excellent quality. If there is a will there is a way. You have to start somewhere. I keep my faith in Jesus and I know I can do whatever I set my mind to. I have faith. Cheers to us keeping on keeping on.

@Firefly24 You clearly have all the skills to be a successful, professional soapmaker, which is wonderful. The only thing I see lacking is a testing period for your soaps.

Unlike baking, where freshness is a prime asset, soaps do require time to know how they will perform over the long haul. And unlike your friend who started the bakery, you aren’t hiring anyone experienced to create your recipes or make your soap.

What about spending the rest of this year making tons of soap and having friends and family test it for you? Then, at the end of the year, you will know for sure that your soaps are ready to sell. Assuming they are, you will also have a nice big stock of them on hand for holiday markets, etc.

But without that testing, you are gambling. Based on what you shared, you are probably more likely than most to win that gamble. Nonetheless, you still risk damaging the public’s perception of handcrafted soap.

Again, this isn’t a reflection on you as a person. It’s an ongoing reality that the soapmaking community has to battle on the regular.

 

[Firefly24]

@Firefly24 You clearly have all the skills to be a successful, professional soapmaker, which is wonderful. The only thing I see lacking is a testing period for your soaps.

Unlike baking, where freshness is a prime asset, soaps do require time to know how they will perform over the long haul. And unlike your friend who started the bakery, you aren’t hiring anyone experienced to create your recipes or make your soap.

What about spending the rest of this year making tons of soap and having friends and family test it for you? Then, at the end of the year, you will know for sure that your soaps are ready to sell. Assuming they are, you will also have a nice big stock of them on hand for holiday markets, etc.

But without that testing, you are gambling. Based on what you shared, you are probably more likely than most to win that gamble. Nonetheless, you still risk damaging the public’s perception of handcrafted soap.

Again, this isn’t a reflection on you as a person. It’s an ongoing reality that the soapmaking community has to battle on the regular.

Thanks, great advice.

 

[AliensrReal]

I have taken a break from soap making, but I’ll get back involved this weekend.

 

[LizzardBlizzard]

What's that? Oh, just soap on the ceiling. I was using a Pringles can for a mold and I was using the lid it came with for the bottom. I poured in a little soap at thick trace and no leaks! I thought wow why has no one thought of this? Then I filled it up and I tried banging the mold on the table to make sure there were no bubbles..... Well turns out it's not up to being banged. Good news is that only a bit got on the table. Bad news is I propelled it onto the ceiling. Ah well, at least I missed the light fixture.

 

[AliOop]

Rejoice, your soapmaking has reached new heights!

 

[shannonavery24]

I did this soap this morning. Then cleaned up soap from the day before and today. Got a new desk, did furniture rearraging in my studio/office. I posted a few pics of the soap loaves I cut today, got intereested orrders. I'm still learning WooCommerce, all it's themes, etc. Exhausting to know I've missed out on sales because I WOULD rahter soap than code anymore.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I got an online soap order today. We have just moved house recently and my craft room is still just a pile of boxes. Now which box are the return address labels in? And which box are the actual soaps in that she's ordered? Can I find the little organza bags? Where's the bubble wrap? A pen? What usually takes me 2 minutes took about 20 minutes!

 

[Shelley D]

I got an online soap order today. We have just moved house recently and my craft room is still just a pile of boxes. Now which box are the return address labels in? And which box are the actual soaps in that she's ordered? Can I find the little organza bags? Where's the bubble wrap? A pen? What usually takes me 2 minutes took about 20 minutes!

Congratulations on your new and exciting chaos!