Do you think it's cost effective to make your own bar soap?

[me&thegals]

Don't forget all your oils and lye, though If I consider all the EOs, special ingredients (coconut milk, oats, spices for color), molds, blender, scales, lye containers for mixing, lye, freezer paper for lining molds, oils, and anything I haven't thought of yet, realistically it was several hundred in start-up costs, but I knew I wanted to sell and so didn't limit myself to very, very simple recipes and only homemade molds.

A person could do it much more cheaply with free fats, homemade molds and hand stirring.

I find that body balm and lip balm are much better in paying for themselves than soap.

Now that I've sold more than enough to cover my start-up costs, my cost per bar averages $1, including labeling. My scent-free bars are, of course, cheaper to make. Some of my scents (like lavender or patchouli) are more expensive, but they average out to $1 or $1.25/bar (I haven't figured it lately since oil prices went up...). I usually make 20-bar batches, so I need to sell approximately 4-5 to cover just material costs. But, my time has a value, too. I haven't factored that in so far as I've enjoyed making soap and it's just a very small side business for me at the farmer's market...

 

[Marianne]

Yes! I always figure my cost per bar because I sell some of the soap that I make. Depending on the types of oils you use, it can be as cheap as 17 cents a bar. You will have the initial costs of equipment (bowls, scale, molds, etc...) but a lot of that can be purchased cheaply second-hand or made for free. I don't ever add fragrances or anything to my soaps, but if you did that I suppose it would cost more per bar as well.

You can also use your homemade soap for other things. I grate a basic olive oil bar for laundry detergent for instance. You could make your own shampoo too. So you would be saving that way also.

Oh no kidding, that's pretty stinking cheap! Would that be using something like Crisco?

A couple years ago, I thought about trying some lavender to make a tincture (like ~gd said on another thread) to use in homemade soap, but the plants winterkilled. ( Anything I can scare up around here is a plus. I love oatmeal soap!

 

[Rebbetzin]

When I first started making goat milk soap, I figured out the cost

(These are based on 2010 prices)

Cost on Soap Making

Initial cost of molds, stamps and 2 bottles of fragrance. 32.27


Shortening 3.29
Olive Oil 5.49
Coconut Oil 6.99
Lye 4.90

Goat Milk? Cost hard to determine. (free to me, except time milking)
Using milk that has gone "goaty"


Cost per batch in materials (1 batch makes 10 bars)

Shortening 12oz. @ .07 per oz .84
Olive Oil 4.25oz @ .17 per oz .72
Coconut Oil 5oz @ .22 per oz 1.10
Lye 3oz @ .31 per oz .93

Total 3.59


Each bar cost .36 (unscented)
.46 (scented)


(not counting the price of the molds.)

26.69 for 25 molds 1.07 per mold
2.79 bottles of Fragrance each makes about 3 batches per bottle. about .093 per bar

Try as I may, I can't get the figures to line up! They are lined up when I type them, but when I post it, they are out of kilter!

 

[Britesea]

sounds very economical- not to mention the fun of making your own soap with your own special touch!

 

[moxies_chickennuggets]

Currently in process of researching soap making. Cost is probably not going to be cheaper to buy then mass produced soaps, but if I can turn out a good product, people will probably pay the little extra. I am going to be selling them in my little shop, which I plan on doing alterations, etc... Jobs are so non-existant right now, but I need to figure some way to generate a little income to pay for the monthly costs. As we own the building the shop is in, and it was previously set up as a shop, the neighborhood knows it exists. I just need to re-open it.

I will be keeping an eye on this thread, as well as others. I had started with the homemade laundry soap project...which is working great. But I think people will be more likely to purchase personal bars of soaps, for their use, or as gifts.

 

[jmsim93]

I like the fact that it is cost effective AND you know what you are putting on your skin!!! I haven't made soap yet, but it is on the to-do list when my doe comes into milk this spring. I will keep checking out these posts to see how everyone is faring...

 

[k15n1]

Try as I may, I can't get the figures to line up! They are lined up when I type them, but when I post it, they are out of kilter!

The forum uses variable-width fonts, to make the text easier on the eye than fixed-width fonts.

You can use table markup, if you can stand it. Details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBCode

Or you can make a Google spreadsheet, share it, and post the link.

 

[mtnman369]

The soap making process is the satisfaction I think. Not a big money saver but you know what you're putting on yours and your loved ones skin. A good fairly natural brand I do like to buy is Kirkland's Castille soap and at a very reasonable price. Nice clean scent but still nothing makes your skin feel like the homemade stuff with just the right amount of exfoliant and moisturizer (which means a good balance of fat to lye, and equally important is using a good fat source)....Here is a pretty simple recipe for making Castile soap. essortment com /make-castile-soap-home-grocery-store

 

[Marianne]

I see this is your first post, so welcome! Please take a moment and introduce yourself over at the 'where am I' part of the index. There's bound to be people that are no longer viewing this thread.

I corrected the link to: http://www.essortment.com/make-castile-soap-home-grocery-store-ingredients-45343.html

Our little local market carries only liquid Castile and it's really pricey! I'd like to give the homemade stuff a try again, thanks for posting.