Soap Making 101

[me&thegals]

Another question. As a major veggie nut, I can see trying all sorts of fruits and veggies in my soaps this summer.

So, do they rot? What preserves actual food in soap? How much can I get away with per lb of oils?

 

[punkin]

So far, I haven't tried actual fruit and veggie bits, just juices (cranberry, carrot, even triple strength coffee).

I usually sub the juice for about half of the water. I pour it in after I have mixed the oils with the lye.

 

[me&thegals]

So far, I haven't tried actual fruit and veggie bits, just juices (cranberry, carrot, even triple strength coffee).

I usually sub the juice for about half of the water. I pour it in after I have mixed the oils with the lye.

Oh boy I could go crazy with juices!! How did the coffee turn out? Did you add any FO or EO? I can picture a beautiful brown studded with whole beans for a massage or scrubbing effect


ETA: I'm going to have to find somebody to sell these to soon or I will soon run out of $ and soaping space!

 

[punkin]

I did add some vanilla scent to the coffee. It came out a rich coffee color, kind of like you added just a hint of cream. Although I did forget to add the coffee grounds for scrubbing kitchen odors off hands.

Oh, and make sure the coffee is chilled when you add lye. :/ In this recipe, I used coffee for the total water amount.

 

[me&thegals]

Oh, coffee grounds! I never thought of those, just the whole beans. It would be perfect for my permanently reeking-of-onions-and-garlic fingers.

 

[me&thegals]

So far I've made:

*3-oil plain bars, gelled and not

*carrot-oatmeal soap, beautiful color

*coffee bean kitchen soap, looks chocolatey

*EIEIO soap (corn, lard, sunflower among the oils, oats, egg yolks, beeswax) I really love this one! It got perfectly hard by the next morning--must be the beeswax doing its job. It's a pretty yellow from the yolks.


This soaping is really addictive. So, here's my latest question: Are any of you willing to talk about pricing?

Does it make a difference what you charge for scented versus unscented soaps? Dyed versus plain? Packaged versus naked?

Do you need a license or permit to sell soap? Where do you find each state's rules for all things regarding selling soap?

Thanks!

me&thegals

 

[FarmerChick]

no license needed to sell handmade soaps

no price diff. between unscented or color vs. white soaps


you charge by the ounce. You must figure out what exact cost you have into making the bars.

most handmade soaps are going for $1.25 per ounce. If you have a 4 oz. bar it would be $5

people will pay this price for quality natural soaps easily.


but key being if you sell, be sure to know your cost and add in your time.

 

[me&thegals]

Wow! That's a lot! Of course, most of my soaps have only been curing a week or a little more, so I imagine they have a bit more water weight to lose...

I have a sheet with all my costs listed and price per oz for each item, so it's easy to figure out my cost per batch and per bar, which I have been calculating each time I make a new batch.

Online, I have seen some gorgeous soaps. Absolutely beautiful, scented, luscious-looking soaps. It doesn't seem right to me that I would try to charge as much as they are when my soaps will be much plainer, some of them unscented and uncolored. FC, do you do more "natural" soaping or the fancier types?

 

[FarmerChick]

remember it is not the "pretty" of the soap per ounce price.....it is the QUALITY of the soaps. Natural and handmade require more money than mass produced chemcial stuff.

and anyone mostly charging less than $1.00-$1.25 for their soaps per ounce probably is not making profit. They can't be.

most people forget to add in their time. I charge for my time. I do not do this for free..LOL...it is a business.

but even mass produced natural soaps can be cheaper because they buy their ingredients in massive bulk....we smaller guys can't do that.

So you are charging for quality vs. pretty.


does that all make sense..LOL



check out prices of natural soaps at farm sites. farms sell at a higher price than the more commercial type natural soap dealers.

 

[me&thegals]

This is the part I always struggle with--CSA shares, eggs, now soap--how to price? I don't want to start low and then raise. That would probably not set well with people. I don't want to start too high and have them not sell, then have to lower prices. I know the people who sell at my market are pretty highly priced, but I don't remember their per/oz prices...

This is all very useful, FC. What you state seems in line with what I found online last night. Do you have a website or how do you sell your soaps?