Step ONE

I suppose a person should make sure that they know what they are doing before trying to sell a product. Even though I have been making and selling soap for about 5 or 6 years, I still consider myself to be an amateur. Even some of the most professional soapmakers that I know still have batches that balk up on them. This is probably due to the lack of having a controlled environment. Maybe...I am still unsure about that.

At any rate, I am going to tell you about my journey here since that is the only one I can share. In my last post, I mentioned the places where I find my supplies, so that is out of the way. What I didn't mention is the cost of this project. It is much more cost effective to purchase the oils in 50lb increments...at least for a business as small as mine it is. so...here is my first purchase order.
50lbs Coconut oil($50), 50lbs Palm oil(($50), 35lbs Olive oil($91), 7lbsJojoba oil($50), 35lbs Soybean oil($50), 25lbs Shea Butter
($85) 50lbs NaOH(lye) $60. Distilled H2O is about 25 cents per gallon.
Per batch I use
20oz Coconut
26oz Palm
18oz Olive
5oz Shea Butter
2oz Jojoba
8oz Soy oil
11oz NaOH
24oz H2O
4oz essential or fragrance oil
I won't go into the process of making the soap by mixing the lye water and oils. Just know that it is not as complicated as you might think.
At any rate, with this amount of oils, butter, water, I can expect a yield of about 22 bars of soap.
After pouring the saponified oils into the mold, we wait for the mixture to cure. Patience, patience, patience. But oh my what a wonderful smell.

Soaping is an addiction

Tiny steps interrupted with tripping and stumbling, meeting a few dead ends and a few that come back to life. It is not as easy as I thought it would be, but it is happening. It has to happen! Soaping is an addiction. Of course, from a business point, it helps to have a plan.

It all starts out with having a good supplier, one you can count on for consistency and quality and timely delivery. The lye must be bought locally, and it is good to have a local supplier for essential oils and immediate necessities. Walking distance is good! The bulk of my oils comes from Soapers Choice. Their oils are excellent, choices are great, shipping is timely and the customer services enviable.

With that note, I will tell you who I use to feed the need.
Soapers Choice for oils and butters
Texas Natural Supplies for essential oils and necessities
Michael's for packaging
Elements Bath and Body for packaging.
To Die for Ingredients for Lye.
NEXT...making the soap.
You would be surprised at what it takes to package a bar of soap!!