I have a thousand dollars to spend tell a newbie how to spend it!

I have been considering soap queen's business in a box kit, because I would like to learn how to make soap without having to continuously place new orders.

My main problem with the kit it the quick mix oils. I would rather a bunch of separate oils I could experiment with, and also I do not like the fragrances. I don't LOVE lavender and I could live with less patchouli.

I DO want the tools...the better scale, the cute goggles, The stainless steal immersion blender is probably better than my Big Boss. And who doesn't like a mini blender?

Anyway, what I want to do is learn how to create lots of moisturizing soaps with scents I like, and exfoliates because I love them.

With this in mind, I challenge you to spend my thousand dollars as you wish.

I already have...a kitchen aid stand mixer, an emulsion blender, a couple of silicone molds! and lots of pyrex.

This is a new hobby and I totally understand it will go the way of my other hobbies....

I would put the money in the bank after investing in a few books on soap making, I'd visit this and other forums while reading the books, then I would start making soap with simple ingredients with appropriate tools. Maybe attend a soaping convention (if that's what they are called). Then as I became more experienced then I would invest in oils, butters, pigments, fragrances, and equipment that interested me. It won't take long to go through the money...trust me.

Thank you! I have money in the bank! I am a hands on type of person, and although I have spent months reading about soap, I feel I am ready to go and make some!
I haven't heard of a soap making convention in my area, and one can not become experienced without investing in butters and oils.
I want to create a nice all around lab!

and even if cp is not for me, I can still use the oils and butters for my other loves, lotion and scrub bars!

I agree for some the best way to learn is by getting stuck in (I'm a hands on type too). I personally wouldn't bother with books, as you can find all the info you need on the internet these days and this forum is fantastic for any questions (if you haven't searched the archives yet, then do so, its very informative). I think the first thing to focus on is safety equipment, long gloves, mask, goggles, apron etc. You'll probably want more moulds too. I don't have a loaf mould but if I could afford one I would get one just to try. You might want a couple of thermometers and a couple of plastic buckets and jugs. I don't use the pyrex for soaping because I've heard of glass shattering, so better off with plastic. You can save the glass for lotion bars etc Then just decide which oils / butters / additives you want to work with and buy in small batches of them all. Then you can experiment to your hearts content till you have decided on you're favourite recipes. Everyone has different tastes so you'd have to decide on which oils you'd best with yourself but read some of the old threads about single oil soaps to get a general idea. HTH
P.S. wish I had a thousand dollars to blow on soap

I have not read any of the current soapmaking books that are available, so I can't comment about how good they are. But OTOH I've learned to soap pretty well by using the internet. If I were you, I'd play around with soapcalc and get a recipe that seems to fit your needs, then buy those oils. Start simple. There is no need to buy a bunch of fancy oils. Soap is washed off anyway! Invest in some colors, maybe the sample packs. And a few essential or fragrance oils that you think you will like. Start with small bottles unless it is one you already know you like. Same with exfoliates. Buy what you know you like, maybe smaller amounts of new ones. And of course be sure you have all the safety equipment mentioned earlier. Even if I had it to spend all at once, I don't think I would. I'd get myself started, then see where that leads me.

I did a year's worth of research via internet then I got Anne L. Watson's Smart Soapmaking. Read the book coved to cover twice. First recipe was using kitchen ingredients: Crisco, olive oil, water, lye. Made it & was hooked. Of course, this was after making many batches of m&p. I also have Everything Soapmaking by Alicia Grosso. I'd keep the bulk of the money in the bank & start cheap. Buy a good scale and some sample eo's & fo's first. Just my 2 cents...


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If you've never made soap before, I would go to your local health food store or Costco or wherever, get a few simple oils --olive oil, coconut oil, castor oil, etc-- and make a batch or two, sans color and fragrance. Then try it with a fragrance or two, then a color, THEN see how you want to spend the rest of the money. Soapmaking is really something you want to get the hang of and make sure you enjoy before spending that kind of money. And of course all the safety gear, as mentioned above.

Throwing money at it will not teach you how to make soap. Like others have said, you need to read, read, read. Whether that is from books or the forums is up to you. There is a lot of very good (and some rather suspect) information in both. There are also youtube and instructables videos which I found helpful in the beginning. But be advised there are way too many people out there who make their first batch of soap and then feel compelled to share with the world, before they have any idea what they are really doing. Don't learn their bad habits.

So first and foremost learn about safety (things like always protect your eyes and don't use glass or aluminum with lye).
Then learn about the various processes (HP, CP, CPOP...). You might only choose to pursue one or you may explore all of them.
When you are ready to try your first batch then yes, it's time to place an order. I like Columbus Foods (a.k.a. Soapers Choice) for my oils and you can buy enough CO, PO, PKO, Castor or whatever to get you through numerous test batches. If you have a stainless steel pot and any sort of mold and some plastic or stainless mixing and measuring implements then you have most of what you need. Once you have several batches under your belt you will most certainly begin adding to your shopping list.

Buy a book on soap making and a notebook to keep your recipes. The worst that can happen is that you come up with a great bar of soap and then can't remember how you did it. After reading a few books, make a batch of soap. Also, buy the Soapmakers program. It is a great for determining how your soap will turn out. Note... never pour water into lye. There is a little saying they say in chemistry " Do as you oughta, add acid to water" This also works with a base. Never combine NaOH and Aluminum. Do not substitute Drano for NAOH. Buy Litmus paper to test your soap PH before you give/sell them.

Just take it easy.
Some proper molds, basic oils (olive, coconut, palm, castor) fragrance oils and colourants will provide you with more than enough opportunities to experiment for years.

You don't even have to invest in a mold, use a cardboard box and line it with thin garbage bags. Don't waste a lot of money on expensive oils and butters, this is soap that washes off. Buy eye goggles, rubber gloves, stick blender, silicone spatulas, a couple of mixing containers, disposable drinking cups for measuring lye etc. Soap Queen TV and Soaping 101 are great places with free tutorials. If you want to spend money on a video tutuorial, this one is a good investment:


http://www.soapmakingschool.com/karmasudsclasses/classj36/

I have been soaping on a tight budget and I highly suggest starting off with the minimum things you need. Your position is very different, but starting out and working as if you are on a budget can be helpful. You might want a mold, but you can use a box or PVC pipe, goggles, gloves, stick blender, spatula(s), mixing and measuring containers. I would get some basic oils: coconut, olive, castor and palm (great oils for starting out with). As for colorants and fragrances, I would suggest making at least one batch without using any color or scent first before you add those to the mix. I suggest either getting a color sampler pack to start with or maybe a couple different samplers (micas, oxides and/or natural colorants) so you can experiment a little. You may also pick up some samplers of fragrances as well to get an idea of the scents that you would like to get more of. I personally would not just spend that much outright.. I would do some testing first and then you can start investing more as you figure out what you like or don't like. Just my thoughts, hope they help

I would also start with the basics, once you have made a few batches you will have a much better idea of what you need. I don't think that is is better just because everything is in a kit. You will need eye protection, gloves, and a stick blender. If you want to spend money I would say a stainless steel pitcher with a handle for your lye would be a good investment, but not necessary. Most of the items in the Business Box can be purchased on their own.

For supplies, don't neglect flea markets and thrift stores. You can generally save bowls spatulas and mixing sticks. Stuff like this sells for pennies on the dollar.

Everyone has mentioned reading and research. Very important! However, lets say you have all the head knowledge you can get and now you want to buy supplies....I always use, and would recommend having:
a dedicated lye container
immersion blender with stainless steel stem
scale that does grams and oz down to small increments if possible
good quality gloves that cover your wrist and go a bit up your arms. i recommend at least 2 pairs.
good quality eye wear that encompasses the eyes..dont just get glasses that cover the front
mixing bowls. you should start with 1lb batches, so i personally like using glass 4cup pyrex measuring cups.
silicone or stainless steel mixing utensils.
molds. silicone is super easy, but log molds are nice too. you could use an old box if you really wanted.
parchment paper to line wood molds with

Extras:
soap cutter...to make nice, even ones make or buy one that holds a log in place and has markings for uniform bars. or buy a nice wire one, although you dont *need* it.
veggie peeler to make the bars uniform on the edges

As for which oils and scents...all personal preference. i would start basic (coconut, lard, olive, ect) and go from there. Dont go crazy with exotic oils. Fragrance oils are cheap, but not natural if thats something you care about. Lots of additives like coffee and cocoa powder in your kitchen for color. And if you are looking for a book, i own the everything soapmaking book and think it is very informative. Oh, and keep notes! My sil just mentioned a scent she loves and i cant remember what it was because i didnt write it down...anyways, thats all i can think of, but hopefully its a starting point.

Full disclosure: Beginner here. I couldn't resist your thread title though.

First of all, you need to read. Read, read, read, read, read. And then read some more. And then...okay, I think I made my point. That point is, DON'T spend that money on books. Go to your local library. Mine has a database online where I can search for books, put a hold on them, then they deliver the books to the library of my choice. All for *~FREE~*. That's right, 100% free. If you fall in love with a library book and decide you absolutely would reference it every time, or nearly every time you make soap, then you buy it. Otherwise you end up buying a bunch of books that sit around because they looked like something you'd like, but once you read it it wasn't as good as you thought. (Speaking from experience, here.) Don't expect to find flawless recipes and exactly what you're looking for in soapmaking books either. One book I checked out I became so disappointed with it went right back to the library. I'm still checking out more soapmaking books and have another I need to go pick up right now. But don't stop there! You can read all sorts of soapmaking blogs. But always, always prepare for putting any recipe you find somewhere that you want to try through a lye calculator before you try it. Even more fun, come up with your own recipe and run it through, and post it here for feedback before diving in.

I second thrift stores for DIRT CHEAP equipment, and the use of Costco (awesome return policy, if you have one near you - I bought a scale from them that didn't measure grams right so I took it back, no problem). This is important because much of what you use you may decide to make it "dedicated" equipment. Some do, some don't. I do, because lye weirds me out like that. Anyway, I get more organic olive oil from Costco cheaper than I have seen it on any oil website, and my Cuisinart stainless steel tipped stick blender came from there as well ($30). You also REALLY need to determine what's truly important to you in your soapmaking. Do you want organic soap? Have you investigated various types of oils/butters and their properties/how they are harvested? Everybody has different opinions on what they love, and even ethics on what they will or will not use (animal oils, palm, etc.). Only buy the EOs YOU love to start. What fun is it if you don't love what you're making?

Thus ends my monologue. If I had a thousand dollars, I think I would see if I could get the best soapmaking scale out there (hopefully at a discount or during a sale), and perhaps invest in some SoapHutch no-line molds, maybe a few "fancy" pop-out molds I became enamored with on the side, plus wait and stock up on certified organic oils/butters/EOs when they are available at a special price. Or just buy a little extra if they're not, so I will have just enough for a few learning batches. Then I would take the rest of the money and put it into an emergency savings fund - because you never know when something like that is going to be necessary! :Kitten Love:

ETA: I LOVE reading and I'm a bookworm, which is why I use my library so much. I hate clutter and live in a 420 sq. ft. apartment, on the other hand, and have no problem with going to the library to check out a book multiple times. That's what works for me. YMMV.

I'll PM you my address, you can send me the money and I'll take care of spending it

Seriously, not to beat a dead horse, but like everyone else, get the basics (scale, goggles, stick blender, thermometer, rubber gloves, and goggles). I also agree to start with a simple recipe. The one I did was nothing but a can of generic Crisco, water, and lye. Easy Peasy.

lizflowers42 said:

I'll PM you my address, you can send me the money and I'll take care of spending it

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**** it Liz, you beat me to it!

bodhi said:

**** it Liz, you beat me to it!

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I'm not greedy, we can all share it. Think how much bulk stuff you can get for that kind of money!!