Interested in making soap

Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
S

Soapyguy

Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2013
Messages
16
Reaction score
9
Hello, i am just getting started in the world of soap making. My girlfriend and i hope to get to the point where we can sell our soap at the farmers market. I have a little extra cash to spend so if we fail it will be ok. Mostly doing it for fun, and hopefully a little extra cash. We do not want to use lye at all. Anyone know of any good sites to order bulk soap making supplies from?
Any help or advice is greatly appreciate
Thanks
Jeff
 
You have to use lye to make soap. It is essential to the soapmaking process. No lye, no soap. All of the lye is consumed in the chemical reaction that results when you combine oils and fats and lye. If you still do not want to use lye, you could still make melt and pour soap or rebatch commercial soap. It's essentially premade soap base that you melt down. There are lots of good suppliers. It depends on what you want to do. I would suggest Bramble Berry, as they have some starter melt and pour kits.
 
I agree with danahuff. if you dont use lye theres no way your going to get soap, my husband tried to convince me it was possible (apperently his husbands wife makes soap) but i found out after months of my husband trying to convince me it was possible that she was really doing melt and pour
Lye really isnt that bad as long as your careful. Ive never had an issue (as long as i was wearing my protective gear that is)
 
Everything Dana says is right, no lye = no soap. Even on liquid soaps. On commercial bars when you see words like sodium cocoate and sodium tallowate, these are just industrial words that describe the salts created bye the chemical reaction between lye and coconut oil or beef tallow respectively. Lye requires safety, but shouldn't be intimidating. Educate yourself on how to use lye and it will be easy. Of course, if you really don't want to manufacture your own soaps, you can use premise melt and pour bases. Bramble berry and wholesale supplies plus offers bases you melt and mold, and can add your own scents and colors to.
 
I wonder, is safety the reason you don't want to use lye or is it because it's a chemical you don't want in soap?
 
Yep. No lye=no soap. If you don't want to work with lye, stick with melt and pour soap.

Good places to order melt and pour from are:

Brambleberry.com
wholesalesuppliesplus.com
saveonscents.com

Good luck
 
Sorry i am just misinformed maybe jumped the gun too quick. I bought the book "soap makers workshop" and have been reading all day. I thought that lye was animal fat....I get it now. We are going to start buying ingredients tonight. Thanks
 
You might have been thinking of lard :) Lye is available in most places as drain cleaner. If you go the lye route, make sure to buy the crystals, at least 99% pure. (I buy the 100% sold at Ace Hardware.)
 
Now it is completely possible to make soap with only vegetable oils. I do, though plenty of folks here on the forum use lard and tallow and other animal fats.

I also like Nature's Garden, Soaper's Choice, and Soap Goods as suppliers, in addition to the others mentioned here. They have a variety of fragrances, colorants, and oils, and Soaper's Choice has big bulk oils.
 
CaliChan said:
I agree with danahuff. if you dont use lye theres no way your going to get soap, my husband tried to convince me it was possible (apperently his husbands wife makes soap) but i found out after months of my husband trying to convince me it was possible that she was really doing melt and pour
Lye really isnt that bad as long as your careful. Ive never had an issue (as long as i was wearing my protective gear that is)
Click to expand...

CaliChan, your husband has a husband? LOL:p
 
Oh ok do you don't want animal fat. That's entirely alright and you can make a wonderful soap using vegetable oils. Best of luck on your quest!
 
Soapyguy said:
Sorry i am just misinformed maybe jumped the gun too quick. I bought the book "soap makers workshop" and have been reading all day. I thought that lye was animal fat....I get it now. We are going to start buying ingredients tonight. Thanks
Click to expand...

So what interested you guys in soap? Lots of great experience on here take your time and learn about safe handling of lye. DON'T CUT CORNERS. watch some videos on YouTube. Thy helped me a lot. Good luck and show us your results.
 
Last edited:
Something else not mentioned. You will have to make alot of soap and test it for a year at least before you should sell it. You should have at least 100 batches under your belt. Reason is not all your batches will be pretty or nice and we all have to go threw this. No shortcuts to sell fast. Also there are laws to selling soap. You can not claim it does anything but clean unless you want to follow certain FDA rules. You will want libability insurance too for selling to the public. This forum is better than any book as most have mistakes and are out of date on the new laws. Good luck and have fun but do take your time before selling.
 
I make soap without lard or animal fats. Although, They sound like they make a great addition to soap.
What are peoples thought on lanolin. I have heard it is a great product. Do folks use it in soap or just body products like lotions and lip balms? I am curious about it - any users out there?
 

Similar threads

dibbles
SMF December 2023 Un-Challenge - Pretty Leftovers
2 3
Replies
53
Views
3K
CLMP
CLMP
D
Need help making new soap.
Replies
3
Views
241
Mobjack Bay
Mobjack Bay
N
deep fryer oil for soap making
Replies
5
Views
437
natik
N
Bunnybum1122
Can I remake this mess?
Replies
1
Views
224
Ephemerella
E
madde hughes
Soda Ash
Replies
10
Views
924
AliOop
AliOop

Latest posts

Back
Top