Curious. . . .

[kitterz]

So, I have been making soap for 6 months now and finding it rather difficult to source my supplies here in Zimbabwe. I am curious how much some supplies cost in other parts of the world.

For instance, I am paying US$15 for 1.1 lb of coconut oil (cannot get it wholesale here) and I use a lot of beef tallow in my soaps, since it works out to around 5 cents per pound.

Some of my EO's are $15 for 1oz and some are up to $45 per oz (I highly doubt I will use the higher priced ones) and I cannot find FO's here. I have just found a supplier who can import KOH for me at a cost of $85 for 55 lb. I get my NaOH for $6 for 2lb.

Olive oil, depending on the brand can be anywhere from $10 to $18 for 32oz.

So I am wondering if prices in other parts of the world are that high or if this place is just ridiculously expensive!!

 

[CaraBou]

If I have to buy my supplies at the local health food store, the prices aren't so different than where you are. For example, coconut oil is around $13/lb, and EOs only come in small sizes that are cost prohibitive (~$8 for 1/2 oz of lavender). Fortunately though, there is bulk warehouse (Costco) in my city where I can typically pick up coconut oil for around $4.50/lb and olive for $2/lb. Not much else is available there that I'm interested in, though.

I can't find tallow here at all, but I can get lard for about $2.50/lb at Walmart.

Lye at the one and only place in town that carries it (a hardware store) is $5/lb.

Shipping is usually quite awful to Alaska, and isn't even an option with some suppliers. But if I look hard enough I can sometimes find deals. It seems that the most expensive and difficult things to ship here are EOs & FOs because they usually require ground transportation.

One thing for sure, soaping is not a cheap hobby!

 

[seven]

you are very lucky you have tallow in abundance. 5 cents per pound, i'll be all over it!

from the top of my mind:
palm refined $1/litre
coconut $2/litre
olive pomace $6/litre
rice bran $5/litre
castor $5/kg
lye $1/kg

don't even talk about FO/EO. i have to import those things to get the best price.

i am located in indonesia

 

[kitterz]

The "tallow" in abundance is because my husband works for a meat factory and I wait until they have excess body fat and put it on sale. He then arranges for them to put it through a meat grinder for me (so that I do not have to stand for hours on end cutting into small pieces) and once I have it here, I render it myself. I usually get around 50 lb at a time and render it in smaller batches.

Does not really take much to render it (though it does smell up the kitchen :-( )

 

[seven]

lucky you! i love tallow in soaps, but my stock is pretty limited, so i'm saving it for my special soaps.