Hi all

[vance71975]

Hi all, Fellow soap maker here. I do cold process. I have been working pretty much with only stuff bought locally as of now, but i am in the process of gathering funds to start a home soap making business. I have a widget up on the chip in website. Ill share a link for those who wanna check it out.

I mostly do olive oil soaps so far, i have been working with other oils that i can get locally such as canola,corn,grapeseed,coconut,lard,etc. Anything you wanna know about me just ask, i am a veteran of the armed forces twice over, and a father of four, also a published author of a home brewing book called bizarre brews 101.

Here is that link for those who would like to check it out.

http://vancessoaps.chipin.com/start-up- ... p-business

 

[judymoody]

Welcome!

You might find this thread of interest:

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=17621

 

[vance71975]

Welcome!

You might find this thread of interest:

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=17621

Thanks for the link to the post, I hope I didn't make it seem like I am rushing, I am not. I am just in the beginning stages, The goal length on my Chip In Widget should also confirm that I'm not in a huge rush to sell, considering the Chip in Event does not even end till Aug 1

I have been doing research on the business end, state requirements,etc. And honestly, I think I am pretty lucky to live in Ohio, as far as Business start up goes. The state does not require even a vendors licenses unless i plan on selling directly to customers, in which case i would have to collect tax and that is all you need a vendors license for in Ohio.

Also as far as the City I live in goes, the rule for a home based business are pretty lenient and easy to meet. It cant take up more than 25% of the living space in the home, i use one room in the basement(which has open windows with fans so i am ventilated lol), so that is covered. It must be conducted entirely inside the house, which i do. So no problem there, the City requires no permit, so no issues there.

As far as the product itself goes, First and foremost, i test every batch i make on myself BEFORE i even give a bar to a friend. I have extremely sensitive skin, so whereas i may not be able to say "if it is safe on my skin its safe on everyone's" I can say that if I dont have an issue with it, then MOST other people shouldn't have a problem Key word MOST.Hence why once i test it on my self, i give away bars to friends with different skin types, who trust me,would be down my throat if they have a problem. Lol

Trust me, if I so much as THINK their may be even a hint that there could possibly be a Slight problem with ANY of my soap batches, they are Scrapped, grated and used for laundry soap INSTANTLY and i mean my personal laundry soap, which that i never give away lol.

Honestly My goal is to gather start up funds, purchase supplies, run repeated test batches(1-2lbs max), to refine and perfect my recipes, but my time goal to actually start selling is about 1-2 years off.

Once i get the recipes i like that i want to sell perfected, which are different from what i have been making for me to use(which was just for me to learn and perfect the process that works best for me), i plan to age each batch for a full 3-6 months on the first run of the perfected recipe, then let it set in the packaging for another 6-9 months, just to make sure i do not get DOS or a rancid product after a year.

 

[Hazel]

Hello and welcome!

It's funny that you mentioned home brewing. A BIL and I were just discussing home brewing last night. I think he's interested in trying it some day - probably because he's tired of me swiping his beer to make soap.

 

[IrishLass]

Welcome! It sounds like you have a great head on your shoulders with well thought out goals. I wish you all the success!

My hubby used to brew beer with his best friend about 28 years ago when they got out of college. By their own admission, it really sucked. It's too bad I wasn't soaping back then because I would have had plenty to soap with. I ended up using it in stews and soups instead.


IrishLass

 

[vance71975]

Hello and welcome!

It's funny that you mentioned home brewing. A BIL and I were just discussing home brewing last night. I think he's interested in trying it some day - probably because he's tired of me swiping his beer to make soap.

Beer is very easy to make, just like soap, actually beer is easier than soap i think, less chemistry to know lol.

 

[vance71975]

Welcome! It sounds like you have a great head on your shoulders with well thought out goals. I wish you all the success!

My hubby used to brew beer with his best friend about 28 years ago when they got out of college. By their own admission, it really sucked. It's too bad I wasn't soaping back then because I would have had plenty to soap with. I ended up using it in stews and soups instead.


IrishLass

Home brewing has come a LONG way in the last 28 years, Malt extracts now are top notch, and If you brew all grain like i do you can make beer that is far far better than anything made by the BMC trio(Bud miller coors) My beer is on par with a quality micro brewery that brews craft beer, tho i have been doing some form of fermentation for almost 20 years now lol. I also make Wine, Mead, Have a garden both outside and indoor hydroponics(no i dont grow anything illegal lol), i also do canning, and i do make cheese on occasion.

I am very much into the "homesteading" type hobbies.

 

[vance71975]

Here is another project i have in the works, Ignore the video the only way to record i have is my crappy web cam lol Unless of course you want to look at my dorky self, but i warn you i am NOT an actor in anyway and i am horrid in front of a cam lol. The guide i am planning will have simple instructions, some perfected recipes, but the strong suit of the book will be the Sap tables, and the Qualities of Oils lists, Base,Essential and fragrance oils.


http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/102 ... oap-making

 

[judymoody]

Hi Vance, I looked at your funding proposal and if you don't mind a bit of input, I had two small suggestions:

The first is that the picture features a number of brightly colored soaps mixed in with the more botanical looking ones. Then in your statement you say, "The soap i will be making during the recipe formulation stage is a very high end luxury product, that will be 100% Natural. No artificial chemicals,colorants,or fragrances will be used in making this soap. All the Ingredients will be source-able from nature."

That goal is at odds with the image. You might want to consider an image featuring only more natural looking earthy soaps.

The second is that sodium hydroxide is not "source-able from nature." You might want to rephrase to say something like "The soap i will be making during the recipe formulation stage is a very high end luxury product. No artificial colorants or fragrances will be used in making this soap."

Of course, there is no standard definition of "natural" in the US, so you can pretty much say what you want.

As you're a brewer, you might consider featuring your own beer in your soaps. Beer contributes positively to soap lather. I remember once seeing a "beer & bacon" soap made with beer and lard.

I hope this advice is helpful to you. Good luck with your ventures.

 

[vance71975]

Hi Vance, I looked at your funding proposal and if you don't mind a bit of input, I had two small suggestions:

The first is that the picture features a number of brightly colored soaps mixed in with the more botanical looking ones. Then in your statement you say, "The soap i will be making during the recipe formulation stage is a very high end luxury product, that will be 100% Natural. No artificial chemicals,colorants,or fragrances will be used in making this soap. All the Ingredients will be source-able from nature."

That goal is at odds with the image. You might want to consider an image featuring only more natural looking earthy soaps.

The second is that sodium hydroxide is not "source-able from nature." You might want to rephrase to say something like "The soap i will be making during the recipe formulation stage is a very high end luxury product. No artificial colorants or fragrances will be used in making this soap."

Of course, there is no standard definition of "natural" in the US, so you can pretty much say what you want.

As you're a brewer, you might consider featuring your own beer in your soaps. Beer contributes positively to soap lather. I remember once seeing a "beer & bacon" soap made with beer and lard.

I hope this advice is helpful to you. Good luck with your ventures.

Sodium Hydroxide very much IS source-able from nature, Simply take Wood from a tree in nature, Burn it, run water through the ash, collect and boil down and you have Sodium Hydroxide, Sourced from nature.

As far as the photo goes i picked it because it was bright and eye catching to the lay person that has never made soap.

I will think about that, do you just replace the water with beer and mix the lye into the beer or do you add the beer at trace?

Thank you so much for your input!

 

[IrishLass]

Sodium Hydroxide very much IS source-able from nature, Simply take Wood from a tree in nature, Burn it, run water through the ash, collect and boil down and you have Sodium Hydroxide, Sourced from nature.

Actually, what you have left over after doing the above is potash or potassium hydroxide, not sodium hydroxide (there's about 10 times more potassium in it than sodium). Potassium hydroxide makes for soft soap. In order to make hard bars with it, you need to add lots of salt to the soap batter as it's cooking (i.e. the salting-out process), which separates the glycerin from the soap. Sodium hydroxide, on the other hand is made via the chloralkali process.


IrishLass

 

[vance71975]

Sodium Hydroxide very much IS source-able from nature, Simply take Wood from a tree in nature, Burn it, run water through the ash, collect and boil down and you have Sodium Hydroxide, Sourced from nature.

Actually, what you have left over after doing the above is potash or potassium hydroxide, not sodium hydroxide (there's about 10 times more potassium in it than sodium). Potassium hydroxide makes for soft soap. In order to make hard bars with it, you need to add lots of salt to the soap batter as it's cooking (i.e. the salting-out process), which separates the glycerin from the soap. Sodium hydroxide, on the other hand is made via the chloralkali process.


IrishLass

Which can Still be sourced from Nature,

Rainwater + Natural Salt from the sea + Electrolysis= Sodium Hydroxide sourced from nature!

 

[Genny]

Which can Still be sourced from Nature,

Rainwater + Natural Salt from the sea + Electrolysis= Sodium Hydroxide sourced from nature!

Is that how you make yours?

 

[vance71975]

Which can Still be sourced from Nature,

Rainwater + Natural Salt from the sea + Electrolysis= Sodium Hydroxide sourced from nature!

Is that how you make yours?

Actually i do plan to do that in the near future. As of right now for my personal soaps no, but the point wasn't that I do it, the point was to correct the statement that sodium hydroxide is not source-able from nature, it very much is. As is Potassium Hydroxide.

But source-able from Nature or not is kinda a mute point when you look at the fact that by the end of the curing process the lye is gone anyway. Heck I legally do not have to list Lye on a Label for example if i make a pure Olive Oil soap, All i am legally required to put on the label is "Saponified Olive Oil".

If the End consumer does not know what Saponified means, that is not the fault of the manufacturer. But when it comes to truth in labeling, it is a 100% Accurate and truthful term.

Hence why Lever says "Sodium tallowwate" and Sodium Coconate" and they do so legally, no where in the ingredients does it say "lye" or Sodium Hydroxide.

 

[Genny]

I wasn't implying anything, I was just interested in if you actually made your own lye and if it works.
Legally you don't have to list any ingredients on your label in the U.S.

 

[vance71975]

I wasn't implying anything, I was just interested in if you actually made your own lye and if it works.
Legally you don't have to list any ingredients on your label in the U.S.

I will once i get the lab equipment to do it, that is one of the things on my to do list if i get the funding i am trying for.

It will work, it is basically what the manufacturers of lye do just on a smaller scale.

 

[judymoody]

Sodium Hydroxide very much IS source-able from nature, Simply take Wood from a tree in nature, Burn it, run water through the ash, collect and boil down and you have Sodium Hydroxide, Sourced from nature.

Actually, what you have left over after doing the above is potash or potassium hydroxide, not sodium hydroxide (there's about 10 times more potassium in it than sodium). Potassium hydroxide makes for soft soap. In order to make hard bars with it, you need to add lots of salt to the soap batter as it's cooking (i.e. the salting-out process), which separates the glycerin from the soap. Sodium hydroxide, on the other hand is made via the chloralkali process.


IrishLass

Which can Still be sourced from Nature,

Rainwater + Natural Salt from the sea + Electrolysis= Sodium Hydroxide sourced from nature!

By that definition, probably everything on the planet is sourced from nature, including those artificial fragrances and colors. To my mind, however, sodium hydroxide is an "artificial chemical." It is a chemical and requires the artifice of man to make it. But that's just my view. To each his own.

 

[vance71975]

Sodium Hydroxide very much IS source-able from nature, Simply take Wood from a tree in nature, Burn it, run water through the ash, collect and boil down and you have Sodium Hydroxide, Sourced from nature.

Actually, what you have left over after doing the above is potash or potassium hydroxide, not sodium hydroxide (there's about 10 times more potassium in it than sodium). Potassium hydroxide makes for soft soap. In order to make hard bars with it, you need to add lots of salt to the soap batter as it's cooking (i.e. the salting-out process), which separates the glycerin from the soap. Sodium hydroxide, on the other hand is made via the chloralkali process.


IrishLass

Which can Still be sourced from Nature,

Rainwater + Natural Salt from the sea + Electrolysis= Sodium Hydroxide sourced from nature!

By that definition, probably everything on the planet is sourced from nature, including those artificial fragrances and colors. To my mind, however, sodium hydroxide is an "artificial chemical." It is a chemical and requires the artifice of man to make it. But that's just my view. To each his own.

My definition of sourced from nature is that it can be either got directly or manufactured from things got directly from nature.

When i think of artificial i think of things created in a lab that are totally synthetic.

Yup your right to each their own. We all have different variations on what we consider things to be.