Soap molds and bar sizes

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grayceworks

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Long post - 3 questions --

TLDR; #1 - huge stainless steel molds. To line? Or not to line? That is the question...
#2 - future biz question - best cut bar size and determining pricing of different size bars. Is bigger really better? (aka does size matter?)
#3 - future biz question - everything you wish you knew before selling soap. Tips, ideas, suggestions. Making a planning notebook well ahead of time to avoid rushing anything. And since I can't make soap while I'm stuck in the hospital with pneumonia, I'll research instead lol.

On to the long version...

My husband just gave me 2 of these that he dug out from storage from when he was a restaurant manager. I think they'll be good molds for large batches... BUT

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1st question
but do I need to line them or just rub them with mineral oil or nothing needed? They're stainless steel 8.3qt, 20.75 x 12.75 x 2.5, so that's 265.6oz or 2gal or 16lbs if filled to the top LOL -- I'm gonna need a bigger soap pot if I ever use these. :eek:

ETA - not filling to the top obviously, so more realistic values are 238 oz or 1.8gal volume of the pan.

2nd question
What size -- either dimensions or weight -- do you commonly cut your bars? I've been experimenting with sizes and shapes, and the size and shape that seems easiest to hold and use at least for me, are the ones I cut as .5 - .75 inches wide instead of a full inch, and the ones I use the 2.5inch mold instead of the 3inch one. And these weigh 2-3oz instead of the huge 4-6oz bars I keep seeing. I love the way the big ones look, but they're hard to hold and turn over in my hands. I also like the ones I pour in a slab about 1.25inches thick and cut into bars 2.5x3 and those are in-between weight at about 3.5oz each. Granted I'm just doing this as a hobby right now for me and family-friends, but I would like to eventually sell and want my soaps to be in the right ball-park size-wise by the time I get there.

So, those of you that sell, especially, are all your soaps the same size? Do you price a .75in bar different from a 1in bar? If you have smaller and bigger bars -- not talking about special shapes or fancy decor ones, just the regular bars, do you just have different price points? Or by the ounce? Ideas?

I don't have this problem with skin and hair stuff -- bottles and jars all hold the same amount and are the same shape lol.

I know this aspect is a long way off, but may as well start notes and planning now rather than be rushed later lol. Rushed business planning is never good. So I am putting together a notebook with every aspect I can think of, from the business perspective, in addition to my recipe book with the recipes I've tried, variations, dates of specific batches, notes, etc.

I guess this is really a 3rd question but here goes -- from a business perspective, what tips can you more experienced offer, that you wished you knew before you started? Selling physical products is a totally different thing than selling services which vary from client to client, and different from selling a few things to people you already know, so I'm going about this as if I've never been in business before and researching, researching, researching -- other than I already know about trademarks, dba, sales tax certs, etc...
 
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I prefer a 3.5oz bar myself. Any larger than 4.5 and I have trouble holding it. When selling, I only offer the one size in bar form and have a mishmash of overflow and end cuts priced separately in a basket. It's enough to keep up with without having 2 bar sizes!

I'm rounding out my first year of selling online, at craft fairs and a summer farmer's market. From a BTDT perspective and from meeting lots of other first time sellers at events, I highly recommend lowering your sales expectations. We all dream of selling out on our first day but realistically, that's just not going to happen and you likely won't come close to what you imagined. Same thing goes for starting an online store. Not trying to discourage you, just trying to share what I've seen happen with most new craft businesses so you won't feel so discouraged if you aren't one of those very lucky few who sell 50 bars at their first event.

Find out what works for you, go to local events and check out your future competition to see if there are any unspoken local standards and good luck with all your planning!
 
I don't sell but I think that dealing with multiple bar sizes would be a nightmare with respect to pricing, labeling and packaging. I have seen discussions of this and it seems like a bad idea.

I think that the standard 3.5x2.5x1, 4-4.5 ounce bar came about because it corresponds to standard precut lumber sizes (1x4s) if you are making DIY loaf molds. I personally like this size because it's not too big to handle but looks generous and if somebody is going to spend $5 or more on a bar of soap, conveying good value is not a bad idea.

I'd not bother with the stainless steel catering pans as molds. They have flared sides and rounded edges. That means trimming which involves both waste and labor on your part. I'd go for something with straight sides, preferably silicone lined, if you plan to up production at some point.

I would also invest eventually in some sort of professional cutter that will ensure even cuts and a standard sized product.
 
Thank you for your insights and suggestions!

I have started on the business forum, and will probably have even more questions.

But here's one now! LOL Whenever I do get to the point to get going on this, I have an existing trademarked business name and logo which I use(d) for my business services/graphic design business since 1998. Don't have the energy for clients and the extensive marketing anymore, so I've pretty much gotten out of that except for a few long-time customers. Thinking about repurposing the business name and logo somehow, anyone ever done that? Moved from one business to a completely unrelated business but kept part of the business name they liked?
 
Not sure if you meant this question for this thread or not but it's pretty hard to answer how much liquids to use without knowing the oils, lye amount, and if you're doing cp or hp, whether you plan to add with the lye or at trace, as the liquid amount varies from recipe to recipe. Might try opening your own thread for better visibility of your question to get more insights on this, and also include more info on what type of recipe you are wanting to do, so that we can give better answers! :)
 
If you want to pour a thin layer of soap to use to cut out imbeds, I think those trays would be great. Other wise, no. However, I think they would be useful for other things.

I will second the soap cutter. I poo-pooed them until I won one as a door prize...if it vanished i would be online today ordering a new one.

Molds - I have spent so much time and money trying for cheap DIY molds. Unless you know somebody who is a skilled woodworker, just buy a nice mold. I got the divided soap mold from this page: http://www.cumberlandacoustic.com/id9.html. Worth EVERY PENNY. I spent way more than the $85 for the mold on various "cheap" DIY molds, not to mention all the time trying to get the soap out of those molds, sore hands, etc.

I would not have bothered buying individual molds. They take up so much room, the soap is so hard to get out, it's hard to keep them warm enough for gel, half the time the soap is too thick to get in the little details, then when the soap IS thin enough to get in teh little details, the details get ruined when you are fighting to unmold the stupid things. There are a handful of the individual molds that I got that I use, but I have dozens that I got for a "good" price just sitting around.

When I got started doing this, I got most of my fragrances at a soaper meeting I went to. Soapers would have a little garage sale table and would sell stuff they didn't want. Looking back, I would keep a notebook and take careful notes of the fragrances I loved and where they came from.
 
Hubby is pretty handy with building projects. He made me one nice wooden mold already and is going to make me a wire soap cutter so that will help with making my cuts more even. Right now I'm using one of those bread-slicing guides, which has helped a LOT! He'll be making more molds also, now that he figured out the first one. :)

I do a lot of hot-process, and the individual molds work really well on that, since I don't need to worry about gel and they set up nice and hard, like those hearts I made with the extra batter from my pumpkin soap. But i don't need a lot of them for that, I've been picky, and am only going to do a very few shapes, basically the hearts, some ovals, and some smaller flower shapes that fit the look i'm planning on. I have made 4 pvc column molds, so other than more wooden molds in the future, i'm pretty set in that department.

The cookie cutter idea with a thin slab of soap is a great idea for those huge pans! I had been eyeing some cookie cutters thinking about making embeds, but was trying to figure a nice big flat 'contained' surface to pour a thin slab. Those will be perfect!

Keeping a notebook of notes on the ingredients and EO's and FO's is a great idea! I'm keeping notes on each recipe and batch, but haven't been keeping track of which scents from which suppliers, which I see is important since they all react differently!

Thank you for your experience!
 
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