How long have you been soaping?

[AshleyR]

I've been making CP soap for about a year (and have made atleast a batch every week since I started!)

My Aunt has always been a soap maker and has been doing craft shows and selling her soaps and other bath and body products for about 15 years. I used to go with her to her shows all the time so I learned a lot from her and have always wanted to "be like her". That's what really got me started...

For the past 5 or so years I have been in and out of college so didn't have the time to dedicate to learning CP. I made my first batch of CP in April last year, and in August I was laid off from my job (blessing in disguise!) Soooooo, I've been soaping like a madwoman ever since and hoping to turn my new addiction into a small business. I'm taking classes now (SEP program in Canada) to go through with it and am really excited!

 

[Guest]

Since last fall.I went to an auction and got my car totally full of soap making supplies for $50.00. It was a lot of melt and pour stuff and tons of additives, and soap making books.I couldn't use the melt and pour , I have exzema , but it did lead me to research and then become totally addicted to cold process soap making..

I absolutely love handmade soap and everything about making it.

 

[Jeremy]

Just want to say that I think your site is awesome.
Clean, no frills, easy to navigate. Just a great layout.

 

[Jola]

3 days lol

I was looking for a laundry detergent mix and next thing you know, here I am!

 

[LJA]

It's only been about 2 months for me. I've got at least 30 books under my belt and I research and learn online, obsessively. It all started with YouTube videos, oddly enough. I just happened to run across Nancy Today soap videos (look her up, she's a hoot), which made me look up more soaper videos and it got me interested. I always loved higher end B&B products but I'm too much of a cheap-ass to spend money on spa days and expensive products. This way, I can make my own! It's also instant gratification too - I tried other things like fiber arts and it takes too long for me. I can make soap in 24 hrs!
If I get good enough (I tend to obsess about perfection in the stuff I make), I might try selling on Etsy. Who knows?! I've learned so much in a short time already.

 

[knicelyr]

It's been about 2 1/2 years for me.

When I started making biodiesel one of the big things for me was being green. And here I was sitting on gallons of glycerin byproduct. There was some buzz about making it into soap and a few crude recipes.

I have to admit my first batch was awful approaching dangerous and I didn’t even know it. It was caustic hot and would not firm up.

Since then I've put my nose in every soap book and website I could find, and I can't get enough.

 

[jbarad]

I did M&P off and on for years with my kids when they were younger, early January I did my first CP soap, and like with most things in my life I can't stop until I've perfected it.

As of this morning I have made 76 batches of soap, most being between 2 and 3 pounds each.

I give it away like you would not believe !! In fact last evening I boxed up 145 bars of soap that will go to the women's shelter here.

Yes, I'm an addict. I know this

Yes, that means I make at least 1 batch a day, sometimes more. Yes, that also means my husband is just about to shoot me because of all the money I have spent on soaping in the last 2 1/2 months , and yes, it also means that I have no life outside of my soap addiction LOL

 

[Guest]

It's only been about 2 months for me. I've got at least 30 books under my belt and I research and learn online, obsessively. It all started with YouTube videos, oddly enough. I just happened to run across Nancy Today soap videos (look her up, she's a hoot), which made me look up more soaper videos and it got me interested. I always loved higher end B&B products but I'm too much of a cheap-ass to spend money on spa days and expensive products. This way, I can make my own! It's also instant gratification too - I tried other things like fiber arts and it takes too long for me. I can make soap in 24 hrs!
If I get good enough (I tend to obsess about perfection in the stuff I make), I might try selling on Etsy. Who knows?! I've learned so much in a short time already.

WOW! :shock: :shock: :shock: learned how to make soap at the same time as me and achieved what's in your shop? I'm amazed!
I started around 3 months ago, found Nancy Today's videos also, she's such an inspiration. Hopefully I'll set up a shop on Etsy in the next few months.

 

[rubato456]

i just poured my 2nd batch...

so i'm brand new! i'm a vegan (no animal products, eating or using) and i started making my own soy milk to cut down on expenses....i saw some soap at whole foods that i liked but it had goat's milk in it. that got me to wondering if i couldn't make it myself, without the goat milk. i've really enjoyed reading and learning and the artistic element is wonderful.......i just ordered lots of oils...my husband is going to think i lost my mind......i have 7 lbs of palm oil on it's way.....its so much cheaper when you buy in bulk....

 

[AshleyR]

I started around this time last year.... so a year. I had actually made soap with my aunt in the past - she used to do markets and stuff about 10 years ago and she always let me help. I have always been very interested in doing it myself, just never had the money when I was in college, and never had the time when I started working full time. Now I'm laid off and have been having a blast!

 

[Woodi]

I made my first batch in July 2001, and have been selling since 6 months after that. I needed to convince myself that my soap was good, not harmful to anyone else's skin, before I started selling it to strangers. I've done a number of studio tours, here and in artisans' homes, and craft fairs, and market. It's been really fun, but since I turned 60, I got a bit tired of dragging around all these boxes of heavy soap, so I'm down to one show a year now, and only one wholesale account in a high end craft store. That keeps me busy enough.

Besides this, I help my hubby design and test the SoapMaker program he sells online.

along with a house full of cats (well, 3....but it feels like a houseful), 5 deer to feed, a pond in our backyard full of beavers, 3 grown 'children' and 3 grandkids.....this keeps me busy fulltime.

 

[DelightSociety]

I started this year and have already had one sell-out market stall. I only got into soaping because I was sick of my arts and crafts not selling and was going to go into chocolate making. But the startup for chocolate making is high and I realised I wouldn't be able to sell choccies at markets during Christmas because of the heat.

So I went for soaps...because you can get chocolate scented soaps.

And being a soapmaker is heaps of fun.

 

[vivcarm]

I started about a year ago, had been meaning to do it for ages, and in the winter my hands would get so dry that my knuckles would crack and bleed, even with putting cream on, not had one crack since! We had a few really cold spells too this winter! I love it all this Chemistry stuff. my daughter loves my soap too, and if somebody gives me compliment they usually get a few more bars, if they don't say anything I don't bother giving them any more. I do give most of my soap away

 

[Guest]

Made my first batch before Christmas 08..New and totally addicted for sure.
I have skin issues and it has never felt better since using my own soap.

Kitn

 

[7053joanne]

almost a year and a half?

 

[cdwinsby]

How long ago? 1998. Why? Lol.....My mother made me do it!! Thank goodness. I wasn't interested at the time but she really wanted to so I made it with her and then couldn't stop.

 

[heyjude]

Soaping since January of this year. I love the look of handmade soap and the idea of making something both creative and practical drew me in.

My only regret it that I didn't start sooner!

Jude

 

[MikeInPdx]

I've been soaping for a little over a year, but I've been soaping intensively.....I'm well into the triple digits on the batches..