Oils and those little pipettes???

[quita]

Hello
I'm hoping to open my Etsy shop in the next few weeks. I have some oils to add in the mix with my line (e.g Marula Oil and the like) I use a stainless steel funnel that I washed and spray saturated with alcohol for about 2 mins to fill the 1 ounce bottles which was kind of a pain because it fills fast and I lost some oil. These oils are $$ and I don't want to lose any. I was wondering if I used the plastic pipette to fill the bottle do I need to draw alcohol into it first let it dry out and then fill. Or are those pipettes ok to use. For my EO's for soap I just use the pipette because I assume the heat will kill most mold spores etc.

Thanks

 

[snappyllama]

I'm not sure I understand... you want to reuse the pipettes? I wouldn't think the risk would be worth the minor cost of using fresh ones.

 

[cmzaha]

Using new clean bottles, with new pipettes and clean funnel should pose no problems. I assume you are using pure oils so just fill your bottles. Water grows ickies, oil goes rancid, with no added botanicals, aloe juice to spoil in the oil. This is why 100% anhydrous products need no preservative. What a total rip on price it is at Sephora when you can purchase it for approx $66 per lb

ETA I agree with Snappy always use new pipettes, they are super cheap on Amazon

 

[quita]

I'm not sure I understand... you want to reuse the pipettes? I wouldn't think the risk would be worth the minor cost of using fresh ones.

I would never never never reuse pipettes. Cross contamination isn't good. I think you misunderstand my question. Let me try to simplify. Can I use the pipettes directly from the manufacture out of package without sanitizing them? Hence why I asked about drawing alcohol up into them. To sanitize them upon initial use not to reuse them. Reusing them would compromise the integrity of my products. The things cost like 10 cents.

Using new clean bottles, with new pipettes and clean funnel should pose no problems. I assume you are using pure oils so just fill your bottles. Water grows ickies, oil goes rancid, with no added botanicals, aloe juice to spoil in the oil. This is why 100% anhydrous products need no preservative. What a total rip on price it is at Sephora when you can purchase it for approx $66 per lb

ETA I agree with Snappy always use new pipettes, they are super cheap on Amazon

Thanks Carolyn. I know not to reuse the pipettes. I just them from whatever wholesaler I'm purchasing from at the time. I'll check Amazon though. Yes I am using pure oils. Don't want any bacteria growth. 100% Marula, Maracuja and French Plum. Bottled separately of course. And yes at $72 an ounce Sephora is robbing people. But hey I can charge half that. lol!!

Using new clean bottles, with new pipettes and clean funnel should pose no problems. I assume you are using pure oils so just fill your bottles. Water grows ickies, oil goes rancid, with no added botanicals, aloe juice to spoil in the oil. This is why 100% anhydrous products need no preservative. What a total rip on price it is at Sephora when you can purchase it for approx $66 per lb

ETA I agree with Snappy always use new pipettes, they are super cheap on Amazon

You say the bottles are ok too? I totally gave those an alcohol bath too. Just checking for future.

 

[snappyllama]

Ah, gotcha. Sorry I misunderstood, my coffee hadn't kicked in yet. I don't bother with sanitizing my pipettes. I do spritz my containers with alcohol although I know that they should be fine from the supplier.

BTW: Sephora prices just kill me. Check out what they are charging for Bobbie Brown "Buffing Grains". $44 for an ounce of ground aduzki beans mixed with those plastic beads you shouldn't use. Seriously. You can buy a giant bag of adzuki beans at Whole Paycheck for $3 and eliminate sending more plastics into waterways. /end digression

 

[Relle]

Hello
I'm hoping to open my Etsy shop in the next few weeks. I have some oils to add in the mix with my line (e.g Marula Oil and the like) I use a stainless steel funnel that I washed and spray saturated with alcohol for about 2 mins to fill the 1 ounce bottles which was kind of a pain because it fills fast and I lost some oil. These oils are $$ and I don't want to lose any. I was wondering if I used the plastic pipette to fill the bottle do I need to draw alcohol into it first let it dry out and then fill. Or are those pipettes ok to use. For my EO's for soap I just use the pipette because I assume the heat will kill most mold spores etc.

Thanks

I'm not sure what you will be selling other than your oils in your Etsy shop, so I would hope that you could wait a little while, if you are selling your soap, seeing you are still asking questions in the Beginners Forum re HP, and have only made a few batches. Thank you.

 

[quita]

I'm not sure what you will be selling other than your oils in your Etsy shop, so I would hope that you could wait a little while, if you are selling your soap, seeing you are still asking questions in the Beginners Forum re HP, and have only made a few batches. Thank you.

Hi Relle
I've made 5 batches so far. They seem ok. They are very hard non drying. Even though they are hot process I let them cure about 2-3 weeks. Not sure what else I should be looking for as far as quality. I made my first batch 6 months ago. How long should I soap before I sell? I've already done the llc, business license etc. What other qualities should I look for in the soap? The top (tiny bar) is one of my very first bars and the bottom (I know it's giant. lol) was made about 3 weeks ago. I don't really see much difference except the recipes are different. The first I went by a book and the last I created my own recipe. All that have tried said it was great. Any advice you have would be great. The questions on the Beginner Board were about additives. I haven't gotten that bold yet. Other than EO's and FO's I mean. Oh I forgot to add I wont be adding soap to the shop right now. Soap isn't my focus. Probably should've said that first, huh? lol!!! I will have a maximum of 2 bars in my shop.

 

[IrishLass]

Hi Quita!

The general consensus with lye-based soap is to make lots of batches and to spend a year putting them through different tests to see how they hold up over the long-haul under different conditions, i.e., humid conditions, dry conditions, etc... That's because lye-based soap can be quite a changeling of a substance.....problems that can appear such as DOS or color or scent fading or morphing don't always happen right away- they oftentimes don't rear their ugly heads until a few months have gone by after full cure. These curious, behavioral tics of lye-based soap can spell doom for a business, because oftentimes a soap won't get sold right way, and/or if it does, the purchaser might not use it right away. It could be sitting in a humid place at their house before they decide to use it or gift it and have come down with DOS in the meantime. These are not just theoretical scenarios. These things have actually happened to some of those who sold without spending the time to test, and they came back to tell their tale.

Here's a good article that we have as a stickie, entitled Are You Ready To Sell Your Soap? If followed, it will rescue you from many pitfalls that you may not have considered in regards to lye-based soap: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=16002


IrishLass

 

[quita]

Hi Quita!

The general consensus with lye-based soap is to make lots of batches and to spend a year putting them through different tests to see how they hold up over the long-haul under different conditions, i.e., humid conditions, dry conditions, etc... That's because lye-based soap can be quite a changeling of a substance.....problems that can appear such as DOS or color or scent fading or morphing don't always happen right away- they oftentimes don't rear their ugly heads until a few months have gone by after full cure. These curious, behavioral tics of lye-based soap can spell doom for a business, because oftentimes a soap won't get sold right way, and/or if it does, the purchaser might not use it right away. It could be sitting in a humid place at their house before they decide to use it or gift it and have come down with DOS in the meantime. These are not just theoretical scenarios. These things have actually happened to some of those who sold without spending the time to test, and they came back to tell their tale.

Here's a good article that we have as a stickie, entitled Are You Ready To Sell Your Soap? If followed, it will rescue you from many pitfalls that you may not have considered in regards to lye-based soap: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=16002


IrishLass

Thanks. I was under the impression that DOS only happened in Cold Process. I will be on the look out.

Oh I forgot to add that those are HP bars. I have no interest in CP. I figured out how to make a smoother bar. That's about it. I am not adding soap immediately. We are just listing 10 or so products for our "house" brand. We are actually coding a website in hopes of scouting handcrafters to sell there. Not like Etsy. I will purchase wholesale from the seller and resale the items. Like a beauty habit or violet and grey. I would however like a handful of my own products as well. We are starting with oils, clays, salts etc. I am still working on my soap recipe. I probably won't list a bar until next year. Thanks for all the advice and the sticky. But coming from the insurance industry I've done my research on the business side. I like to mitigate risk. lol!! My husband would've sold that bar six months ago!! I was like NOOOOO. My ultimate goal is to open brick and mortar shop in my town that caters to a clientele who appreciates the small batch hand crafted. I am glad I found this site. I love feedback.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

The only difference between hp and cp is that hp is safe to use sooner but needs a longer cure.

The issue I have with new soapers (and 5 batches is a new soaper) selling is not about the product - one can copy a decent recipe and make a good soap - it's about the person selling the soap not knowing anywhere near enough about the product to really give a good service to the customer.

 

[IrishLass]

Thanks. I was under the impression that DOS only happened in Cold Process. I will be on the look out.

DOS can happen in hot process, too.

As you can see, there's a lot of misinformation lurking out there on the net in regards to lye-based soap-making- whether in regard to CP or HP. It's downright difficult for those new to the craft to be able to discern the truths from the myths, unfortunately.

But thankfully, we have a lot of experienced soap-makers here on the forum who have been making soap for years and that love the craft, and who understand the chemistry behind soap-making..... and who are generously willing to share their knowledge and experiences with us on a day to day basis so that we are better able to make our way through the mine-field of misinformation out there.

It seems that a lot of the misinformation I've seen making the rounds lately has to do with HP, especially the high-water HP methods that make the batter more fluid so that it looks more streamlined, like CP. From what I've heard, many are making this kind of HP and selling it within the first 2 weeks of making it (if not sooner), thinking that because it's HP, it doesn't need to cure. But as the good Gent so rightly pointed out in his post, though- HP actually benefits from a longer cure than CP.

As many of us here have found out and can attest to- 'safe to use' does not always equate with 'ready to use'. There's oftentimes a big difference between them.

I personally don't like to use my HP before at least 6 weeks have gone by. If I use it much sooner than that, it melts away faster than ice cream in a hot oven. Well, okay....maybe not that fast, but it doesn't last nearly as long as my 4-week old CP batches, which, by the way, are as zapless and safe to use as my HP batches are the very next day after pour because I let them go through ful gel. But neither kind are as pleasant to use early on as they are several weeks down the road later.


IrishLass

 

[quita]

I see we got off topic here so the consensus among you all is to not sanitize the pipettes (I sanitize my bottles with alcohol and steam). Just making sure. I can only imagine that dust and other thing settle in the warehouse where these thing are stored and I would not be a fan of rubbing that on my face or body.

 

[shunt2011]

I do not sanitize my pipettes. There is no need. Everything else, I just spray with 91% alcohol.