Question about nut oils

[Katrina]

Hi everyone, I'm a newbie here and to soap making. I'm actually currently a jewelry artist and am thinking about starting to work with soap instead. My hubby and I would like to have something that we can do together and eventually work into a business. No worries, we have no plans to start the business until next year or so as we want to have plenty of time to get a little experience under our belts!

For now we are in the planning stages of what types of soap we would like to make and how we would like to market our company in the future. That way we can really spend our time perfecting specific recipes. Although I know it's not important to nail every detail down quite yet, I'm a little OCD when it comes to planning and organizing. I really like to have a set of goals and a direction to head in.

We've been thinking about gearing our soaps around nuts (nut oils, nut milks, nut butters, etc). But, we're concerned that allergies will be a big issue. I know there are always going to be people allergic to something or another and you will be alienating a certain percentage of the population with anything you make. But, how big of an issue would this be? Do any of you use nut oils? Have you encountered any problems with customers or obvious loss of customers because of it?

We would, of course, label all ingredients and also make a disclaimer that the item contains nuts. We were also planning on having a "Naked Nuts" bar that only contains coconut oil as the "nut" (although I guess technically there is some discussion about whether it is a nut....but I digress) so there is an option for those with typical nut allergies. We would also take precautions to use separate molds and tools for that soap so as not to contaminate it.

 

[lsg]

As long as your label plainly lists the nut oil as an ingredient and you offer a variety of soaps, some with nut oils and some without, you should be OK. If you have an ETSY site, just state in the description that the soap contains nut oils.

 

[Katrina]

Thanks lsg! Do you find that customers are intrigued by specialty oils, or do they pretty much not seem to care?

 

[lsg]

I think customers are more intrigued by the look and fragrance of soap.

 

[oranget]

I wonder about this nut thing, too. Say I make one and give it to a friend, and her new boyfriend is allergic to nuts, and she kisses him.. which result in, you know, bad things.

 

[lsg]

:mrgreen:I have never heard of passing an allergic substance that way from a wash off substance, unless she had washed her mouth out with the soap right before she kissed him.

 

[lenarenee]

Yeah, some of these allergies are just atrocious. One of our neighbors was so allergic to dairy that if you touched milk, then washed your hands thoroughly and then touched him....he would still have a violent reaction.

One of the children in our neighborhood was dangerously allergic to nuts. He couldn't even take treats at Halloween time. If an nut free candy sat next to a snickers or milk way.....it would get contaminated enough to cause a reaction in him.

No worries- we made sure to have toys for he and his brother when they came trick or treating! His mom almost cried when she they came to our house.

To this day, I keep a large number of small Play-Dohs and stickers to give out instead of candy at Halloween in case of allergies; and also because some of the little ones shouldn't have candy.

Would you be surprised to know that high schoolers preferred the Play Doh over even the big candy bars??? They do!! When I offer them a choice; every one of them choose PlayDoh. The younger kids (who probably have Play Doh sitting at home.....they always pick the candy!)

I love kids! And Halloween!
Hmmm....should start looking for sales on Play Doh soon.

 

[Kansas Farm Girl]

How much of the "nut" makes it through saponification? I mean when it comes to allergies? Or does it depend on the SF %? Katrina, what nut oils were you planning to use an what other oils where you thinking of? If I were you I would start with the basics and learn about the various combinations, which soaps you like with which oils, give to your family and friends to evaluate and provide feedback. Have them test various recipes, some with and without nut oils. See if they have a preference. Or if they cannot tell the difference. What if they all reported that they preferred those without nut oils, would you be willing to adj your plans based on their feedback? Good luck, I have never thought about this direction before, nut oils aren't really easy for me to get - other than peanut and coconut that is.

 

[Crombie]

Nut Oils

I had planned to feature nut oils in part of my soap line and I like the results of using them in soap. But, the more I thought about the extreme allergies to nuts that some people have, especially children, I decided it was too much of a liability issues. There is also the issue of cross contamination (or the perception of) with your other soaps.

Also, a label does not prevent lawsuits. While highly unlikely that someone would have a severe reaction to a wash off product, I made the decision that it is not worth the risk.

There are just so many other awesome soap ingredients and additives (and more to be discovered), why choose to take the risk?

 

[Katrina]

I think you all are right. Maybe nuts aren't the way to go. I would feel terrible if someone was hurt by our soaps, and I can't imagine the legal ramifications. Well.....off to think of another idea Thanks for the input though! I appreciate all of it!

 

[Jencat]

One of my nieces has serious nut allergies, so I don't send anything to their house that was made with peanuts or tree nuts. When I was researching my ingredients, I found out that shea is a tree nut! Really glad I checked everything since I had no idea about shea. My sister-in-law didn't know that either.

I don't see anything wrong with focusing on nut products as long as you are complying with listing all of your ingredients. You might have a problem with selling the one with no nut products even though you would be using separate equipment because of the amount of nuts in the other products.

 

[BabyPickles106]

Speaking of nut oils I have a friend that asked if I could make Almond soap. Is it better to make with almond oil or scent with almond EO or fragrance? Has anyone made almond soap that is willing to share their experiences?

 

[new12soap]

Refined oils have been stripped of their proteins and are not considered allergenic. Cold pressed or unrefined oils still contain the proteins that cause a reaction.

 

[AustinStraight]

Sweet almond oil won't carry a scent into the soap (most oils don't), and the only almond EO is bitter almond which is toxic. I'm reading about it now and apparently you can find a bitter almond EO which has had the cyanide removed, but you have to fill out paperwork to get it. I'd stick to an almond fragrance oil :-D

 

[Katrina]

You could also use almond milk to make a soothing bar.