Selling soap

[perfectsoap]

Thanks!

Thanks to everyone for their positive comments!

 

[Tabitha]

I think it is fine to add a link to other soapers sites, etc as long as we do not bash anyone for the personal choices they make. Thank goodness we can openly discuss things in a positive fashion here whether we agree or not!

 

[pjb31apb]

perfect soap, we're glad you are interested in learning to make a good, quality, safe product. But I fear you are rushing into selling way before you should even think about selling. It took me a better part of 6 months testing on myself and family before I even thought about selling. I just started selling over a year ago my soaps and lotions. I beg you, slow down, read, ask, learn, make and most importantly test, test, test. You will soon learn after many attempts how to make a good soap, but you can't do it overnight or even in a month or two, it just don't work that way. You are not the first to want to see income from the investment you put into your hobby/craft/profession, but you must. I invested hundreds of dollars in materials, oils butters, etc. tried at least 12 recipes changing them a little to get to where I am today. Please, I do not want to sound rude or imply you should not ever think about selling, but as a part of the forum, I always, we always want to stress safety and promote experience before selling to someone else. There is insurance to think of too, as people are law-suit happy these days. Just proceed with caution, and slowly. Enjoy yourself before committing to selling your wares to others. Just my thoughts and experience.

Paul.... :wink:

That is such good advice and it is given in the spirit of your signature too! I too would like to sell my soaps one day, but as I am also a beginner, I know I have a TON to learn. Not just on the production side, but the business side as well. I am glad that you all are here and I really look forward to getting to know you all and sharing my experiences with you. I do have one question though, I have a small family of two and will probably need more testers than just me and my 9yo. Would I need to invest in insurance now or wait until I go into business...IF I end up going into business if I have others who aren't related to me test?

 

[Soapmaker Man]

perfect soap, we're glad you are interested in learning to make a good, quality, safe product. But I fear you are rushing into selling way before you should even think about selling. It took me a better part of 6 months testing on myself and family before I even thought about selling. I just started selling over a year ago my soaps and lotions. I beg you, slow down, read, ask, learn, make and most importantly test, test, test. You will soon learn after many attempts how to make a good soap, but you can't do it overnight or even in a month or two, it just don't work that way. You are not the first to want to see income from the investment you put into your hobby/craft/profession, but you must. I invested hundreds of dollars in materials, oils butters, etc. tried at least 12 recipes changing them a little to get to where I am today. Please, I do not want to sound rude or imply you should not ever think about selling, but as a part of the forum, I always, we always want to stress safety and promote experience before selling to someone else. There is insurance to think of too, as people are law-suit happy these days. Just proceed with caution, and slowly. Enjoy yourself before committing to selling your wares to others. Just my thoughts and experience.

Paul.... :wink:

That is such good advice and it is given in the spirit of your signature too! I too would like to sell my soaps one day, but as I am also a beginner, I know I have a TON to learn. Not just on the production side, but the business side as well. I am glad that you all are here and I really look forward to getting to know you all and sharing my experiences with you. I do have one question though, I have a small family of two and will probably need more testers than just me and my 9yo. Would I need to invest in insurance now or wait until I go into business...IF I end up going into business if I have others who aren't related to me test?

No you don't need insurance now. You only need to think about insurance before you start selling to the general public. Remember the easiest way to test a bar of soap is the old tried and true tongue test. Touch the tongue to the soap and if it zaps like a 9 volt battery to the tongue, it is not ready yet and needs to cure or may be lye heavy. Thank you for you kind words to me, I appreciate it so much.

Paul...

 

[pjb31apb]

OMG the zap test! I am afraid to do that with the 9 volt, I guess I'll have to get over that one pretty darn quick!

Your kind words Paul make it so much easier for me to contribute here as well so thank you too! BTW I am eyeing that Smelli mold....

 

[NaturalSoapGirl]

The nice thing about the zap test is that you rarely get zapped! If you do, it means your measurements were probaby way off. In that case you'd need to wait a week or two and try again. Using pH strips helps too. You'd rather know than not know and sell lye-heavy bars. MOST of the time though, when you find a recipe you really like and stick with it, all your batches will pass the tongue test.

 

[scaligirl]

Insurance on B&B products

Is it best to have insurance even if you use MP? I noticed that there are disclaimers posted on most Suppliers web sites. I have been working on my bath tea for about a year ( researching ingredients, packaging etc.) and would like to sell it. I would like to expand the line in time. Where do I get insurance?

 

[Tabitha]

It makes no difference if it is M&P or CP. I am going to say M&P has more irritants in it than CP so definately. Remember, disclaimers will not keep you out of court & will not guarentee you a win either. It would really stink to lose your home because someone is allergic to lavender or has in irritation to SLS & is too dumb to know when to stop useing a product. In my 7 years of doing M&P, I have burned 3 people, none bad, they all had reactions to particular fragrances. Coinsidentally each of the 3 fragrances contained cinnamon. I will never again use a scent containing cinnamon. Luckily they were freinds & family.

 

[scaligirl]

Tabitha, since you have been doing this for so long, do you have insurance and at what point did you get insured? Maybe I should try CP if it could be less irritating to the skin. I want a quality product and I'm going to do it I want to do things right.

 

[Lane]

It makes no difference if it is M&P or CP. I am going to say M&P has more irritants in it than CP so definately. Remember, disclaimers will not keep you out of court & will not guarentee you a win either. It would really stink to lose your home because someone is allergic to lavender or has in irritation to SLS & is too dumb to know when to stop useing a product. In my 7 years of doing M&P, I have burned 3 people, none bad, they all had reactions to particular fragrances. Coinsidentally each of the 3 fragrances contained cinnamon. I will never again use a scent containing cinnamon. Luckily they were freinds & family.

Exact same problem with cinnamon...even synthetic...

 

[Tabitha]

I did not get insurance untill I got my LLC & my storefront which was 2 years ago. In hind sight that was very dangerous but at the time I had the mantality "I am small beans no one will sue me".

 

[scaligirl]

Thanks Tabitha. I like to have as much info as I can get, before I get in to deep doing something then it is hard to go back and redo (costly too). I know that if you set up your business in the correct manner you as an individual are more protected if you get sued.
I try to read about herbs, oils, etc. to see what problems they can cause and what per cautions should be taken. I have found some sites that sell EO and base oils that have info on each Eo, base oil and tells the possible side effects.