Hi there! I am relatively new at soap making and have made a few batches so far (CP only). My next challenge to put some embeds, using a MP, on the top of a batch. Now this may be a silly question but once I start selling the soap, should I include the MP ingredients into my ingredients list that will be on the back of the label, along with my CP soap ingredients? It just seems like a bunch of ingredients in MP soaps, and a lot that I am not familiar with.
Should I include MP ingredients into my general CP soap ingredient list?
- Thread starter JazzyC123
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Speaking as a consumer, if I bought your soap with a MP embed and the only ingredients you listed were the CP ingredients, when / if I learned about it I would consider you to have engaged in duplicitous or harmful labeling practices. I would never purchase from you again & would actively discourage friends from shopping with you.
Also I'm sorry if that carries harsh over or under tones. I really tried to write it so it wouldn't.
Also I'm sorry if that carries harsh over or under tones. I really tried to write it so it wouldn't.
Given that you are in Canada, perhaps some of our Canadian members can speak to your country's labeling requirements.
Since you are relatively new to soap making, hopefully you have read this sticky thread: Are You Ready to Sell Your Soap?
Lots of great info there.
Since you are relatively new to soap making, hopefully you have read this sticky thread: Are You Ready to Sell Your Soap?
Lots of great info there.
A
amd
As mentioned by Ali, you will need to follow your country's laws.
I will just say as both a seller and a buyer (I do buy soap from other makers), that dealing with MP is a bit of a conundrum. As a buyer, if I only saw the cold process ingredients I wouldn't buy it. However I have bought soap that had an ingredient list that included "soap embed made from MP base" or something like that, and it did not deter me from purchasing. I will not buy if there is no effort made to acknowledge that the embed is not the same ingredients as the rest of the soap. That said, I see even big name soapmakers like Royalty Soaps do not appear to be disclosing the melt and pour ingredients in the soap label. If she did, she would also have ingredients such as: Sorbitol, Propylene Glycol (made from vegetable glycerine), Sorbitan Oleate (Emulsifier), Oat Protein. (This is from the exact MP base she says she uses, the low sweat clear from TKB.) And that's just one of many reasons why I will not buy from her anymore.
As a maker, and obvs feeling the way I do about the above... I do list my ingredients like this from one of my soaps that uses an MP embed on top, I have highlighted the embed ingredients for you:
This has made me a bit more cautious about the MP that I purchase too.
If a customer is concerned, I tell them they can remove the embed before using but the embed is such a small amount of the soap, and soap is a washoff product that any kind of risk outside of allergies is extremely unlikely. If they are still concerned.... then I suggest that they place a custom order of that fragrance without the embed, lol. I don't do embeds on all my soaps (right now I have two out of 20 soaps with embeds) so I also try to find a different soap for the customer.
I will just say as both a seller and a buyer (I do buy soap from other makers), that dealing with MP is a bit of a conundrum. As a buyer, if I only saw the cold process ingredients I wouldn't buy it. However I have bought soap that had an ingredient list that included "soap embed made from MP base" or something like that, and it did not deter me from purchasing. I will not buy if there is no effort made to acknowledge that the embed is not the same ingredients as the rest of the soap. That said, I see even big name soapmakers like Royalty Soaps do not appear to be disclosing the melt and pour ingredients in the soap label. If she did, she would also have ingredients such as: Sorbitol, Propylene Glycol (made from vegetable glycerine), Sorbitan Oleate (Emulsifier), Oat Protein. (This is from the exact MP base she says she uses, the low sweat clear from TKB.) And that's just one of many reasons why I will not buy from her anymore.
As a maker, and obvs feeling the way I do about the above... I do list my ingredients like this from one of my soaps that uses an MP embed on top, I have highlighted the embed ingredients for you:
This has made me a bit more cautious about the MP that I purchase too.
If a customer is concerned, I tell them they can remove the embed before using but the embed is such a small amount of the soap, and soap is a washoff product that any kind of risk outside of allergies is extremely unlikely. If they are still concerned.... then I suggest that they place a custom order of that fragrance without the embed, lol. I don't do embeds on all my soaps (right now I have two out of 20 soaps with embeds) so I also try to find a different soap for the customer.
No worries at all! I was thinking the same thing. I have looked up some people using embeds and have noticed that they didn't include the embed ingredients which I found to be strange.
Thank you for the feedback! It's funny that you mention royalty soaps because I was thinking about the same thing and her use of embeds. Since I watch her youtube videos, I know she has stated that she uses MP for soap embeds and although I went to look on her website, I couldn't find her MP ingredients.
As I mentioned before, I am quite new to soap making but I guess I worded the question wrong and wanted to ask how to go about listing the MP ingredients with the rest of the soap, instead of if I should or not. Thank you for sharing your example as well! I quite like how you bracketed your MP ingredients so people know the difference between the CP and MP. I am hoping to do something similar
I know that you mentioned before that you buy other peoples soap that have MP embeds. I am curious as to if you know if most people do MP for their embeds? It seems like the less time-consuming option, compared to creating CP soap specifically for the embeds, waiting a few days, and then actually making the batch so the embeds can be applied. Just want to know if people do this route as well or if it will hold back on any possible sales.
Thank you for sharing this! Will definitely take a look into it.
First, I refer you to Canada's labeling laws for your legal answer to your question about how to list the ingredients.
To answer your other question about if embeds are normally made from MP, I am positive that the answer may vary. Many soap makers here at SMF use CP soap for embeds. Waiting days may or may not be necessary even with CP soap embeds.
To answer your other question about if embeds are normally made from MP, I am positive that the answer may vary. Many soap makers here at SMF use CP soap for embeds. Waiting days may or may not be necessary even with CP soap embeds.
A
amd
Most of the soaps I have bought with embeds are MP, but rarely noted that way - either with the ingredients disclosed as I show on my ingredient listings or as the other "soap embed made from MP base". If they do disclose that the embed is made differently than the main soap, it's typically with the MP base notation.
Of the embeds that I use, it's can vary depending on what the embed is. For example, I have one soap that I pipe CP into a rose shape, allow it to harden and then later place on top of a soap. I have another soap that I make MP embeds - because my mold is single cavity for that particular design. In cases where I can use CP soap I do, but it's usually the mold cavity that holds me back. When using CP embeds I usually try to plan it that I can make a slightly larger batch with one soap and pour the embeds at that time to use later in another soap. This way I don't have to make teeny tiny batches of soap which may lead to weighing inaccuracies. Learned that lesson the hard way!
Another thing to note is that the average consumer doesn't know the difference between CP and MP. I live in an area where label reading is still not really a thing. You will want to know your country's laws regarding labeling and follow them before you defer to what will or won't prohibit sales.
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