Uk Soap Makers

[Tmwmo5]

Hello guys I have seen a few people post questions about uk regulations and uk soap making so thought I would start a thread for uk based soap makers it’s harder to get equipment and our regulations are very strict all countries are welcome to Join in and comment , if your from the UK and have any questions please say hi and what city your from how many years you have been soaping for and drop a pic of what you have created and if there is anyone that knows where to get the Hercules cutter from please let me know

Hello guys I have seen a few people post questions about uk regulations and uk soap making so thought I would start a thread for uk based soap makers it’s harder to get equipment and our regulations are very strict all countries are welcome to Join in and comment , if your from the UK and have any questions please say hi and what city your from how many years you have been soaping for and drop a pic of what you have created and if there is anyone that knows where to get the Hercules cutter from please let me know

I’ll go 1st
Toni from Gloucester I 1st made soap back in 2015 I think
my go to soaping videos back then was royalty soaps and relyredone , brambleberry and soaping 101 i learned to make soap and other sudzy stuff through these videos that are on YouTube
now I like to watch I dream in soap , royalty soaps , soap & clay and the Sussex handmade soap company
I’m just starting my business called TheSoapShed so going through all the ups and downs of regulations labelling and all the things that cause headaches

happy soaping

 

[JuliaNegusuk]

Hi, thought I'd reply as nobody else has! Been making soap for about 6 or 7 years. First just for family and friends, then was brow beaten into making it for charity I was volunteering for, for their shop.I only made very small quantities, about 80 odd bars, 9 varieties, three times a year for their two open days and xmas. Was very well received, but not hard to sell out in those amounts. Specialised in palm free, all natural ingredients, essential oils and colours.

Prior to this was a fan of goats milk soap, but didn't do that for sale. I did go through the tortuous process of certification and was also insured. Have recently stopped as getting a bit onerous and prices have rocketed for base ingredients.

Have had some traumas with soda ash in particular which never affected me while I made for myself but plagued me when I began to sell! Why??!!?? Eventually solved the problem by water discounting. I found making for sale very restrictive and annoying, especially requirements to list all batch numbers etc. Took as long to do the paperwork than make the soap. So I have to say making for sale ruined my enjoyment and I haven't made a batch for fun for quite a while. If I was to give a top tip for making for sale it would be "keep the basic oils and ingredients fairly simple". Believe me you will soon get fed up of measuring out 5 % of this and 10 % of that after you've done it a hundred times.

I hope you get a few more replies from UK soap makers. There are some out there.

best wishes

 

[Julie Seddon]

Hi I'm in the UK.... in Manchester. I dont class myself as a proper soap maker yet as I'm starting with melt and pour lol but I'd love to make cold process as there seems to be endless creative possibilities. "I dream in soap".... oh I could watch those videos for hours!

 

[Blufuz]

Hi, I’m a hobbiest soap maker, currently living in Switzerland, but I’m moving to England next year! I didn’t know soaping would be harder there…

Actually it’s so expensive and hard to find ingredients for soap here that I order them from the UK! Mainly from The Soapery.

 

[Tmwmo5]

Hi, thought I'd reply as nobody else has! Been making soap for about 6 or 7 years. First just for family and friends, then was brow beaten into making it for charity I was volunteering for, for their shop.I only made very small quantities, about 80 odd bars, 9 varieties, three times a year for their two open days and xmas. Was very well received, but not hard to sell out in those amounts. Specialised in palm free, all natural ingredients, essential oils and colours.

Prior to this was a fan of goats milk soap, but didn't do that for sale. I did go through the tortuous process of certification and was also insured. Have recently stopped as getting a bit onerous and prices have rocketed for base ingredients.

Have had some traumas with soda ash in particular which never affected me while I made for myself but plagued me when I began to sell! Why??!!?? Eventually solved the problem by water discounting. I found making for sale very restrictive and annoying, especially requirements to list all batch numbers etc. Took as long to do the paperwork than make the soap. So I have to say making for sale ruined my enjoyment and I haven't made a batch for fun for quite a while. If I was to give a top tip for making for sale it would be "keep the basic oils and ingredients fairly simple". Believe me you will soon get fed up of measuring out 5 % of this and 10 % of that after you've done it a hundred times.

I hope you get a few more replies from UK soap makers. There are some out there.

best wishes

Thanks for replying to be fare I’m hoping that uk soap makers can come together and help each other out like where to buy ingredients , CPSRs and equipment I’ve found The Soap Kitchen quite good on prices and if you buy all ingredients from them the CPSRs are really well priced compared to all others I’ve seen. I have ADHD an very surprising to me and my partner I’m finding I’m actually enjoying compliance as much as making the soapy sudsy stuff

Hi I'm in the UK.... in Manchester. I dont class myself as a proper soap maker yet as I'm starting with melt and pour lol but I'd love to make cold process as there seems to be endless creative possibilities. "I dream in soap".... oh I could watch those videos for hours!

she is amazing!!!
so how come you haven’t given CP a go yet ?
if you make soap you are a soap maker regardless of how you make it

Hi, I’m a hobbiest soap maker, currently living in Switzerland, but I’m moving to England next year! I didn’t know soaping would be harder there…

Actually it’s so expensive and hard to find ingredients for soap here that I order them from the UK! Mainly from The Soapery.

I like The Soap Kitchen to buy my ingredients from only because I use there CPSR generator and if you buy ingredients from them the reports are cheaper ingredients it’s not that bad to get hold of some equipment I find either expensive or you have to buy from America for the good stuff anyway ….. it’s compliance that the hardest part I actually enjoy this side of it but I’ve noticed a lot of people struggling with it … it’s knowing what the legalities are … what files you have to create what needs to go on labels and that sort of stuff it seems daunting at first but once your in the know it’s not actually as hard as it looks I’m always learning and was hoping this thread could be a great source of information for uk soap makers … for instance if you get your hands on a really good mould then put it on here where you got it from so other soapers could get it too or if you get one that’s not working ……ANYWAY anyway enough of my rambling good luck for the move ….welcome to the thread ,, And I look forward to chatting about all soapy things UK with soon

 

[Lee_kc]

Where do you buy your essential oils and fragrances from? I'm having trouble with CP and I believe it's the EO/fragrances im using.

 

[JuliaNegusuk]

I use Soap Kitchen for most things, including essential oils. I don't use fragrance oils. Soap Kitchen has always supplied quality stuff, but I confess I use them largely out of habit, I haven't minutely looked at prices of other suppliers, except for cocoa butter, which is outrageously expensive at Soap Kitchen. This I buy from an Ebay supplier called "The Soapery" again always good quality.

 

[Blufuz]

I order from the Soapery; only other place has been Naissance but they’re more expensive. I don’t have much to compare them to, but can’t complain

 

[Tmwmo5]

Where do you buy your essential oils and fragrances from? I'm having trouble with CP and I believe it's the EO/fragrances im using.

Soap kitchen for me …. I get my CPSRs from there and because I only use there stuff I get them discounted

I use Soap Kitchen for most things, including essential oils. I don't use fragrance oils. Soap Kitchen has always supplied quality stuff, but I confess I use them largely out of habit, I haven't minutely looked at prices of other suppliers, except for cocoa butter, which is outrageously expensive at Soap Kitchen. This I buy from an Ebay supplier called "The Soapery" again always good quality.

I agree they are expensive for cocoa butter but Shea butter is reasonably priced

 

[LiliKuenca]

Hello Everyone. My name is Liliana and I have been making soap since 2020. I set up my business last year and taking it very slowly. I have a full time job that pays for everything so I'm being strategic let's say. So probably one market a month, building up my local customers and making my website look as good as it can in the process.
Getting ingredients in bulk works so much cheaper and I go with O&3 for pretty much everything, except for the coconut oil which I get from The Soapery.
Molds are a big issue in the UK and I've made a couple of them (Tall and Skinny which I can't find in the right size in the UK) and I bought the liners separately and made the wooden outer myself.
I only use plants for colour and I've had a lot of fun trying different plants. I love it.
As Tmwmo5 mentioned once you have dealt with the legalities of selling once it's much easier later on.

 

[user 57010]

Hi, Soap maker from Burscough, been making soap for a year an half, going to have a web site to sell (lucky me my fella is a programmer).
I have an understanding what is need for a cpsr. Anyone near by welcome to pop round for a brew an natter.

 

[Georgeandstella]

Hi! Is there an equivalent for Borax in the UK to use for Mechanics’ soap? Thank you.

 

[JuliaNegusuk]

Hi

i don' t know about borax, but I made a soap with coffee grounds, seasalt and pumice and it was a runaway hit. Very cleansing.

Can' t you get borax from the chemist? I seem to remember buying borax crystals once to make an eye wash.

 

[Georgeandstella]

hi. i made a soap with coffee grounds, seasalt and pumice and it was a runaway hit.

Can't you get borax crystals from the chemist? I seem to recall buying some once to make an eyewash.

Sorry, repeating myself. I thought my first reply hadn't gone

Hi

i don' t know about borax, but I made a soap with coffee grounds, seasalt and pumice and it was a runaway hit. Very cleansing.

Can' t you get borax from the chemist? I seem to remember buying borax crystals once to make an eye wash.

Hello

Like Boots?
Thank you

 

[JuliaNegusuk]

Google it. You can get it from Soap Kitchen. So there must be plenty of other places too.

 

[Savage Daughter]

Can't you get borax crystals from the chemist? I seem to recall buying some once to make an eyewash.

You may be thinking of boric acid when speaking about eyewash, not sure. I buy it as well for the same purpose, amongst many others.

I'm not in the UK but I buy borax in bulk from a local supplier here (sometimes different ones depending on price / kg) as it's one of the things I use in my laundry & other non-toxic cleaning products. The borax being sold in supermarkets in my own country is loaded with fillers, so unless your country has a different grade / quality of borax for sale, I would not buy from the supermarkets. Get the pure stuff.

Good luck hunting down supplies

 

[Georgeandstella]

Hi

i don' t know about borax, but I made a soap with coffee grounds, seasalt and pumice and it was a runaway hit. Very cleansing.

Can' t you get borax from the chemist? I seem to remember buying borax crystals once to make an eye wash.

Hi, I’m tending to use too much exfoliants, as it’s hard for me to eyeball it while mixing…around how much do you use PPO, or ? Thank you

 

[KiwiMoose]

Google it. You can get it from Soap Kitchen. So there must be plenty of other places too.

Look what I found! Why Is Borax Banned In The UK? [Yes, Here’s Why] - HomeownerCosts.

 

[JuliaNegusuk]

Hi. Yes I am thinking of boric acid! Borax apparently is available in the uk but its sale is restricted. It is mostly used as a cleaning product and to kill small critturs like ants! Soap kitchen advertise it for sale but I can't get their website to work so I don't know any more about it.

Trying to recall my coffee soap recipe (I am not at home) base recipe - 210 coconut oil, 300 olive oil 30 each shea butter, cocoa butter and castor oil , plus extra 75 coconut oil ( I think - because of the salt), 15 coffee grounds (I actually make the coffee with the water for the lye and leave the grounds in - let it cool first!), 75 sea salt and 30 pumice powder - all in grams. Lye I think 86 g, water at 1.5 x the lye. But if you run the base recipe, without anything after the plus, through a soap calculator that will give the lye amount. Always check other peoples recipes.

It was very cleansing, not for use on the face. I used to call "working hands" soap. Included coffee, salt and pumice with the idea that it was a combination cooks, gardeners and anything else mucky you could think of soap. Someone who worked on a farm used to buy lots of it.

 

[JuliaNegusuk]

The other thing about exfoliants is that it is a very personal thing. For example I use ground orange peel in one of my soaps. I don't even use it with exfoliant in mind, more to try and help fix the aroma. I don't even notice it. But other people think it is too rough!