Soap Making Business

MAKING SOAP WITH A MELT AND POUR SOAP BASE

If you want an easy way to create customized soaps without the hassle of dealing with lye, melt and pour soap may be for you. Melt and pour soap is soap that has been manufactured so that it melts easily on the stovetop or in the microwave. One of the nice things about melt and pour soap is the incredible versatility that it offers the soapmaker. There are several things that you can do with melt and pour soap that you cannot do with soap when you are making it from scratch (unless you remelt it after it is done). With melt and pour soap you can use food coloring to color your soaps, you can use almost any type of mold that you want, and you can use just about any fragrance that you want. You can also add herbal extracts, both glycerine and alcohol based.

WOOD SOAP MOLDS

If you want to get the most value for your money, consider investing in a wood soap mold. Even though they are more expensive than plastic soap molds, wood soap molds are built to last for years of use. Some wood soap molds are designed to produce a log of soap which then needs to be cut with a cutter. Other wood soap molds are designed with separators which allow formation of individual soap bars while curing.

SAFETY TIPS IN PREPARING THE SOAP

Most of the ingredients you use to make handcrafted soaps and cosmetics are relatively harmless. Even so, there are some safety issues to be aware of when creating your own bath and body care products.

Here are some tips for working safely:

1. Protect your hands: Wear rubber gloves when working with caustic chemicals such as sodium or potassium hydroxide or essential oils that can cause burns (cinnamon and cloves).
2. Protect your skin and clothing: When you are working with ingredients that can cause burns (sodium or potassium hydroxide) or ingredients that can discolor your clothing (colorants) wear an apron, an old long sleeved shirt, pants, shoes and socks to protect your skin from accidental spills.
3. Protect your eyes from accidental splashes: wear safety goggles when working with liquid mixtures such as soap in the raw state.
4. Protect your nasal passages and your lungs: Wear a face mask with a filter to protect your nasal passages when you are:

• Working with soap.When sodium hydroxide is combined with water the reaction emits fumes that will cause coughing. If you don't have a face mask with a filter you will have to hold your breath or walk out of the room for a few minutes.
• Working with large amounts of finely powdered ingredients.If you use large amounts of powdered ingredients in any of your products (corn starch, powdered pigments, clays, etc.) you have probably noticed clouds of dust as you mix the ingredients. Protect your lungs and nasal passages by wearing a face mask with a filter.

CREATING LABELS THAT SELL

Labels are one of the most important parts of any cosmetics package. They tell consumers what is in the package and they create an image for you and your products. If you are looking for ways to improve your labels, here are some ideas:

Make Your Labels Waterproof:If you have ever made labels with an inkjet printer, only to get them smeared with water, you know how frustrating this can be. There are three ways to prevent this:

• Use waterproof inkjet labels.
• Use a laser printer instead of an inkjet printer for your labels.
• Make your labels waterproof yourself by using clear varnish (available at craft shops).

Have A Nice Logo Designed For Your Company: If you don't already have one, get a nice logo designed for your labels. Having a nice logo that appears on your labels, as well as your other company materials, will help customers to remember you.

Turn Your Labels Into A Mini-Catalog: Be sure to let customers know where they can purchase more of your products. Include your website address, and your mailing address on your labels.

Print Your Labels In Color: Color labels draw attention to your products. The cheapest way to get high quality color labels is to print them yourself using a color laser printer.

Order Short Run Production Labels: If you do not have the time, or inclination, to bother with creating your own labels, contact a short-run production label specialist and have the job done for you.

EASY ELEGANT SOAP PACKAGING

What is the best way to package your soap? For some soapmakers, the choice is easy - don't package the soap at all! But for others, packaging is an important part of soapmaking, especially if you plan to give away or sell your soap. But soap packaging shouldn't take more time than making the soap itself. If you need ideas for attractively packaging your soaps, but don't want to spend a lot of time packaging them, here are some choices for you.

Gift Wrap and Wallpaper

Gift wrap and wallpaper are wonderful materials for wrapping soaps because they comes in so many different designs. Be sure to match the gift wrap or wall paper design to the type of soap you will be wrapping. Here are two ways to wrap soap with these papers:

1. Wrap individual bars like a gift and tie with a ribbon.
2. Use the gift wrap as your soap label. Wrap a strip of gift wrap around your soap. Affix a label on top of it.

Copy And Laser Paper

Copy and laser printer papers come in many beautiful textures and colors. A simple way to wrap soap using copy and laser paper is to simply wrap a strip of paper around your soap. If you use plain paper, instead of fancy paper, try one of these ideas for variety:

• Embellish with rubber stamp designs. Use a design that compliments your soap.
• Decorate with colorful stickers.
• Emboss a design onto the paper for an elegant effect.
• Make your label out of white paper and add color using metallic foil.
• Layer a thin strip of paper on top of a wider strip. Use a pair of scissors with fancy edges to make an interesting border.

Cellophane and Polypropylene
Cellophane and polypropylene are clears plastics that are used to wrap many items. Cellophane and polypropylene come in sheets and bags. Cellophane and polypropylene bags can be used to wrap odd-shaped soaps and scented soaps.

Cellophane and polypropylene sheets can be wrapped around soaps like gift wrap. Select in colors or patterns to add visual interest.

Fabric
Wrapping fabric around soap gives a lot of visual interest to soap. Fabric can be wrapped around soap like a gift and tied with a ribbon. Experiment with a variety of fabrics for different effects. Here are some ideas:

• Corduroy and velour for a rich, plush look.
• Silk, for an elegant look
• Denim for an all American look (If you use denim, consider tying it down with a thin strip of leather instead of ribbon for a western look).

Boxes and Baskets
Boxes and baskets are nice containers for soap. Consider filling your box with one of these materials:

• If you are making an herbal soap fill the box or basket halfway with an herb that matches the scent of your soap. For example, if you are making rose soap, fill the box or basket with dried rose buds. If you are making lavender soap, fill the box or basket with dried lavender. Put your soap on top of the herb. Wrap in cellophane.
• Fill the box or basket with excelsior or gift basket filling. Place soap on top.
• Place one or several washcloths or sponges in the basket with your soap.

MAKING BATH SALTS CONTAINER

Turn a leftover box into a beautiful package for your bath salts and bath teas. This project is a nice way to turn an old box into something useful. It also makes a nice package for Mother's Day gifts.

Supplies Needed:

1. A clean box or other cardboard container. It is recommend that you use a round box for this project. This way you have no square edges to deal with. (For this project we recycled a round tea box, however, any type of clean cardboard container with a lid will do).
2. A paintbrush
3. Enough fabric or wide ribbon to cover the box
4. One bottle of Modge-Podge® (Modge-Podge® is a sealant and glue sold at craft shops)
5. One roll of double sided tape
6. One roll of very thin ribbon (1/4" wide or less)

To make the box follow these steps:

Step 1: Cut the fabric (or ribbon) to fit around the box.
Step 2: Cover the sides of the container with the fabric (or ribbon). Use double-sided sticky tape to hold it in place.
Step 3: Using your paintbrush, paint over the fabric with one layer of Modge-Podge®.
Step 4: Apply the thin ribbon around the edges of the container. Use thin-strips of double sided sticky tape to hold in place.
Step 5: Using your paintbrush, paint over the whole container with several layers of Modge-Podge®. Allow each layer of Modge-Podge® to dry before applying another layer.

Here are some things that you can fill your box with:

• bath salts
• bath tea
• bath fizzies
• small bars of soap

MARKETING ON A BUDGET

Marketing is one of the most important activities you will undertake as a small business owner, aside from creating and manufacturing your products. Without marketing, potential customers have no way of knowing that you or your business exists. Many people think marketing has to be expensive. It does not. Here are some low cost ways to promote your business.

1. Establish a website for your products. This is one of the best and cheapest ways to promote your products. Once you have a website, you can put your website address on all of your business stationary, on your cosmetic labels, and you can register your website on the internet.
2. Join a free traffic exchange program. By joining a traffic exchange program you can promote your business for free and support other businesses at the same time.
3. Hand out business cards to everyone that might have an interest in your products. Make sure that your business cards have your mailing address, phone number, email address and website address.
4. Promote your website with custom t-shirts, mugs, bags and other items with your website and logo on them. Sell them at your craft shows, give them to your customers as gifts, have your friends and family wear them.

TIPS FOR BETTER BATH AND BODY CARE PRODUCT PHOTOS

A picture is worth a thousand words, especially if you are trying to sell your bath and body care products on the internet, or through a print catalog. Whether your business is internet based, or mail-order, or even if you give out brochures at craft fairs, or trade shows, people will remember the photos they have seen of your products. You don't have to be a professional photographer to take decent photos, and you don't have to have an expensive camera.

The following tips will help you take good photos that you can use to sell your products.

1. Use natural lighting whenever possible. Photography is all about lighting. The better your light, the better your photo. The best type of light for photos is natural light - light from the sun. If you have a spot at your home or studio where natural light comes in, experiment with taking photos of your products in that area. The best natural light is not necessarily direct sunlight on your products, but most likely light that peeks through the clouds and scatters everywhere.
2. Use a flash. If you can't use natural light, use the flash on your camera in a brightly lit area of your home or studio.
3. Use a tripod. If your hands aren't steady, use a tripod to stabilize your camera to get the clearest photo.
4. Use props in your photos. Instead of taking your photos on a plain background, try to add visual interest with photo props. Doilies, flowers, towels, baskets and dried herbs can all add interest to your photos.
5. Use a simple background in your photo. When composing your photos, try to not have anything distracting in the background. Either put your products against a wall, or put something behind your products to cut out distractions in the background of your photo.
6. If you can, use a digital camera. Digital cameras are a wonderful tool because you can take as many pictures as your camera memory will allow without printing one photo. You can simply delete the ones you don't need, and use the ones you do. Two features to look for on a digital camera are megapixels and zoom. The higher your megapixels the larger the picture you can take without losing clarity. Try for at least 2 megapixels, but more is better. If you are in the market for an inexpensive digital camera try ebay.com or overstock.com. The office supply stores like Staples, Office Max and Office Depot are good sources for inexpensive digital cameras.
7. Use photo software. If you use a digital camera, or if you digitize your prints (using either a scanner, or by letting someone else do it) use software to enhance your photos. Adobe Photoshop Elements® is good software program that is also inexpensive. It allows you to sharpen, crop and touch up your photos and also prepare them for the internet.
8. Make sure your digital photos are the right resolution. Photos for the internet should have a resolution of 72 pixels per inch. Photos for print purposes should be at least 300 pixels per inch. You can size your photos appropriately using your photo software. Many people neglect to do this and it makes their photos too large (when viewed on the internet) or very difficult to view in a computer browser.

SELLING NEAR HOME

One of the easiest ways to start selling your soaps and cosmetics to wholesalers is to begin near home. Your telephone directory is just brimming with opportunities for you to sell your products wholesale in your local area. Here is a look at some of the types of companies which may be interested in what you have to offer.

Bath and Body Boutiques
A bath and body boutique is a small store that sells bath and body care products. They may also carry robes, slippers and other associated items. Some bath and body boutiques are part of large nationwide chains that sell only their own brand (like Garden Botanica®, Bath and Body Works® and Crabtree and Evelyn®). Don't bother trying to sell to these. Look for independently owned bath and body boutiques that carry an assortment of products from different manufacturers.

Bed and Breakfasts
Bed and Breakfasts are small establishments that are run like a hotel. Usually they are run by one or two owners and they specialize in offering personalized attention to their customers. Some Bed and Breakfasts may want miniature sizes of the products you offer. Others may want special gift baskets for special occasions. A soapmaker featured in a recent issue of a major crafts publication makes most of her sales through a bed and breakfast in her area.

To find out about bed and breakfasts in your area, look in your telephone directory or visit your local chamber of commerce or tourism office.

Clothing Boutiques
A clothing boutique is a small clothing store that caters to a specific clientele. There are several different types of clothing boutiques including: boutiques that carry expensive upscale clothing, boutiques that carry clothing made by the owner of the boutique, boutiques that carry only natural baby clothing, etc. Clothing boutiques are good prospects for bath and body products.

Gift Basket Companies
Gift basket companies are excellent prospects for selling your bath and body care products to. Gift basket companies buy bath and body care products for their "pamper baskets." These are especially popular around Mother's day. Many small gift basket companies are looking for vendors which will sell them quality bath and body care products in small quantities at reasonable prices. To locate gift basket companies in your local area, look in your telephone directory under the following categories: gift baskets, gift shops, flower shops.

Gift Shops
Bath and body care products make excellent and inexpensive gifts. If you want to sell your products wholesale, don't overlook gift shops. Gift shops can be located in your telephone directory under the category "Gift Shops." Be aware of the fact that many gift shops are not advertised. Other places that have gift shops are hospitals and garden supply centers.

Health Food Shops
Many health food shops also sell natural cosmetics. If your handcrafted bath and body care products fall under this category you may want to investigate selling your products wholesale to health food shops in your local area.

Spas
Thousands of spas have sprouted up all over the country that are catering to people who need to relax. Some spas, in addition to offering traditional services, offer skin care products. If you are interested in selling to spas, look under the category "Spas" in your local telephone book.

Source: http://www.soapmakingbusiness.com