Making My Own Soap Now

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Arks

Arks

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As if I needed another job around here.
For years my sister has bought homemade goat milk soap from an old lady here. The old lady sells it for $1/bar and my sister resells it at her store for $3/bar. The old lady brings in 18 bars at a time and they all sell in about a week.
The lady (did I mention she's old) has given my sister her recipe and says she's too old to make it anymore. So you know who got the job. But there IS a market for unscented and chemical-free goat-milk soap so I guess I'll do it. I was a chemistry major in college so I think I can handle it. The lye is not as caustic as the perchloric acid I used to work with in college.
I might eventually get a custom mold and make some for my guesthouse while I'm at it.
I took the lady's recipe and looked online and found a recipe posted by Martha Stewart, yes THAT Martha, that's almost identical, except Martha adds some olive oil and shortening the local woman's recipe doesn't call for.
I'll let you know how it goes...
 
Goat's Milk is available near us locally but I have no idea how pricey it is. I wonder if the soap would be the same with cow's milk or even cooler almond milk?
 
heart.gif
that's awesome. i buy soap from a local woman who started her own business.
 
The soap I bought from a local is unscented goat's milk soap. He charges $1 per 1 oz bar. I have enough for quite a while. May look for something a bit less pricey in-State (if it exists) but I did not have a shipping charge since I was able to pick it up as part of a nulti-task day. They are just a few miles from my jams/jellies supplier.
 
I love the soap I get locally.
Does your recipe call for a 6 week curing period?
 
Morticia said:
I love the soap I get locally.
Does your recipe call for a 6 week curing period?.
Click to expand...
Morticia said:
Does your recipe call for a 6 week curing period?
Click to expand...
Yes it does, and I wonder if that's really necessary. Most recipes I've seen are more like 4 weeks, and the Martha Stewart calls for just 2 weeks of curing.
I saw some hot recipies (meaning you cook it) say you could use it in just a couple of days. Mine is a cold recipe, meaning you mix the stuff together at around 100 degrees F and let it cool down from there.
 
Arks said:
Morticia said:
I love the soap I get locally.
Does your recipe call for a 6 week curing period?.
Click to expand...
Morticia said:
Does your recipe call for a 6 week curing period?
Click to expand...
Yes it does, and I wonder if that's really necessary. Most recipes I've seen are more like 4 weeks, and the Martha Stewart calls for just 2 weeks of curing.
I saw some hot recipies (meaning you cook it) say you could use it in just a couple of days. Mine is a cold recipe, meaning you mix the stuff together at around 100 degrees F and let it cool down from there.
.
Click to expand...
The longer the cure the better it will hold up in damp situations. Either in the shop or the shower.
It will dissolve fairly quickly in use if you shorten the cure time. Of course, you'll sell more soap that way but only the first couple of times.
 
Morticia said:
Arks said:
Morticia said:
I love the soap I get locally.
Does your recipe call for a 6 week curing period?.
Click to expand...
Morticia said:
Does your recipe call for a 6 week curing period?
Click to expand...
Yes it does, and I wonder if that's really necessary. Most recipes I've seen are more like 4 weeks, and the Martha Stewart calls for just 2 weeks of curing.
I saw some hot recipies (meaning you cook it) say you could use it in just a couple of days. Mine is a cold recipe, meaning you mix the stuff together at around 100 degrees F and let it cool down from there.
.
Click to expand...
The longer the cure the better it will hold up in damp situations. Either in the shop or the shower.
It will dissolve fairly quickly in use if you shorten the cure time. Of course, you'll sell more soap that way but only the first couple of times.
.
Click to expand...
Morticia said:
Of course, you'll sell more soap that way but only the first couple of times.
Click to expand...
Yes, people would catch on pretty quickly. I'll probably make a batch every week, so once I get the first waiting period over, it will start coming along steadily.
Look out, Dial and Irish Spring. Big competition on the way ;-)
 
Arks said:
Morticia said:
Arks said:
Morticia said:
I love the soap I get locally.
Does your recipe call for a 6 week curing period?.
Click to expand...
Morticia said:
Does your recipe call for a 6 week curing period?
Click to expand...
Yes it does, and I wonder if that's really necessary. Most recipes I've seen are more like 4 weeks, and the Martha Stewart calls for just 2 weeks of curing.
I saw some hot recipies (meaning you cook it) say you could use it in just a couple of days. Mine is a cold recipe, meaning you mix the stuff together at around 100 degrees F and let it cool down from there.
.
Click to expand...
The longer the cure the better it will hold up in damp situations. Either in the shop or the shower.
It will dissolve fairly quickly in use if you shorten the cure time. Of course, you'll sell more soap that way but only the first couple of times.
.
Click to expand...
Morticia said:
Of course, you'll sell more soap that way but only the first couple of times.
Click to expand...
Yes, people would catch on pretty quickly. I'll probably make a batch every week, so once I get the first waiting period over, it will start coming along steadily.
Look out, Dial and Irish Spring. Big competition on the way ;-)
.
Click to expand...
If it goes over well, and why shouldn't it, you could start adding scents. Vanilla, citrus, lavender, balsam.
The woman I buy my soap from is a marketing wizard. She has even come up with cute packaging to sell the rough end pieces.
Another soapmaker uses locally brewed beer/hops and then sells it in the brewery's gift shop.
Winter is long here. Creativity keeps us alive.
 
Yes I found websites with lots of soap additives. Scents, lotions, colors.
But my sister said her customers want it for it's lack of additives and scents.
I pointed out that you can make up a "plain" batch, put most of it in the molds, then just add scents and colors to the last few bars. She liked that. A way to make just a few and see if they sell.
Oh boy. Another new hobby. Wonder how long this one will last!
 
what are you going to call it? Arkensoap? THE Arkensoap? no ... probably not.
 
Arks said:
Yes I found websites with lots of soap additives. Scents, lotions, colors.
But my sister said her customers want it for it's lack of additives and scents.
I pointed out that you can make up a "plain" batch, put most of it in the molds, then just add scents and colors to the last few bars. She liked that. A way to make just a few and see if they sell.
Oh boy. Another new hobby. Wonder how long this one will last!.
Click to expand...
That's why I suggested the scents I did. Research has shown, and who even thinks this stuff up, women using a citrus-scented lotion feel younger. I love my orange hand lotion. Who doesn't love vanilla and the memories of cookie making!
I'd stay away from rose and any of the really strong scents. They'll overpower your sister's whole shop.
 
Funny you were a chem major.....me too. I find it comes in handy with cooking. Let us know how the soap making goes.
 
Morticia said:
Arks said:
Yes I found websites with lots of soap additives. Scents, lotions, colors.
But my sister said her customers want it for it's lack of additives and scents.
I pointed out that you can make up a "plain" batch, put most of it in the molds, then just add scents and colors to the last few bars. She liked that. A way to make just a few and see if they sell.
Oh boy. Another new hobby. Wonder how long this one will last!.
Click to expand...
That's why I suggested the scents I did. Research has shown, and who even thinks this stuff up, women using a citrus-scented lotion feel younger. I love my orange hand lotion. Who doesn't love vanilla and the memories of cookie making!
I'd stay away from rose and any of the really strong scents. They'll overpower your sister's whole shop.
.
Click to expand...
Morticia said:
That's why I suggested the scents I did. Research has shown, and who even thinks this stuff up, women using a citrus-scented lotion feel younger. I love my orange hand lotion. Who doesn't love vanilla and the memories of cookie making!
I'd stay away from rose and any of the really strong scents. They'll overpower your sister's whole shop.
Click to expand...
I recently bought some grapefruit scented body lotion...really nice, subtle scent. But orange would be nice too.
 

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