sudsnwicks

Some of the instructions in that book aren't necessary. Insulating is one of them, as you have found out by still getting soap even after putting it in the fridge. Another one I remember is asking you to have the lye and oils at the same temperature which should be in the range of 90-110*F. In the end you just have to experiment to figure out what works best for you.

If there's a Lowes near you, they sell it under the Roebic brand.

Ruina, the charcoal is supposed to have some skin benefits, such as in this bar here. But when I used it, it was just to get a black soap as I thought the color would look cool.

You can add it at trace (light trace). About 1-1.5 tsp ppo.

Ever since the PO adjusted their shipping rates a couple of years back, there hasn't been a whole lot of difference between priority mail and parcel post. Maybe you could give the customer the various rates and methods and let them choose? That is how some suppliers do it and I know I appreciate having a choice.

It will look creamier if it didn't gel. For a creamier lather, go to soapcalc.com and plug in different combinations of oils there. It will give you a guide as to which recipes will result in a creamier lather.

It does not matter whether they are flake or bead. But if there is a choice, and if I remember correctly, the flake form is less likely to have static when you are pouring it out.

Lye lasts indefinitely if you keep it dry. Since the lye from AAA comes in sealed bottles (2 lbs in each bottle), this is not a problem. If you make your soap in small batches of say 2 lbs each, each bottle would make about 6 batches. If you make soap weekly, this would be a 6 week supply. If you can get at least 4 lbs of each (or even 8 lbs of each, since it isn't going to expire) then the price per pound would be lowered.

In terms of getting started, candle making might be "easier" in that you can get everything you need (i.e. wax, wicks, molds, fragrance, and color chips) from one supplier. For soap, getting all the supplies and equipment you need is one big project in itself.

Jeana, if you are using coffee as the liquid (in place of water), the coffee smell will go away after a few days. So, if you are wanting a scented soap, you will need to add fragrance.

If you're scenting at 6%, then for each bottle, you'd use 6% x 9 oz or 0.54 oz of the modified FO. This means you would need 0.43 oz of the modifier and 0.11 oz of the FO.

Tootie, your gas is 3.35? That was no typo? Because here it is 3.95 and we are in the same state.

I don't know if the wax suppliers will make an adjustment when they get their next truckload. I really hope so.

Apparently scams involving orphanages are on the rise, there was an article about this as well: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20071201/everybody-wants-to-save-the-world.html

Jeana, it is the other way round: lye divided by lye+water. I use a lye concentration of 25-40% depending on the recipe. Using the lower end (25%) is helpful for fragrances which accelerate. The benefit of using a higher concentration (40%) is that the bars shrink less during curing as there is less water to evaporate away.

4633 is the former J223 by AstorLite. You might find this list helpful:

http://www.igiwax.com/resource/Container_Candle_Waxes

I have seen some site that say you will recieve a seperate invoice with shipping cost...as far as paypal goes then if doing this you would lost a percentage of the amount twice right? Once for the payment and then once for the payment of shipping.

Yes, you'd have to pay the 30 cents twice. It's 30 cents + 2.9% of the payment amount. The 2.9% would be the same whether it's done in one payment or two. For those sites which get back to you later with the exact shipping cost, I don't know if they're actually billing the customer twice. They may wait to bill anything at all until the exact total is finalized. I've never seen 2 separate charges on my credit card before, which is why I think they're billing all at once even though it may seem like twice.

As long as it's stainless steel, you can use it. I know what you mean about the wide range of prices though. A stainless steel pot at a gourmet kitchen store can be nearly $100, whereas at a discount store you can get it for around $10. The thickness has something to do with it, I'm sure, but part of what you're paying for could also be the brand name. Sort of like the difference between a pair of $29 jeans and a $150 pair?

DaisyChain, I'm sure they'e be losing money on the small orders. But perhaps the larger number of orders they get due to this sale would more than compensate for it? As for the accounting side... the total the customer paid you is to be recorded as income, while the amounts you spent for their order (ingredients, postage, etc) is recorded as an expenditure. This is true no matter whether you're having a free shipping sale or not. So yes, you'd be able to deduct the shipping.

How are you storing them? If they're out in the open, the scent will fade. But put them in a box (I use a cardboard box) with other bars of the same scent only and they will last much longer. I have bars over a year old where the scent is still good. The supplier you're buying your scents from can make a difference too, so be sure to get them from somewhere reputable.

Melanie, how much longer are you wanting the scents to last? I haven't needed to use anything.

Does the premium (business) account limit you to transactions...(sales) per month?

I don't think there's any limit. At least not that I've reached yet, LOL. But if you have that many transactions, you'd be better off with a merchant account. The paypal way is more for small potatoes like myself.

If I didn't like the scent and nobody else did, I would probably shred it up and add it to an unscented batch. The scent wouldn't go away, of course, but it'd be much lighter when you add it to another batch.

I always thought that the buyer had to be signed up with paypal to pay me with CC on paypal but he said that isnt true.

They've changed it so the customer no longer needs to have an account with paypal. You do need to get their premium (business) account though. There's no monthly fee but you do have to pay a transaction fee of 30 cents + 2.9% for each purchase. As and when these transaction fees become more than what you would pay for a merchant account, then you could switch over.

Does the $500 (or $300 additional) include the credit card fees? If so it may not be as much as it feels. For like someone mentioned, it could be $20 a month to accept credit cards. That's already $240 out of the additional $300 you're thinking of spending.

I used to buy it whenever I was travelling (we don't have a walmart here) and last fall I paid 3.12 and then this year it was 4.36 (40% more!). Now with this latest increase it is less expensive to order it from a soap supplier even with shipping.