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Thank you both! I will check these out!

I have a dillemma. I normally package my bar soap very simply, is it almost naked. I wrap in twine and add a hang tag. This is fine for my internet sales. But, if I approach a store to see if they want to sell my product I think they are turned off by the nakedness of my soap. I thought maybe for store sales I need to put my soap in a box. The boxes would also fit nicer on a shelf. I at one time saw some boxes on a supplier website but for the life of me I can't remember who the vendor is. The boxes have a cutout in them so you can see the soap inside. Does this ring a bell with anyone? I also saw the thread with the debate about naked soap versus packaged soap and there was great info in that thread. Most naked soap is wrapped in some form, tissue, cello, wax paper deli bags, at point of sale. But if I am not the one selling it in the store I feel I need to package this better so people don't go "ewwwwww, others have touched and sniffed the soap!".

Thanks for the info. My bathtub is too small so I have to try all my bath stuff out at my sister's. She has a HUGE tub. So, at home I just take showers. I think people like to add things to the tub that make their skin soft. The teas probably smell really nice but there is no added skin benefit?

Has anyone experimented with Bath Teas? I have been reading about packaging scented dried flowers/herbs in a bath tea bag and sealing these to put in a hot tub. Other suggestions would be to package the scented dried flowers/herbs and include a large tea ball that you can fill and hang in the tub. This sounds interesting to me. Has anyone tried this and if so what pros/cons can you share?

Wow Lindsay, thank you for taking the time to post this!

I never read anything about the CP method for liquid soap. Sounds like a good option. When I made my LS using the double boiler method I never got to a trace stage. I went from thin liquid, which I was at for about 15 minutes, directly to paste instantly!!

Thanks for this information. Do alot of you who make your own labels use onlinelabels.com? I haven't ventured into making my own labels yet. My printer isn't so good but I think I need to make my own at some point. It will be cheaper and I could make changes etc as I see fit. The product and packaging look great... and so do the labels!!!

Thank you! That is what I thought but I figured if I assumed anything I would mess this up. I am going to try this so I can waterproof all my labels! Thank you for sharing this information, I really appreciate it!

I got mine from GloryBee Foods. 12 -18oz jars for $23.95 but they are glass. They also have a note about quantity discounts.

I have mainly been using these for personal use, family, friends. I just got my website up so I plan on having a business at some point. I better start selling soap soon because I am running out of storage space!

I didn't even color this soap. It is a natural golden color but clear. I was afraid to color it since I normally only color with herbs in my CP soap. I have tried a few Ultramarines in my CP soap too but I was afraid I would make the soap a horrible color by mistake so I decided to just scent this first batch iwth Lavender EO and have my family test it. I got purple pump bottles so at least the bottles are pretty! I read I can use food coloring but I wasn't sure what color this would turn out if the soap is naturally golden, then add red and blue to make it purple. I am a chicken I guess!

I have a dumb questions. Do you spray the labels before you put them on the container or do you spray them after you put them on the container?

I read the Failor book and it was a bit confusing, so I had to re-read it multiple times. Each time I read it things became more clear to me. I followed the paste method steps and it worked perfectly for me. I didn't want to add alcohol to my soap as I felt it would defeat the purpose of creating my own liquid soap. I want it to be moisturizing so hopefully it will be!

Oh my gosh! I am not sure but if you are using the crock pot method I am not familiar with this. You posted on my liquid soap thread so you know I went from liquid to paste in a matter of 15 minutes. Then I cooked the paste for 3 hours, trying to mix it every 30 minutes, but it was like tar. My paste was almost translucent from the start. This was my first attempt so I am not sure what I did right or wrong.... Maybe someone else will have some pointers for you.

I am not familiar with the crock method. Is it basically the same as the double boiler? I would have to have a pretty big crock pot though. Good luck! I am sure your hair won't fall out Jcandleattic!! I keep going in my soap room, checking out the liquid soap. It is crystal clear so I must have done something right, by accident I am sure! I am the same way with my CP soap, I hate waiting. This 2 week sequestering period is going to drive me nuts!

Very nice! Very professional looking and the crystals are a very unusual touch. You are very artistic! Do you use a laser printer for your labels? My labels need work but I only have an ink jet printer. I may need to invest in a laser printer at some point!

When I first started researching the CP method, I couldn't find any kits out there. I probably would have purchased one of these if it was available for my first try. It certainly should not be marketed towards kids though. The lye scared the heck out of me on my first try, and my nephews are very interested in CP soapmaking, but I do this alone. I don't want any accidents!

I am trying to attach a file so you all can see my first attempt at liquid soapmaking. It is sequestered right now so I have to wait 2 weeks to test, then package. I am not sure if I am attaching the photo properly though! How do you all get your pictures small enough to upload here? I had to crop the heck out of my picture so I don't know if the picture is going to be very good.

Well, it is 8:20pm by me and I have just finished cleaning up after making my first batch of liquid soap. I had a little over 5 1/2 lbs of paste and I diluted it in 5 1/2 lbs of distilled water. It took several hours for the paste to dilute fully, I just let it simmer on a back burner on my stove. The soap looks pretty good to me. It is clear right now so I am not sure how much clearer it will get. From what I have read I need to sequester the soap for 2 weeks and then it should be ready to use. I am planning on using cosmetic grade Borax at the end of the 2 weeks to emulsify and thicken the soap. This took most of my day today, though I think I started at about 12:30. Most of the time the soap was cooking I could do other things in the house, clean, laundry etc. I have a new admiration for all of you liquid soap makers out there! This is a lot of work!! But hopefully the end product is worth it. I didn't color it, I just put Lavender EO in it as it is my favorite. Once the soap is ready friends and family have to tell me what they think, then I can tweak if necessary.

Oh no, I hope I am not the only one this has happened to! Well, I am using the program 'Soapmaker' and decided to use 50% Coconut Oil, 30% Olive Oil and 20% Castor Oil. I read castor oil makes a nice creamy soap that doesn't dry the skin so I figured what the heck. So I mixed the potasium hydroxide with the distilled water, amounts per Soapmaker. At 160 degrees for oils, 140 degrees for lye solution and mixed them together and used a stick blender on and off with a whisk intermittently. Things were going swimmingly until about 15 minutes later. That is when I got the huge puff of soap in the pot. Once I stirred it down it was instantly paste. So, then I put the soap pot with the paste in it in a bigger pot filled with slowly boiling water. I am supposed to mix every 20-30 minutes for the next 3 hours and the paste is supposed to become translucent. Right now I guess I am an hour into cooking in the double boiler and the paste is looking more and more transparent each time I stir it. It is VERY hard to stir as it is as thick as tar! I hope this is right!! I will find out in another few hours after I dilute it.

Looks like the link in the original post doesn't find the kit anymore. Maybe they took it off their site?

I am in the process of making my first batch of liquid soap. I have read a lot of books, researched on the web, and read some threads here. So far so good but I almost had a catastophie! One minute I am stirring the soap, it was slowly getting just a little bit thicker than just the oil/lye consistency when all of a sudden it started bubbling and slowly rising up in the pot. I quickly pulled the pot off the heat, thinking it would settle everything down. But oh no, that sucker kept rising so I rushed over to the sink just as it was cresting the top of the pot. Whew! That would have been awful if it went all over my stove! I swear, it went from liquid to paste in 15 seconds! Only a little dribbled down the side of the pot. I should have just punched it down with my spoon now that I think about it, but I guess I just freaked. I wasn't expecting that at all, but I will be more prepared the next time. So, I have about another 2 1/2 hours of cooking in the double boiler to go. I will keep everyone posted as to my progress. I hope I don't mess this up!! Coleen www.sudsations.com

This sounds easy enough, I will try it. I was wondering though, in sugar scrubs and salt scrubs, do I need to add a preservative or does this stay good for a while because there is no water added?

Hi Traceyy... I think washing the stick blender is fine. I make my lotion in my stand mixer and I wash everything in soapy water with clorox in it. I haven't tried making lotion with a stick blender because my recipe calls for a lot of constant mixing and I think my stick blender would blow up, wear out, or my arm would fall off!

I found this info on the Chemistry Store website: http://www.chemistrystore.com/Foaming_Bath_Bombs.htm I haven't tried adding SLSa to my bath bombs but it doesn't seem like it would be hard to do.