BLSoaps

It's only USPS that has restrictions regarding the flash points. If you ship UPS, DHL or FedEx Ground you'll be fine. If you want to ship USPS, let us know what you're shipping, Flash Points, Number of Bottles, and Quantities. Yeah, they're that specific, it sucks...

Coconut Oil melts at 76 degrees. If it was warm (it sure has been here!), it could have simply been melted Coconut Oil. If it wasn't, then unless there's something I don't know about Coconut Oil, someone's lying on that label....

I can help with CP questions.

Quick personal summary on my preferences. I'm a veggie girl, have never used tallow, lard, etc. Don't have anything against them other than the smell of the lard melting nearly made me gag. Ended that experiment really quick!

I also have never really experimented much with milk or honey soaps.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE scents of all kinds, as well as color. I mostly make FO soaps because they sell better for me, but I have an aromatherapist for a MIL, so I have a good stash of EOs to play with and love using them in soaps as well.

I'm sure there's more, but it's way past my bedtime!!!

Mines in my siggy as well

Actually, you don't have a siggy....

There's a link to it in your Information thingie. (you click on your name, and it gives you options like email, PM, homepage, etc) But you don't have an autosig at all......

oops

Embossing Stencils, Rubber Stamps, Stickers, etc, all these things can be used for personal use. SOME companies are Angel Companies, and will allow you to use their images on items that you sell. HOWEVER, and this is a big however, this permission is granted for things like gift cards, etc. Things you see company reps like Close To My Heart selling at craft shows. They do not allow their images to be used in logos. Because your logo is something that represents your company, it cannot be used.

I don't know if I'm explaining it very well. If I'm not, holler at me and I'll try again in the morning.

OsCommerce usually requires you to set up a feature that requests the system to email a copy of the order to you. My cart is OsCommerce based, and I had to request that. But my PayPal notification usually comes through first anyway!

Congratulations on your first sale!!!

Assuming that you know what your mold holds, it's easy to then take the percentages and get amounts.

For this 'example' I'll assume your mold holds 4 lbs of OILS. Since we're working with ounces, that's 64 oz total.

30% Olive

20% Coconut

20% Palm

10% Cocoa Butter

5% Castor

15% Rice Bran Oil

Olive Oil - 64 X 0.3 = 19.2 oz

Coconut - 64 x 0.2 = 12.8 oz

....and basically follow that math till you have everything.

HTH!!!

Thanks for the link! I had seen this before. RJ's is what got me started on B&B years ago!!

I had seen guidelines somewhere before though....that told you the range to use...and then if you used the upper or lower ranges what the results would be. Hmpf. I guess I'll keep looking.

Thanks!

Donna

I don't think they could accurately create a 'calculator' like this. Having made lotions for years, I can tell you that so many things factor in, and give you completely different results. Most of it is knowing the individual ingredients inside and out, especially the additives.

For instance, glycerin, used in smaller amounts, work as a wonderful humectant, drawing moisture to the skin, and working better at hydrating your skin. Use too much and the lotion can become tacky, sticky, or greasy feeling. What amount is that? It can greatly vary depending on what else is in the lotion. So not only do you need to know each ingredient, it's also knowing how they work together.

When I was creating a lotion last year, I thought, based on the heavier butters I was including, that it'd be a heavy greasy lotion. Simply by adding Jojoba Oil, which is very quick absorbing, and is prone to 'share' it's properties with other oils, it is actually very quick absorbing. Sometimes for me, it absorbs too quickly. If my skin is very dry, I prefer using a lotion that takes a little longer to absorb.

Anyway, I'm basically saying there is so much involved in making lotions that I don't see how they could possibly create a calculator that could tell you what the final product would be like. Too many things factor in. As I'm fond of saying, Lotion Making is an Art as well as a Science.

Plastic Disposable Pipettes are great for pouring smaller batches.

They do need a small repour. When I use the pipettes (I usually use the MMS trays as well), I pour to just below to lip of the tube, then let it start to cool. It will opacify, then I top it off. I always say it's like going back to grade school science class. It domes and uses the surface tension to keep that dome and not overflow.

There are pretty strict non self promotion rules on this forum. You're probably going to want to get admin's 'approval' for people to post their websites, and basically self promote.

Sooooo..... we replaced it. With a photo of a cowboy. I think he was wearing boots and a hat.. and that's it. I think his hat may have been strategically placed.. I believe he had a sash that said something like.. A hard cowboy is good to find... or some such

Sharon, I know I've told you this over and over again, but I love your husband!!! LOL! He never fails to make me laugh whenever we chat. I needed a good laugh tonight! Thank you Frank and Sharon!!!

My web guy told me how he protects his pictures. He allows right clicking, but if they then load his pictures on their website, it produces an error code. He's a fun (and sometimes crass) guy, so he usually puts something like "hey, this idiot (or something crasser) stole my picture", then makes the picture link back to HIS website.

I don't give full wholesale prices to my drop shipping customers. I have minimums for those accounts, and that's WHY they get those kinds of discounts. I give 30% off to my drop ship accounts.

How did you get him to try it? I've barely gotten my hubby to use it to wash his hands with... He refuses to use it in the shower.

Remove all other soaps from the shower and he'll have no choice!!! LOL!:highfive:

It took my husband some time to come around as well, but he loves it now.

My boys (7, 4, 3) are my best 'advertisers' though! They love to talk about mommy's smelly stuff. They'll hand people a bar of soap and demand they smell it. My kids also have the softest skin in the world. Mommy can't put lotion on (or make lotion) without 3 boys wanting to put some on. Sometimes they smell a little girly, but they have incredibly soft skin!!!

Pink Sugar has a lot of Vanilla FO in it, which tends to turn B&B products brown. Nature of the beast, unfortunately...

And one last thing... when you and the UPS and DHL guy are on first name basis.... LOL

I got you beat on this one! Before our move, I had my FedEx Guy's cell # programmed into my phone!!! I miss Matt...he was an awesome guy. (cute too!) Haven't met the current FedEx person. They keep dropping packages, ringing the bell, and running. That irritates the crud outta me.

Behind soaps, lotions and lip balms are my best sellers!

I know we all have shown signs of being truly obsessed with our craft. Many of us in reflects in the number of pretty amber bottles that smell absolutely amazing (all you FOHOs know who you are!!!). Or the sheer number of soap molds overtaking your kitchen cabinets, or the soaps curing in every nook and cranny in the house.

We squirrel away money out of our grocery fund to buy oils. We bribe the UPS guy to hide our boxes in the bushes so our husbands won't find them.

I did something new this morning that I just had to confess...

I stole the battery out of the smoke detector so I could keep making lotions.

Hello, my name is Lindsay and I'm an addict. It started four years ago when my last pregnancy caused me to become allergic to mineral oil. Since then I have become addicted to all thing emollient, moisturizing, colorful and fragrant. I have not been able to break this addiction, and have no desire to.

What have you done in the name of addiction?

Come on, fess up! I know you all have done something!!!

I have a couple questions first....

One, are you looking for straight butters & oils, or an emulsified type body butter (a very thick lotion, basically)? I can help you with either of these types if you'd like, just PM or e-mail me.

Two, anything whipped won't 'survive' the heat during shipping. Any whipping will need to be done on your end before you put them in the final packaging. Whipped butters are wonderful products to use, but a PITA to ship. The emulsified whipped butters hold up better than the straight butters, but they're still susceptible to 'collapsing' in the heat.

Three, anything you have shipped over will need to be tested and certified by UK labs. While I haven't priced it out myself, I had a potential UK customer price it out for me when we were looking at wholesaling there. From my understanding, each recipe needs to be tested, and then each variation (ie, scent) needs to be tested (at a slightly lesser cost) before it is legal to sell. Any testing done here in the US won't qualify over there. But unfortunately, it's not just as simple as ordering it in and selling it.

If you're still interested, PM me!

I'm glad you were able to work something out! In case I didn't mention it before, congratulations on the new account!!! Let us know how everything turns out!!!

The soap section probably wasn't the best place to put a thread about preservatives, but I'll mention what I can remember off the top of my head. Optiphen isn't truly a broad spectrum preservative. It'll cover certain types of nasties, but not all of them. It usually needs to be used in conjunction with something else. It does NOT have pH restrictions. Optiphen Plus, I believe, is more broad spectrum, but has pH limitations.

If I'm wrong on any of this information, I apologize. I currently don't use either in any of my formulations, and this is based on information I have gleaned over the last year or so in passing.

I will make exceptions every once in a while for wholesale accounts on lot minimums, but I usually make up for it elsewhere. If she wants to have smaller lot minimums, then don't do a full 50% off. Explain the labor time to her, and I'm sure she'll understand. As a small business, I can definitely see where she wouldn't want 12 of one item if she doesn't even know if it will sell or not. (we obviously hope it does, but she doesn't know upfront)

A couple ways around this....

1. Cut your minimums in half for this order, and have the prices be 40% or 45% off the retail instead of 50%. I use this frequently for people who don't want to order my full minimum amounts. For me, orders between $50-99 get 30% off, $100-199 get 40% off, and $200 is my normal minimum (with $100 reorder minimum). So definitely don't go lower than your $50. I already thought it was low.

2. Offer a sampler type pack. I keep meaning to build one of these into my wholesale pitches, but heck if I can ever find time! LOL! Take your top selling items (keep it all the same product, or mix and match), and create a sampler kit that they can start out with. Let's say it contains these two creams in the scents she's interested in, also include matching soaps. HOWEVER, it's not priced at the full 50% off. I'd say 30%, 40% at the very most. This is basically an inexpensive opportunity for her to try out the products in her store with minimal risk. This sampler kit would need to be less than your minimum for it to be appealing to a retailer though. For instance, with my $200 minimum, I would probably offer a kit with a price tag of $75. I'm not sure how much you could offer with only a $50 minimum.

One last thought before I'm done. I personally thought that the high lot minimums didn't go well with the low minimum order amount. 12 of most of my products would take up most of the minimum. Having high lot minimums seems (to me at least) to work against the low overall minimums.

Okay, that's all my migraine riddled brain will let me come up with. Hope it helps and good luck!

Most of the time with home parties the product is delivered (or shipped in it's entirety) TO the hostess, who then distributes them to her friends. If product is being shipped directly to the customers, then I think it would be expected for them to pay for the shipping. But if you can cut that out, do so.

An easy way to charge for shipping would be a pricing tier.

$1-25 = $5.00 shipping

$26-50 = $7.50

etc....

If you end up choosing to ship to the customers, I wouldn't give your rep much to take for cash and carry. I'd make ALL of if order only. Have her bring stuff for people to try and smell, but not to buy. Otherwise if you have 3 bars of lavender soap, and you have two women both wanting all three, it's not fair for one to get them with no shipping, and the other have to pay for shipping. KWIM?

You will most likely sell more if they can take it home with them that night though, keep that in mind. I hope it goes well for you!!!

I've only had one lotion ever change color on me. It's been a couple years, but it was a bizarre experience.

First, it was a lotion I made. I made a straight vanilla, didn't color it at all, and it stayed pure white, even when exposed to sunlight.

Made a Vanilla Rose (blended the same vanilla with some Rose FO), and colored it a soft pink. Several days later it was more mauve in color than pink.

Why did the colored one change, and not the other? I have no idea. Because it was the same Vanilla FO used in both lotions, the only difference was the colorant (I also made a straight rose and that one didn't discolor either, so it wasn't the rose FO). The batch that was colored tanned. The uncolored batch stayed white. Weird...

But I've ALWAYS had a Vanilla or Vanilla blend in my lotion line up (I LOVE VANILLA!), I just keep them uncolored, and I've never had a problem with them browning.

$35.00 if you buy online. I haven't checked out insurance on them though. Just realized I didn't charge for insurance on the quote I just sent, so I guess I'm insuring it at my cost this time around. Now if only I could figure out where those green 'customs' forms went.... I hate having to fill those out first. I can never find them, and that means I have to take it into the post office. Grrrrr....