Jeana

Great! Janet, I think your private messages are turned off cuz I'm not able to send you one.

Scented - I only want round 2" or the ellipse shape. Janet - I'll pm you. Dreamy - I only need the 2" molds, and I don't think I would like a two part mold for the ellipse mold, but thank you. So I'd like a few of these if anyone has them. I am mainly interested in the 2" rounds though. Its a perfect time to get rid of your old tin molds that are collecting dust

I have a couple types of pillar molds I am looking for. I thought I would ask you guys if you have used ones you would like to sell before buying new. http://cgi.ebay.com/ELLIPSE-Candle-Mold-2-x-6-x-6-/360293852769?_trksid=p3286.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D3%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D598953755451847314 And some 2x3.5, 2x4 or 2x6 tin round molds, like these. Not the seemless 2".

I really like Performa wicks in this wax. They do have a tendency to shroom but they have other stuff to offer that makes up for it. They produce a consistent flame most of the time, I get full melt pools on 3" containers, and they throw very well. I have tried MANY different wicks but I now stick with these. Oh, and the MP rarely gets too deep even when the candle is wicked too high.

These guys have a vanilla EO. http://www.newdirectionsaromatics.com/vanilla-oleoresin-10-fold-p-367.html You could ask them if it is soy compatible. I know other EOs are. Also, I make my own vanilla oil. I put the beans in RBO and let them sit for a few weeks. I have used it in candles with peppermint. You can smell the vanilla softly, not a knock your socks off smell but people who are asking for natural usually know this. Not sure how it smells on its own. Definitely worth a try.

Carol - you're really smart to be thinking outside the box to stay busy. What are Af's? Are your candles just regular or are they animal related some way? I keep seeing all kinds of online articles about people saving money & cutting costs, this is good to do but small private businesses feel this lack of cash flow the most, cuz that's where people stop spending first. There really needs to be more of a movement of "shopping small" and local to help small businesses survive. JMO

Does anyone have a good resource for wholesale Minky dot fabric or any other cuddly soft fabric?

I just checked and they are $170 for 50lbs that is insane!

What are you going to do with your recipe add cottonseed? Funny thing about palm too, it really attracts ants. I have an ant issue at my shop. In the warmer months I would have to pick them out of my palm, yuck. I left a small amount from my last box on a shelf one time and the next day it was covered in ants. I couldn't even use it. wow $122.50 for 50lbs that's crazy. For now I had to suck it up and do columbus foods. I pay about 30 for shipping.

I figured the prices are rising due to fuel and crops. I can't do lard too many vegan customers. Some of the criscos have cottonseed. This is an oil I am eyeing. I saw on wikipedia that cottonseed has higher myristic and stearic levels than most liquid oils. I was going to try columbus foods but their's is winterized. From what I've read this means it is chilled and the solids that fall to the bottom are removed. Since stearic falls to the bottom in palm, I assumed the solids at the bottom of the cottonseed is stearic too. So I am going to try some non winterized to see how it goes. I can get a fairly decent price on cottonseed. Every time I make a batch without palm, I get happier. I didn't realize how much better soap can be without palm.

I used pomace so I don't think it smells as strong to begin with. I smelled it a little at first, not so much now. Also the EO blend is an herbal smell so it is either complementary to the OO scent or it covers it. I'm planning on staying with EOs since I'm making it for sensitive skin. I don't know how it would be with an FO.

Thanks you guys I've been testing it lately. Better bubbles than expected. I gave my little dog a bath with some last night. He is sensitive to shampoos. Does that mean my soap has been tested on animals now - haha. Candybee - just go for it. This was seriously the easiest batch I have ever made! Just punch in the amount of oil you want in the MMS lye calculator and that's it. I do recommend using the least amount of water or as close to it that you feel comfortable with, this will help with how soft it is when you take it out of the mold. I don't seem to get the slimey feel other's talk about. I'm looking forward to making a couple more scents now.

Any sales business has its ups and downs. If you do wholesale, for every account that grows or you pick up, another one goes south. You can create a version of steady by really keeping on top of selling yourself and your business. It is a ton of work to keep on top of, especially when you add farmer's markets and websales. It is a good idea to add new products regularly to keep your customer's interest. I found rotating them helps. I pull some things for a while then reintroduce them, that makes people feel like there are fresh products all the time. It keeps it more interesting for me too. When I make the same thing all the time I get bored quickly. Of course all of this is if you will be doing this as a full time business and not just a part time side thing.

PO and PKO aren't any better in price. At columbus foods PKO is more than CO. I actually dropped palm recently and I've really happy so far. Palm is a very inconsistent oil for me. Even the no stir gives me very inconsistent results. I'm much better without it.

Lindsaycb - in Dec I bought it 50lb for $60, and now it is $80 - $85 for 50lbs. Many suppliers are not carrying it now because it is so high. Soapbuddy - I had a good stock before it went up too but now I am almost out. When you make to sell it doesn't last long. I have begun searching for local people again and I have some leads now so I won't have to pay shipping at least. The more local places take about 3 wks to get it and I have to pay in advance. There is always something. I only use Jojoba for body care not soap. It was too expensive before. Mainly I was just trying to get a feel of what other soap businesses are doing to offset some of these rapidly increasing prices.

I'm getting freaked out by the thought of the coconut oil prices continuing to climb. I understand why it is happening but we can only charge so much for a bar of soap to try to make up our price increases. And even if prices were to come down some they most likely won't ever return to where they were. So where does that leave small soap businesses or even large ones for that matter. I've heard of several closing down. Is it just a matter of finding other ways to cut costs to absorb these increases? How do most of you plan to stay in this business when the prices are so high or may even get higher? Are you planning to raise your soap prices? Are you using other oils more than CO? I've recently taken Palm out of my recipes so I was planning to just increase the CO but now that seems like it may be too expensive. Hmmm??

I've never made a 100% OO soap before. It is scented with Sage, Lime, Spearmint, and Ginger. You mostly smell the Sage, then the Lime. I didn't use anything to color it. I can't stop smelling it. And I have to say I think it was the easiest soap I have ever made. One oil, hmmm can't mess that up! I have heard so many people now say they can't have coconut oil, so I thought it was time. This is only 2 weeks old and it is much harder than I expected. I'm also getting a much better lather than I thought I would without castor, CO or Palm.

Ta da Here it is cut. I'm not sure if I will clean these up. I like the rustic look of them. I bet they will get darker though.

Thanks for the nice comments everyone. I did cut it but it was a different color inside so I thought I'd give it some time before I posted a cut pic. It's still a nice red on the outside but more tanish on the inside. The smell is delish, BUT it almost seems like I am the only one who can smell it. Everyone that comes into my shop is forced to smell it - lol. To me it is very strong and everyone else is saying they can't smell anything or a very light smell. It should be the other way around with all the scent I'm dealing with, I should be the one having a hard time smelling it. So I'm not sure how it will end up.

This smells so good. I added a splash of Peaks strawberry FO but I actually think the smell of the cream and real strawberries is showing up too. Smells like a strawberry cake. I've never done this recipe before but I will definitely do it again. Yum!

I've been approached with this idea. I like it in some ways and not in others. What I don't like it is how long it will take to have the product get in to the buyers hands. By the previous posts on the topic, most people cure them around 2 months before they let the buyer have them. That is a long time to sit on product. And storing them for that long while they cure is another issue. Any one have feedback for this? Do you keep loafs on hand curing, or are they made to order and the buyer waits. I also don't like how most soaps smell when you freshly cut them. Especially most essential oils don't smell very nice right away. In some of the other posts on the topic, people are saying to use a softer recipe so they can be cut easier later on. To me that would make it even less cured when the buyer gets it. I'd really love to hear some input and tips from anyone who sells soap this way. I feel kind of lame not knowing this stuff but it is new territory for me. Thanks!

Second pours! And most of all retesting new wicks/batches of wax/fos. Once its been tested that should be it, but as we all know it's not.

ok I got some organic cream to try some batches this week. Thanks everyone for your help

Did you scent the soap? Most allergies are from fragrances. Maybe try other scents or unscented before you change your recipes.

Nice soap! thanks for sharing that. I have a bordeaux mica. What happens if you don't color it? I take it you are using strawberry puree, how much do you do for each batch? I roughly make 5-6lb batches. Do you scent it strawberry? I have some nice Peaks strawberry I was thinking of using. Totally excited now to do this. Also good to know about the seeds, I was going to add some cranberry seeds but if it is enough already I won't bother.