classiccandle

Thanks BTA. Staying loyal to the board is a great idea!

So, is there anyone on this board that makes CP soap, who is willing to wholesale loaves, at least for a little while, and is willing to either give me or sell me some samples of what they make (I don't mind paying a reasonable price)? Or, if I gave you a recipe, would you be willing to make it? So as to not start any wars with anyone on the board would you mind PM'ing me with your answer as well as what types of soap you're willing to offer/make? I'm interested in moisturizing soaps that have good lather, as well as exfoliating soaps, preferably with fine walnut shell powder or oatmeal and about 5 oz each, or thereabouts. We can get into more details in the PM.

Also, if this isn't the proper place to post this would the mods please move it to where it should be?

Thanks!

I would like to start selling CP soap but don't want to have to wait until I perfect my CP soap making skills. I don't feel comfortable selling the soap while in the process of learning how to make it. In the interim I thought about buying wholesale CP soap loaves, cutting them up, and selling them. I ran across a website called Natural Soap Wholesale (they also have another website called Adams Wholesale Soap) and thought about ordering some of their CP soap to sell.

Has anyone had any experience with this company? Are there any companies you would recommend that sell CP soap wholesale? I'm only interested in selling someone else's CP soap until I'm comfortable enough selling with what I make.

Thank you!

Thanks for the reviews Lorelei! I too use 415 and am constantly looking for FO's that throw well in it. How similar are the Cactus and Sea Salt and the Ocean Mist? Are they distinct enough to sell both of them?

Please keep us updated on your CT and HT results!

If I knew what geling was I could probably give you an answer but I haven't a clue as to what it is nor would I probably recognize it if I saw it....lol. I do have two books I suppose I should start reading more - The Soapmaker's Companion and the Everything Soap Making Handbook.

Thanks Candybee! The steam method is one that was included in the link that GrinningGoblin included in their post. I'll give that a shot and see what happens.

Would you have an idea as to what causes the cracks? The ash seems easy to remedy but I can't do anything about the cracks post production so if I knew where in the process I may have messed up I can hopefully alleviate the cracking issue too.

Thanks again.

As is most always the case, I found the answer to the white substance on top of the soap only AFTER I asked the question (it was in a post made today by GrinningGoblin)...:embarasse I could have looked for a million years and not found the answer had I not asked the question! If I'm not mistaken it's soda ash. GG also included a link in their post to a page that describes how to get rid of it should it happen again.

Thanks GG!

Now, about those cracks.....

It's been 4 weeks since I made my first CP soap but it seems like a lifetime! I'm patient but man - M&P is so much faster. Anyway, I digress. I've attached pics showing issues with the cured soap that I'm hoping the experts can help explain and also how to avoid.

The recipe is one I got from Brambleberry with the CP kit I ordered. It is as follows:

6 oz coconut oil

6 oz palm oil

9 oz olive oil

1 oz castor oil

7 oz water

3 oz lye

1.4 oz fragrance oil (I used CS Sweet Pea and Vanilla without Vanilla Stabilizer, hence the brown color)

Followed the directions that were included in the kit and poured into a mold. I did mix with a stick blender and almost forgot to add my FO and the mixture got pretty thick by the time I could get it into the mold. Covered the mold with a towel and let it sit overnight. The next day I removed the soap from the mold, let it sit another day, and then cut it.

Can the experts tell me what the white film is on the top of the soap? It isn't powdery and it doesn't come off when you run your finger across it. If I wipe hard enough I can smudge it. How do I avoid that happening again? Also one of the pics shows the soap cracking on the sides. Each piece has cracks, some worse than others, and I have no idea what's causing it. Can you help me figure that out as well?

Overall I'm happy I was able just to make soap! Now that I have my confidence up I'll enter the perfecting stage (after several more botched attempts I'm sure...lol). Thanks to everyone on this board who's offered help to those of us willing to get out of our comfort zone and explore the wonderful world of CP soap making!

Thank you!

I've never done consignment before and I applaud your success but since we are going into the historically slow season for candle sales I would feel it necessary to inform her of that and ask her not to make a judgment based on summer sales. Perhaps you could go back to her and ask for a six month consignment? It's your business and I'm not trying to tell you how to run it but I'd rather go with six months and have a better chance of getting the wholesale account than go with three during the slow months and possibly lose the wholesale account based on those sales.

For the record, I offer my UPS discounted rate and that's all I charge. The reason for the question, and the question itself is probably not one many will answer honestly if at all, is because I started wondering how many people we order things from everyday, that use UPS as their shipper, who actually charge us the full UPS rate and then use their discounted rate to ship and pocket the difference? Sadly, there are those types of people out there and we as consumers will probably never know they're doing it.

If you are going to take the rather underhanded approach, then you need to call it out IMO. Otherwise it's pretty much a lie.

Shipping + Handling, perhaps.

I'm not quite sure I follow what you're saying.

So as to not disclose the identities of those who choose to answer this controversial question I thought I'd post it as a poll. When you ship via UPS do you offer your customers your discounted rate or do you charge the full amount and pocket the difference between your cost and the full rate?

Thanks for participating!

Received a reply from the person selling the candles and she said it's dried lavender. She adds it to the top of candles that contain lavender essential oils. Hmmm....not sure I'd be adding it if it made the candle look like that but then again, it isn't my business.

I received a reply from Gary and he sent me a FedEx tracking code stating the oils left on May 3rd and will arrive tomorrow. I apologized for complaining and told him I never received an email from FedEx or I wouldn't have emailed him. Two days to ship? Not too bad but not as good as some suppliers. Maybe I'm just grumpy today? I'll let you know what I think of the oils.

I emailed them this morning and am awaiting their reply. After closer scrutiny of their website I'm inclined to agree with some of the other posters that it's perhaps lavender buds. They sell other candles, in different containers, that look that way also. Why would anyone want to put lavender buds in wax, if indeed that's what it is? Doesn't that pose a potential fire hazard?

Hmmmm....I order April 30th and recieved May 5th. I would call them.

I emailed Gary on May 2nd and he said it's usually 2-3 days before the oils ship from their warehouse. Friday was 3 days and still no shipment. For me, if CS and Peak's can ship as fast as they do then there's no reason why LiquaScents can't do the same. I did email Gary today voicing my displeasure with the time it takes them to ship. Probably won't fix anything but at least he now knows how I feel.

While I was impressed by their communication I can't say the same for their shipping speed. I ordered 12 samples at 12:30pm on May 1 and they still haven't shipped. Not a good way to make a first impression.

I ran across the following picture on the internet and was wondering if anyone can tell me what the brown spots are in the candle and if you think it's supposed to look that way? I make soy candles and I've never had any of them turn out like that. It's an 8 oz candle that is being sold for $20. For that kind of money I would not want my candle to look like that unless someone explained to me why it did.

Please don't take this as bashing someone else's work. I'm just curious and thought I would ask.

Thanks!

A quick read through on some of their scent descriptions leads me to believe most of the FOs come from Save on Scents, and Natures Garden.

I seriously doubt their oils come from SOS or NG. I know for a fact that they carry French Color and Fragrance Co., oils. Most suppliers such as SOS, NG, and LiquaScent buy oils directly from the manufacturer to resell not from each other. Maybe they just borrowed some of the descriptions from those sites instead?

Thanks Candybee! I haven't tried washing with it yet. Heck, I haven't even cut it yet...lol. I wasn't sure if I could test it so soon. I thought it had to cure 4-6 weeks before you could use it. If it is safe I'll try your method.

Is it best to just pat the top of the soap dry? Next time I won't wrap in a towel and see what happens.

I've learned one thing already. I do NOT like lining the mold. If this becomes something I want to pursue further I'm going to splurge and get the wooden molds with the silicone inserts. I've seen videos of people who use those and they look so much easier and the soap, at least to me, looks better coming out of the mold.

Now I need to find a good, reliable, reasonably priced supplier for my oils and such...

Thanks Misty. I read somewhere where they recommended letting the utensils set out overnight before cleaning them so that's what I did. They're soaking in hot water now.

As promised I'm including pics. The soap probably isn't much to write home about but it's my very first batch so I'm just happy to see it solidified. I poured the soap into a cardboard box that came with the kit, lined with Reynolds Wax Paper, and wrapped it in a towel for almost 24 hours. Even though it was lined with wax paper the bottom of the box became very oily. Is that normal? Also, as you'll see in the pics, there appear to be small liquid droplets on top of the soap. Is that normal? Is it the oils that haven't saponified (hope I used that term right) yet? Will they go away? It's an ugly brown color because I used CS Sweet Pea and Vanilla FO and didn't put vanilla stabilizer in the recipe for two reasons; 1) I didn't have any and, 2) I wanted to see what color the FO turned the soap. It isn't very pretty. At least not to me. Is it ready to cut or should I wait another day?

Any suggestions or comments? Be brutally honest.

Okay. I got it poured. I think I waited too long to add my fragrance. The recipe called for 1.4 oz so I added Sweet Pea and Vanilla from Candle Science and it set up pretty fast. It was almost like pudding by the time I got it into the container. Again though I think I also waited too long to add it. Another question. Do you just rinse the rest of the soap out of the bowl and the utensils in the sink in order to clean up? Is it safe?

I wrapped it in a towel and will post pics of it tomorrow. Should I try removing the soap in the morning or wait until later in the afternoon?

Thanks again for all the help!

Oh great, another subject I need to add to my research list - homogenized vs non-homogenized palm oil...lol! Well, I melted the entire palm oil batch down (it really isn't that much) and then added it to the recipe. We'll see how it turns out. Waiting for the lye solution to cool down just a bit before adding it to the oils.

Thanks ladies for the advice and encouragement! One more question regarding Palm Oil. In one of her videos, Ann-Marie from Brambleberry, says it's important that the entire batch of palm oil gets melted each time you add some to your recipe because the fatty acid chains separate when the oil hardens and melting the entire batch helps get those fatty acid chains into the recipe. I watched another YouTube video by EdentiaFarms and she said to never scoop palm oil. She too says to melt the entire contents down. She buys palm oil in 55lb pails, melts the entire thing down and pours into one gallon containers. So, does it matter whether you melt the entire palm oil batch down and then add what you need to your recipe or not?

Thanks again!

And there's no adverse affects to doing it that way? I would definitely do it that way too if the soap turns out fine. I'm not expecting much since it's my first time so I think I'll give your method a shot. Plus, my co and po are pretty much liquid already...lol.

That was going to be my next question. What happens if you don't heat up the oils and add your lye/water solution to them when it gets around 80-90°?