Sponiebr Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Oh HALP ME! SAVE ME!!! OH halp... o.O Yep. I need a good save'n... So I'm at the Chiropractor's the other day and basically it ends up with they want some of my soap in trade for "spendy money", some folks call "spendy money" "green backs", still other'ns call it "cash", yes, there's a great many names fer it, but the short side of that hog is that you kin git other'n stuff with it cause peoples is always willing t'trade ya stuff fer it. And they oughnta give it to me fer my soaps. o.O They also wanna know whut's IN the soap... I don't COTTON to that too much, but I told'm I'd run it by the council... Y'all ever heard of that? Peoples want'n to trade "spendy money" fer soap AND THEN want'n to know WHUT'S innit? Bee-zar is whut that is... Bee-zahr.... Anywho thisy here's whut I got worked up only it don't fit right on my used postage stamps, so I gotta start peel'n beer lables offa bottles to git bigger lables so's it'll fit right... IT'S A DAMN CON'SPIRACY I tells ya! About Bad Idea Soaps: All of my soaps are made to be as gentle and luxuriant as I can make them using saponified oils of tallow, palm, olive, coconut, castor, shea butter, canola, avocado, soybean, cocoa butter, and lard. To improve a particular quality of a soap I will occasionally add some special ingredients such as coconut milk, goat's milk, hemp milk, buttermilk, yogurt, sour cream, crème fraîche, pine tar, beeswax, mineral oil, jojoba oil, glycerine, sodium lactate, salt, various natural clays, and oatmeal or oat flour. My scents are all from either pure essential oils or bath and body safe fragrance oil blends, and my colorants are sourced from natural vegetables, minerals, and mineral oxides. The sole concept behind all of my "bad ideas" is that if you know what a "bad idea" is then the opposite of that should prove to be a "good idea", and I think you'll find that my soap is a VERY GOOD idea. "May no bubble stick to your butt!" Bern Sponenburgh Whudya thank? I really don't know about the font... I'm probably going to have to print this as a card and hand it along with the soap. I dunno. HALEP!!!! OH HALP!!!! -Sponiebr: a Lower form of Florida swamp Squid. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindym Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 For me it just makes sense to list the actual ingredients in each batch , listing from highest to lowest amount. I also put the name of the soap and the net. wt of each bar on the label. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jcandleattic Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 I would suggest looking up Marie Gale's book and blog for FDA rules and regulations on labeling soaps when selling. It's very thorough, easy to understand (for the most part, sometimes it does gets confusing) Her book is considered the industry standard, and is held in high acclaim. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 It's a good idea to list ingredients on the label. You never know what people will be allergic too. I would never give out a soap without ingredients listed, net weight, batch #, biz name & addy. Its not the same as giving them your recipe. That is yours and you don't need to give that info out. JC's advice is good. You should read up on soap and cosmetic labeling and have a good understanding of claims you make too. Some claims can get you into trouble. Likewise they may effect the way you may or may not label your product. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franu61 Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 (edited) I really like your "blurb" about bad idea soaps. It's very folksy and feels like you are talking to, and reaching out to each customer personally. I think you should use that as a way to promote your business. But I agree that you should list the ingredients on each bar. Edited April 5, 2017 by franu61 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candlesncats Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Dont make soap, so have no opinion, but I just love reading your posts 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 What you could do is write up a cute brochure about your soap and put your blurb in that. You could also include a list of the soaps you make, what they are for; bath, exfoliant, face, etc., and some pics of them too. Have you ever read Zum bars brochure about their goat milk soap? It is the cutest brochure with pictures of soaps, employees, the goat of course, plus descriptions of each soap. They also have a cute blurb about their company philosophy that is a riot and lots of fun to read. Makes you want to try their soap. Just an idea! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sponiebr Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 5 hours ago, cindym said: For me it just makes sense to list the actual ingredients in each batch , listing from highest to lowest amount. I also put the name of the soap and the net. wt of each bar on the label. I'm selling by the bar, and I still need the weight? That's easy enough to put at the bottom. 1 hour ago, Jcandleattic said: I would suggest looking up Marie Gale's book and blog for FDA rules and regulations on labeling soaps when selling. It's very thorough, easy to understand (for the most part, sometimes it does gets confusing) Her book is considered the industry standard, and is held in high acclaim. Yeah, I've been putting it off, what with the pine trees, cars, divorce, blah, blah, blah... I really DO need to get her book. Next order from Amazon! I actually got the idea for that blurb up there from her website. I wanted to try and go for a blanket blurb that would give basically everything I use in my soaps BUT wasn't specific to any particular bar of soap... That way I would have the latitude to adjust my formulations as I needed... Once I get a master formulation, (which I'm pretty darned close to, I've already got one for CP), this won't be such a big deal. I'm just kinda loath to print a bunch of labels because in THIS batch I'm using 7% canola oil because I ran out of OO... YKWIM? Or is that just blasphemy? Also, and this is just an ethics question, You know those pretty round soaps I did? Well, they are PHENOMENAL, just really nice soaps, but they've got some discoloration, and I can't tell if it's DOS or not. Should I refrain from selling them? I'm gonna hold them for now and see if that discoloration spreads but I wanted all y'all's opinion on it. I was also gonna shoot for $5/ ea 3-4 oz bar... (at least for what I have right now) Slainte, Sponiebr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Might be the canola. Canola is prone to DOS. Oils that are high in linoleic can cause DOS unless you are careful how you put together your oils in your recipe. Some oils like grapeseed or regular sunflower can cause DOS with as little as 5-10% of your entire recipe. Means you need to pay attention to your fatty acid profiles to prevent DOS. I recently got a couple of soaps with DOS and have no intention of selling them. After all its my biz name on the soap label and I don't want to get a bad reputation from selling soap I know has imperfections. Just pull them out and use them for personal use or cut out the spot and shred them for use in a confetti soap or something. I think your price is spot on. I sell my 4oz soaps for $5. But I also have to compete with a lot of soapers in my area so I always check out soaps to price and see what's out there in my area. You want to be competitive yet not sell yourself short or overcharge. Its a balance that can keep you in business or help you fail if you get it wrong. You don't have to list the % of the oils, milks, water, etc. that you use in your soap. On my labels I just list the ingredients in order of percent used. Not the % itself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sponiebr Posted April 6, 2017 Author Share Posted April 6, 2017 Houston!? Hello? Jyas... I tink we have a wiener... OK! So I've listened to you! o.O (mark thee well this day and this time...) It'll be soap specific, but here's one label... About Bad Idea Soaps: This soap, (yes, this one in your hand), is hand made to be as gentle and luxuriant as I can make it using: lye, aloe vera juice, tallow, palm oil, olive oil, coconut oil, castor oil, yogurt, cane sugar, glycerine, sodium lactate, fragrance oil blend, and natural mineral & mineral oxide colorants. The concept behind all of my "bad ideas" is that if you know what a "bad idea" is then doing the opposite of that should prove to be a "good idea". I think you'll find that my soap is a VERY GOOD idea! "May no bubble stick to your butt!" Bern Sponenburgh Work? No work? o.O It's in bubblegum 6 point. I've tried almost all of the fonts on AVERY and that one seems to be the easiest to read and not look clinical. -SPONIEBR 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 (edited) I wish I could see the bubblegum font. Have no idea what it looks like but it sounds cute. 6 point? I can't think of any font where 6 point can be readable for all. You might be excluding customers like me that have trouble reading such small print. Just an idea. If you can't get everything on the label without it being in fine print you might be able to use dual font sizes. Say larger font for the blurb and small font for the actual ingredients. Or even split the wording up into sections for different sides of the soap. Edited April 6, 2017 by Candybee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sponiebr Posted April 6, 2017 Author Share Posted April 6, 2017 3 hours ago, Candybee said: I wish I could see the bubblegum font. Have no idea what it looks like but it sounds cute. 6 point? I can't think of any font where 6 point can be readable for all. You might be excluding customers like me that have trouble reading such small print. Just an idea. If you can't get everything on the label without it being in fine print you might be able to use dual font sizes. Say larger font for the blurb and small font for the actual ingredients. Or even split the wording up into sections for different sides of the soap. It's pretty small. I've got one label for the back with the blurb and the ingredients and one for the front with: "Name" Hand Crafted Bath Soap Net weight____oz. My name; mailing address, state, zip. I need a bigger label, all in good time... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 If using a band, you effectively have 4 sides to use. Blurb on the back. Ingredients on the back or side (I use the side with the text turned sideways). The other short side for some smarty words (like for a longer lasting bad idea, let dry between uses), the front for the company name and soap scent and weight. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sponiebr Posted April 7, 2017 Author Share Posted April 7, 2017 4 hours ago, TallTayl said: If using a band, you effectively have 4 sides to use. Blurb on the back. Ingredients on the back or side (I use the side with the text turned sideways). The other short side for some smarty words (like for a longer lasting bad idea, let dry between uses), the front for the company name and soap scent and weight. Some smarty words? "Feel the Bern..." o.O Mebbe not... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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