average cost of a batch of cp soap

[slscott]

right now i do m&p only, after seeing everyone's creations and how great they look, i'm wondering...should i?

what is the average cost of a 2 or 4 lbs batch of cp soap? my m&p base is very cheap and the most i do with mine right now is oatmeal, loofah or the newly done coffee grounds.

tia!

Sherry

[Meridith]

Depends on where you get your supplies and the ingredients in your soap.

[RobinInOR]

Just as an example, when I started, one of my small 2# batches of soap ranges around $6-$8 (for 8 bars) , depending on recipe. That's estimating FO cost at $2.50/#, and not buying in very large bulk. I've reduced my costs quite a bit by buying in bulk.

[smart tart]

Oils differ greatly in cost - I use meadowfoam seed, babbasu, morwah butter, sometimes emu, shea, cocoa, and many others that aren't available locally to me - and not only do the oils cost quite a bit, shipping is high also and for a while lye was pretty expensive - still is not as cheap as I would like but.... I never figured out what it cost for a 3# batch (because I don't sell much) and because if I ever really knew I would probably stroke

Guess I didn't answer your question, but soap, like anything else, differs in cost to make because of the ingredients.

Debbie

[sudsnwicks]

Average cost of a 2 lb batch for me is $4-5. How much does a 2 lb M&P batch cost? I'm curious if M&P is cheaper.

[JCFantasy23]

Most good oils in soap are on the cheaper side. Lotions, creams, etc. use the more expensive oils. Too many of the good properties are killed by the lye in soap to waste them there, and it's impossible to know if youre getting as much good effect by using them or just wasting them. It's much better, for example, to use virgin coconut oil on your skin over fractionated...but in soap fractionated can be better (the same can be said for low grade versions of olive over virgin, etc) So getting a few basic cheap oils, then a fragrance, color, etc, isn't too much. M&P isn't that much cheaper, so it's not an expensive leap if you're wanting to enter the wonderful world of homemade soaping.

[jwahlton]

My basic recipe has me at .17 per bar

[eugenia]

My 64 ounce batch comes in at about 15.00, so that's 83 cents each for 3.5 ounce bars. I sell them at $1 per ounce with no problem.

[slscott]

thanks for all your great and insiteful posts!

for the person who asked how much 2# M&P costs, I buy it in 24# blocks for around $30, so that averages out to $1.25 per lb. but i think if you buy just the 2#, some of it costs $3.60.

Sherry

[sudsnwicks]

Wow it does look like M&P is the cheaper way, costing about half as much as CP according to Sherry's estimate. I never realized this before, as I'd just assumed both methods would be comparable in terms of cost.

[JCFantasy23]

I gather they're saying M&P is the more expensive way. slscott said anywhere from 1.25 to 3.60 for M&P, while CP has been from .17 to .83

[lindsaycb]

My cp 4# batch comes in under $10. 16+ slices = $.62 each. They're big 4.5-5oz slices too. And I charge $1.00 an oz.

[sudsnwicks]

I gather they're saying M&P is the more expensive way. slscott said anywhere from 1.25 to 3.60 for M&P, while CP has been from .17 to .83

SLScott is saying M&P is cheaper, because 2 lb batch of M&P is $1.25 to $3.60 while a similiar sized CP batch averages $5. The .17 and .83 are costs of 1 bar, not the whole batch.

[smart tart]

www.teachsoap.com is a very good source for information regarding pricing.....and info for anyone interested ..... expecially good for newbies but I always learn something when I find a new site.....:rolleyes2

Debbie

[JCFantasy23]

SLScott is saying M&P is cheaper, because 2 lb batch of M&P is $1.25 to $3.60 while a similiar sized CP batch averages $5. The .17 and .83 are costs of 1 bar, not the whole batch.

Oops you could be right, too much thinking for me