wrapping soap

[Jo Ann]

what is the best way to wrap as a package if you aren't gonna shrink wrap? i was planning on using wax paper.

[asheebeans]

I've seen some round soaps wrapped in tissue paper with a round label on the top that look very nice and classy! I like to see the soap, though. I got my soap out of boxes and into shrinkwraps and my sales did go up. I think it is because people like to see what they are getting.

[Jo Ann]

i guess i don't have to worry about soap going bad. what about something like saran wrap? I would like to ppl to see the soap and of course ingredients.

thanx for getting back to me!

[southern.scents]

i guess i don't have to worry about soap going bad. what about something like saran wrap? I would like to ppl to see the soap and of course ingredients.

thanx for getting back to me!

From personal experience, NO saran wrap. It is ways to thin and traps no fragrance or "freshness" in. It really looks like crap too. When your soaps are handled the saran wrap becomes kinda cloudy. You should probably go with shrink wrap. Thats what Im going with. It's pretty simple and looks good.

[Jo Ann]

From personal experience, NO saran wrap. It is ways to thin and traps no fragrance or "freshness" in. It really looks like crap too. When your soaps are handled the saran wrap becomes kinda cloudy. You should probably go with shrink wrap. Thats what Im going with. It's pretty simple and looks good.

well, when i looked at shrink wrap, its kinda expensive to get started. are there shrink wrap available to use just with a hair dryer or something. if not shrink wrap, what else is available.

[Fire and Ice]

well, when i looked at shrink wrap, its kinda expensive to get started. are there shrink wrap available to use just with a hair dryer or something. if not shrink wrap, what else is available.

Are you doing CP or M & P?

The very first impression of you soap is given through how it is presented to the public. You will only have one chance to catch the potential customer and you catch them with the way your soap is presented.

Shrink wrap will probably look more professional to the customer. If I see soap that is poorly wrapped, I won't even stop to investigate futher. Packaging is the eye catcher. Maybe a nice soapbox would be better.

Fire

[Abrien]

What about unwrapped? There are some soap stores back home in Australia that have chunks of soaps unwrapped in baskets.. looks good, and you can pick it up feel the texture for yourself. I don't know if that is considered unsanitary over here or not.. after all it is soap

[soapmom25]

I don't like saran wrap because I can never make it look pretty enough for my taste. Even if I gather the excess at the back and make the front look smooth, I still hate that glob of plastic in the back. Shrink wrap is MUCH nicer, and it's easier to work with than you probably think. If you buy it by the roll it's not expensive. We buy rolls ~ 1500 ft. I think (about 10" diameter roll) ~ and the most I think I've paid was $25.00 (the price varies by size/width). I've never counted, but imagine how many soaps you can wrap with 1500 feet ... alot!!

We buy our rolls from packcoinc (dot com) and use a heat gun (about $25.00 from the hardware store), but in a pinch I have used the hair dryer. The heat gun by far works better though, so do consider making that investment.

[Ruina]

I started with 4x6" 100 gauge shrink wraps bags I bought on ebay and used my hair dryer. They came good but the scent didn't come through. To me, that's important. So now I use 60gauge shrink wrap roll and that worked better and I still use my hair dryer with a bit of tape in the back. I was able to get the roll from ebay really cheap. I use on both mp & cp. I think it's more sanitary that way too.

[TeriM]

I either use the brown wrapping paper.. ... or I've started using scrap booking paper... I cut it, wrap half the soap and fold the bottom like you would a christmas present....

[Tall Blonde]

I sometimes use pastry paper, you know the kind you get with donuts and stuff. You can still smell the soap through that. But it's becoming too much work to wrap all that soap, so a lot of times I just put a cigar band on.

[adillenal]

I have tried several methods but I like the shrink wrap the best. I bought rolls of wrap online and bought a heat gun from Ace Hardware. I am now shrink wrapping everything with the rolls since I have discovered that there are people that will open everything even with an open sample staring them in the face. I have 3 different sizes and most everything I have will fit into one of those sizes.

I also bought boxes but have yet to use them since I just don't lile them that much. Can't see but a tiny area of the soap.

[Scent Cellar]

Shrink wrap bands from MMS with a clear label. Sometimes I wrap a cigar band of mulberry paper around the soap and put on a clear label if I can find the mulberry paper at a reasonable price.

[eugenia]

If you are selling, no way you want to use saran wrap. When I first started doing shows, I shrink wrapped my soaps. They looked good, but you could not smell them. That hurt live sales.

I switched to the boxes with a cut-out a while back. You get a peek at the soap, the soap breathes and the customers can smell the soap. I also have some naked soap on display and open a box for anyone who requests it.

Sure, the boxes cost more, but I get a ton of compliments on how professional my packaging looks. Why spend all this money on quality ingredients and skimp on the packaging? IMO packaging is KEY. Raise your price if you have to. This is what mine looks like at a show:

e

[southern.scents]

If you are selling, no way you want to use saran wrap. When I first started doing shows, I shrink wrapped my soaps. They looked good, but you could not smell them. That hurt live sales.

I switched to the boxes with a cut-out a while back. You get a peek at the soap, the soap breathes and the customers can smell the soap. I also have some naked soap on display and open a box for anyone who requests it.

Sure, the boxes cost more, but I get a ton of compliments on how professional my packaging looks. Why spend all this money on quality ingredients and skimp on the packaging? IMO packaging is KEY. Raise your price if you have to. This is what mine looks like at a show:

e

Wow e, I really like the boxes. I had placed some in my shopping cart on a packaging site the other day so I could see how they look but decided against it. Yours look amazing. I will definitely order these next time. Much more classy than shrink wrap or saran wrap at that. The brown craft paper sounds nice to. I think that was paper could even look nice if you added a cigar wrapper.

[eugenia]

Thanks for the compliment. The ones pictured are from www.scent-works.com.

I switched to these. They are local to me and the boxes are a much heavier gauge. I know they fit because they made them for me, LOL. I heard they wanted to make soap boxes and stopped by last year with some soap and they made the boxes to my specs. My bars are 3.5 x 2.5 x 1.25. Their pics are a bit distorted.

http://www.sunshinecontainer.com/soap_boxes.htm

Either box works perfectly with www.laserinkjetlabels.com 2520CR-LSBK label.

I use one for the front and one on the back with ingredients.

http://www.laserinkjetlabels.com/eshop/10Browse.asp

[Jo Ann]

know what is a good idea, taking card stock paper and printing on them and making boxes from that. i think that is what I will try. i will have to make a pattern. and that way, to i will know where to print. cuz i am more interested in plain rectangle bars.

now the shrink wrap bands, do they leave the ends of the soap open? kinda like that too.

[kinipela]

Jo Ann, is this for MP or CP? I see in one of your other posts you asked about MP.

I only do MP and I do wrap in Saran for now, but am looking into some other options. I haven't tried it unwrapped or in a box, but I know there are people on this list who do MP this way.

[Di_in_AZ]

If you go into wallyworld, they have shrink wrap in the crafts section for sale as basket wrap. It is in small quantities for those who need just a little. I think each packet is around $2 something. It is probably more expensive than buying in bulk, but a perfect solution if you are just trying it.

Edit to say, my friend sells her soap with just a 2 inch band of kraft paper wrapper around the middle of the bar. People can see and smell the soap, and they pick them up by the band. Cheap way to package them and she ties a bit of raffia around the middle and wraps them in tissue paper when they are bought.

[Jo Ann]

Jo Ann, is this for MP or CP? I see in one of your other posts you asked about MP.

I only do MP and I do wrap in Saran for now, but am looking into some other options. I haven't tried it unwrapped or in a box, but I know there are people on this list who do MP this way.

thanx. for my own purpose i am gonna use was paper to store at home. but i think i may experiment making boxes just for the heck of it

[thesoapbox]

I use these bags that I got from WSP with silver clips. That is a 5.7oz bar of soap and it fits nicely in them. Now you can't smell the soap in the bag but I prefer it over saran wrap and shrink wrap anyday of the week.

Angi

[Jo Ann]

I my friend sells her soap with just a 2 inch band of kraft paper wrapper around the middle of the bar. People can see and smell the soap, and they pick them up by the band. Cheap way to package them and she ties a bit of raffia around the middle and wraps them in tissue paper when they are bought.

that sounds like a good idea too. first before i decide what to use, i have to decide if i am gonna sale, my neighbor wants me to put some in her woodshop....so that would be a good test.