shipping costs .... oh my god!

[thesoapbox]

I think you are pretty safe giving your stuff to family first to try out on

When I first started back in the day my family were huge guinea pigs for me and where the ones I got a whole lot of advice on about things I was doing, not doing and trying out. Noone in my family ever threatened to take me to Judge Judy if they got something awful LOL!

Definitely get in the know before you decide to start selling but I think you are ok to try everything out on your family.

And remember, no matter how ready you KNOW you are, there will be many many on this board who will say you are NOT ready. You can test for years and years and there will still be some that will say you are not ready. Do what you need to do and make the decisions for yourself but do take advice here and apply it to you and your endeavors.

Angi

[TexasBrat]

Wow, you sound like me when I first started out. I bought just about every ingredient and oil out there. lol I think and this is just my opinion but coming from someone who did the same the same thing I recommend slowing down on what you want to do. Start with soap and perfect that and then move on to lotion. I agree on buying a base first and scenting it. Kentucky Candles has a great whipped soy body butter that you whip and add fo too and makes you feel like you are really making something. A lot of those oils you are getting are not all that necessary for first time soap batches, just get some basic oils and go from there. You can buy additional ones and try them out with your recipes until you find the concoction you like. You can buy a lot of those oils at the local grocery store and even Target. It's better to spend a little then to spend so much and say this is not for you.

Have fun.

[kidsngarden]

As a gal who generally likes to just jump into things I want to caution you that less is more. Start out with making soap. then add lotions - starting with a base.

I used to make all my own lotions, scrubs, whipped shea, bath bombs, lip balms, soap, bath salts, bath melts, liquid soap, lotion bars... Look at my site now and you will see I have scaled way down. (no really, I have, LOL!)

I actually really hate making lotion so much that I stopped (much to many customers chagrin) and just sell lotion bars and scented shea. It was a major hassle to make. Why invest so much in something you might totally hate?

I made researching soapmaking a full time job before I even made my first batch, same with lotion, and I'm not over exaggerating here. My lotion was tested before I sold it. It was a lot of work. I confess, I went into business a lot sooner than most recommend here, but I was pretty lucky AND like I said I had done so much research long before I began to make things.

What I'm trying to say here is to be careful. You have a little one and all this can soon run your life if you let it AND moreover someone could get hurt if things aren't made properly. It's also a tough market right now and many soapers and even suppliers are biting the dust. They are selling all the stuff they thought would make them the big bucks for a song right now.

I've read on one of your other posts that you think people have been pretty mean to you here...but you have to realize how many people come on here thinking they have some grand idea to make a buck in bath and body and have not done nearly enough footwork. They make us all look bad when they sell a bad product to a customer who's never had quality handcrafted B&B before. The warnings and advice to you has been totally fair and if you can stick it out and make a business at this you will see the wisdom in what people are telling you.

[11th Warrior]

For my first post I'd like to say try having something shipped to Canada, LOL.

I wanted to order the basic 8-pack from Select Shades last week. Shipping was the same cost as the product, effectively doubling the price.

[Fire and Ice]

As a gal who generally likes to just jump into things I want to caution you that less is more. Start out with making soap. then add lotions - starting with a base.

I used to make all my own lotions, scrubs, whipped shea, bath bombs, lip balms, soap, bath salts, bath melts, liquid soap, lotion bars... Look at my site now and you will see I have scaled way down. (no really, I have, LOL!)

I actually really hate making lotion so much that I stopped (much to many customers chagrin) and just sell lotion bars and scented shea. It was a major hassle to make. Why invest so much in something you might totally hate?

I made researching soapmaking a full time job before I even made my first batch, same with lotion, and I'm not over exaggerating here. My lotion was tested before I sold it. It was a lot of work. I confess, I went into business a lot sooner than most recommend here, but I was pretty lucky AND like I said I had done so much research long before I began to make things.

What I'm trying to say here is to be careful. You have a little one and all this can soon run your life if you let it AND moreover someone could get hurt if things aren't made properly. It's also a tough market right now and many soapers and even suppliers are biting the dust. They are selling all the stuff they thought would make them the big bucks for a song right now.

I've read on one of your other posts that you think people have been pretty mean to you here...but you have to realize how many people come on here thinking they have some grand idea to make a buck in bath and body and have not done nearly enough footwork. They make us all look bad when they sell a bad product to a customer who's never had quality handcrafted B&B before. The warnings and advice to you has been totally fair and if you can stick it out and make a business at this you will see the wisdom in what people are telling you.

You ARE absolutely correct andd I fully agree with you! Research, research and research some more! I researched making CP soap for 10 months to a year before investing in oils and making my first batch of soap.

I want to do lotions, lotionbars and lip balms but I won't make them until I have perfected making and selling soap. I'm also waiting to see what the economy does and when I decide I'm ready, I will first use a great base and then use it while I'm learning to make my own.