Testing M&P Soap

[tlc]

How do some of you test out your M&P soap's before you put them on the market for purchase?

How long do you test for and do you have folks that test for you?

I've had a couple of folks interested in my soaps that I did a couple of weeks ago but I shied away since I have no clue about what to do as far as that area is concerned and quite frankly I was shocked that they would want them. I wasn't trying to sell the soaps, they just saw them and said "I want one".

[periwinkle]

I was kind of wondering the same thing. I was telling a couple of ladies I know that I had made some soap, and they got all excited, and wanted some. My family and I have been using the soaps for a couple of weeks now, and now problems, so I went ahead and gave them each a soap. I told them to test on their hands first to check for any reaction, and then let me know what they think. I'll hear back from them when I see them again on Monday.

[ksranch]

I am no expert having only started making soap about 6 months(?) ago. Hopefully some experts will chime in. That said, my 'testing' came from personal use, and sharing with a few friends. One thing I learned is don't put something 'out there' too soon - wait and see how your recipe does over time. As in, I had a batch that was just fine for use etc - but over time a couple bars on the shelf eventually changed color and looked just yucky! I know some people will buy 'just for pretty' so I'm being careful to time test my recipes before I offer them for sale. Plus, the more experience I'm getting now - the better the soaps are in performance and looks. Hope that makes sense..

[moosey]

About the soap that turned brown - did the fragrance have vanilla in it? That can change the color of a soap, sometimes immediately, sometimes in a few days, sometimes it takes longer. I'm told it isn't harmful, just a color change.

Hopefully I'm not telling you something you already know, but when you said you were newish, I thought I'd offer that.

Have fun!

[chuck_35550]

Look for a good low-moisture soap base and make sure the fragrance is approved for melt and pour and at what per centage for maximum use and coloring specifically made for m&p. I use m&p for imbeds in cp soap but only offer guest sized soaps in pure m&p. I sell my soaps in crystal clear zip lock bags that do not absorb the fragrance and tag them with my label. Be sure that the soap is low-moisture and list all ingredients on your label because people are allergic to some additives or fragrances that contain cinnamon, peppermint or other essential oils. I do not use essential oils in my m&p but that is personal preferance. HTH

Steve

[TallTayl]

Look for a good low-moisture soap base and make sure the fragrance is approved for melt and pour and at what per centage for maximum use and coloring specifically made for m&p. I use m&p for imbeds in cp soap but only offer guest sized soaps in pure m&p. I sell my soaps in crystal clear zip lock bags that do not absorb the fragrance and tag them with my label. Be sure that the soap is low-moisture and list all ingredients on your label because people are allergic to some additives or fragrances that contain cinnamon, peppermint or other essential oils. I do not use essential oils in my m&p but that is personal preferance. HTH

Steve

True about the labeling. M&P soap is classified by the FDA as a cosmetic, so slightly different rules apply than to CP, which is not classified as a cosmetic.

[tlc]

All good information everyone. Thank you for sharing.

Steve (I never know if it's Steve or Chuck but you sign with Steve so that is what I use:)), you say "look for low moisture M&P", do you mean look for bases that read "LCP=Like Cold Process"?

Like this one: http://www.brambleberry.com/LCP-White-Melt-And-Pour-Soap-P3190.aspx ?

I'm assuming that needing low moisture will keep the bars from getting all crappy after being wrapped and stored.

I'm just a newbie trying to understand this stuff and not do something totally stupid.

[chuck_35550]

Sure. The description is low moisture but the tag of like cp is because of the ingredients. I would never think of that base as being the same as cp but it might imitate cp if that makes sense. Most people are never going to look at all those ingredients, unless they know to look or have an allergy (hypo-allergenic) so it just depends on what you are willing to pay. Just make sure it is low sweat. HTH

Steve

[Kitn]

Low sweat is a good M&P for high humidity areas.

I have my testers use the soap, make sure I use only bath and body safe fragrances and label correctly.

[Candybee]

You don't have to use low sweat bases to make soap for selling. But they can be a godsend in the hot humid months if you do outdoor shows. I have always used the basic white base for years and if my soap sweats I just remelt it down and start over.

It does help to know your soap and how it behaves before going out to sell it. So try it out for a while and family and friends can help give their opinion. But the only way you will know for sure what sells is by getting your soap out there and selling it yourself to your customers. Also, I find that it really takes at least a year of marketing a new product before I have enough genuine feedback if its a good seller or not.

The nice thing about M&P soap is you don't have to be an expert to make and sell it. But it does take time to learn what soap recipes are going to hold up for sale and which will fade, bleed, sweat, etc, or what packaging works or gets cruddy looking after sitting in a package for a while.

HTH

[tlc]

All of this is good information for newbies. Thanks for taking the time to answer