Side Hustle: Soap Making 101

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Rising Star
BGOL Patreon Investor
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oils & butters
most comprehensive resource on fixed oils to date. It includes information on usage rates and shelf lives.

Apricot Kernel Oil 1 year
Apricot kernel oil is lightweight and high in linoleic and oleic acids. It’s conditioning and easily absorbed into the skin. It produces small bubbles. We recommend using at 15% or less in your recipe. That way the bars aren’t too soft and they last longer in the shower.
Recipes: Agate Spin Swirl Soap, Creamy Goat Milk Soap, Berry Rhubarb Crumble Soap

Argan Oil – 2 years
You’ll love argan oil in DIY skin and hair care products. It feels silky and moisturizing, and it’s packed with vitamins E and A. It can be used in cold process up to 10%.

Avocado Oil 1 year
Avocado oil makes a soft bar of soap and is generally used at 20% or less in cold process recipes. It’s rich in vitamins A, B, D, and E. The high levels of fatty acids make it great for lotion, body butter, and conditioner as well.
Recipes: Avocado Soap, Avocado + Spearmint Soap, Cucumber and Aloe Circling Taiwan Swirl Soap

Avocado Butter – 3 years
Avocado butter is solid at room temperature. It’s derived from the fruit of the avocado tree and hydrogenated. It has a creamy consistency that makes skin feel smooth and moisturized. You can use this butter up to 12% in your cold process recipes. It also works well in lotion and body butter.
Recipes: Avocado Soap, Avocado + Spearmint Soap

Babassu Oil – 2 years
Babassu, which comes from a native Brazilian palm tree, can be used in place of coconut or palm in cold process soap. It adds the same firming and cleansing properties, and it can be added up to 33%. However, babassu does have a lighter feeling on the skin and it absorbs quickly. We recommend giving all three oils a try in small test batches to see what you think.
Recipes: Safflower and Ginger Soap, Beet Soap

Beeswax (White & Yellow) – 3 years
Yellow beeswax is refined and not bleached, while white beeswax is refined and bleached naturally by exposing it in thin layers to air, sunlight, and moisture. It can be used up to 8% in cold process recipes to harden the bars. Your lye and oils need to be at 150°F or higher so the beeswax stays melted. It will speed up trace.
Recipes: Busy Beeswax Soap, Valentine Soap

Borage Oil – 3 years
This oil is one of the richest sources of essential fatty acids. One of those fatty acids is gamma-linolenic acid, which helps nourish and hydrate the skin. It works well especially for those with sensitive or mature skin. Try it in cold process up to 33%.
Recipes: French Green Clay and Milk Soap, Jade Soap

Canola Oil 1 year
Canola oil is an affordable option for soap. It produces a balanced bar with creamy lather. It’s also a great substitute for olive oil. You can use canola at 15-40% in cold process.
Recipes: Baby’s Breath Soap, Blue Rimmed Soap, Clover and Aloe Spin Swirl Soap

Carrot Seed Oil – 2 years
This oil has a silky texture that’s hard to beat. It’s lightweight and absorbs quickly, and it’s especially suited for those with sensitive skin. It can be used in cold process soap at 5-15%.
Recipes: Carrot Soap, Tomato Garden Soap

Castor Oil 2 years
This thick liquid is extracted from the castor bean plant. It draws moisture to the skin and creates amazing lather in soap. We recommend using it at 2-5%. You can use it up to 25%, although more than 10% can make the bars soft and sticky.
Recipes: Siren Soap, Carrot Soap, Blueberry Thyme Soap

Chia Seed Oil – 1 year
Chia seed oil is the perfect addition to handmade soap, body butter, conditioner, and cuticle oil. You’ll love how lightweight and moisturizing it feels. The oil is also packed with fatty acids, protein, and vitamins. It can be used in cold process around 10%.
Recipes: Annatto-Yarrow Soap, Dragon’s Breath Soap, Infinity Swirl Soap

Cocoa Butter Pastilles, Organic Cocoa Butter Wafers, Deodorized Cocoa Butter – 2 years
This butter is solid and hard at room temperature. It adds a luxurious and moisturizing feeling to cold process soap. We recommend tempering it for the best results, learn how here. Use cocoa butter at 15% or less in cold process soaps – any higher can cause cracking in your final bars.
Recipes: Tomato Garden Soap, Pink Salt and Gold Soap, Lavender and Charcoal Soap

Coconut Oil – 18 months
This is one of the most common raw materials used in the soap and cosmetic industry. It comes in several versions, including 76 and 92°F melting point oils – ours is 76°F. Both have the same SAP value. Coconut oil is super cleansing and produces large bubbles in cold process. It’s so cleansing that it can be drying. It can be used up to 33%, but we recommend using it around 15% if you have sensitive or dry skin.
Recipes: Jade Soap, Safflower and Ginger Soap, Wild Rose Soap

Coffee Butter – 2 years
This luscious and rich butter is perfect for lotion, body butter, and soap. It’s a blend of hydrogenated vegetable oil and coffee seed oil, and it contains around 1% natural caffeine. It has a natural coffee scent and a creamy feeling. The butter can be used up to 6% in cold process.
Recipes: Simple Coffee Soap, Espresso Shot Soap

Coffee Seed Oil – 2 years
This thick and luxurious oil is extracted from freshly-roasted coffee beans. Try it in handmade soap, lotion, balm, and bath bombs. It can be used in cold process up to 10%.
Recipes: Simple Coffee Soap

Cucumber Seed Oil – 2 years
Those with dry or mature skin will love this oil. It has excellent moisturizing properties, and when it’s applied it feels lightweight and absorbs quickly. Try it in cold process up to 15%.
Recipes: Circling Taiwan Swirl Soap, Sea Sponge Soap

Emu Oil – 1 year
This is a medium-weight oil that helps keep the skin hydrated. Use it in cold process soap up to 13%.

Evening Primrose Oil – 1 year
This oil has a lightweight and moisturizing consistency that absorbs quickly into the skin. It can be used up to 15% in cold process.

Flaxseed Oil – 6 months
Flaxseed oil is lightweight and a rich source of fatty acids. We love it in balm, body butter, and lotion. You can also use it in cold process up to 5%.

Fractionated Coconut Oil – 3 years
Fractionated coconut oil contains only the medium triglycerides, which means it stays liquid. Compared to coconut oil, it has a more lightweight feeling and it makes softer bars. It doesn’t have the same cleansing or lathering properties. We love it in scrub, lotion, and body butter. You can use it up to 30% in cold process.

Grapeseed Oil – 1 year
This oil leaves your skin feeling silky smooth. It has a lightweight and thin texture, and it’s high in lineoleic acid and antioxidants. Try it in DIY lotion, massage oil, and body butter. It can be used up to 15% in cold process.

Green Tea Seed Oil – 2 years
Pick up green tea seed oil today and try it in DIY soap, lotion, and conditioner. You’ll love the lightweight and moisturizing consistency that absorbs quickly into the skin. It’s also rich in nutrients like vitamins A and B. Add it to cold process up to 6%.
Recipes: Exfoliating Green Tea Bars, Rose Quartz Soap, Emerald Soap

Hazelnut Fixed Oil – 3 months
This oil is low in fatty acids, so it slows down trace. That makes it great for intricate cold process designs. It has a lightweight texture and it creates conditioning and small lather. Hazelnut oil is used at 20% or less.
Recipes: Busy Beeswax Soap, Leopard Print Soap

Hemp Seed Oil – 1 year
Hemp seed oil is an amazing source of fatty acids. They help keep the skin hydrated all day long. It also creates excellent lather. Use up to 15% in cold process.
Recipes: Hawaiian Shirt Soap

Jojoba Oil – 2 years
This product is actually a liquid wax that will contribute to a very stable and long-lasting bar of soap. We recommend it at 10% or less in cold process. More than that can weigh down the lather.
Recipes: Loofah Soap, Moisturizing Soap

Kokum Butter – 2 years
Pick up kokum butter today and add it to handmade soap and body butter. It has a lightweight and moisturizing consistency that absorbs quickly. We recommend tempering it using the same method as cocoa butter, learn how here. It can be used in cold process at 10% or less.
Recipes: Kokum Butter Soap

Kukui Nut Oil – 2 years
This luxurious oil is a must-have for your collection. Kukui (koo-koo-ee) comes from Hawaii. It has a lightweight and silky consistency that absorbs quickly into the skin. Try it in cold process up to 20%.

Lingonberry Seed Oil – 2 years
You’ll love the way this oil feels on the skin – it has a silky and lightweight texture. It’s also packed with essential fatty acids and antioxidants. Try lingonberry seed oil in cold process at 5-15%.

Mango Butter – 2 years
This butter is extracted from the fruit kernels of the mango tree. It’s solid at room temperature but melts on contact with the skin. We recommend tempering it for best results, learn how here. It can be used up to 15% in cold process.
Recipes: Watermelon Soap, Sea Sponge Soap, Crescent Moon Soap

Meadowfoam Oil – 1 year
This oil has a moisturizing and conditioning feel that’s similar to jojoba oil. It contributes to a creamy and silky lather in soap. Originally developed as an alternative to sperm whale oil, this earth-friendly product is generally used at 20% or less in cold process. We like using it around 10%.
Recipes: Siren Soap, Pink Salt and Gold Soap, Cedar and Amber Soap

Moringa Seed Oil – 2 years
Pick up moringa seed oil today and add it to cold process up to 15%. You’ll love how moisturizing it feels on the skin. It has a lightweight and non-greasy consistency.
Recipes: Lemongrass Mojito Soap

Neem Oil – 2 years
If you’ve ever worked with neem oil, there’s a good chance you remember the scent. Its distinct odor is often described as musky or garlicky. Don’t let that scare you away though – there’s a reason neem has been used on the skin for centuries. People love it because it’s incredibly moisturizing and full of antioxidants. It can be used at 3-6% in cold process.

Oat Oil – 1 year
This oil absorbs quickly and leaves your skin feeling hydrated all day long. It’s rich in fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamin E. You’ll love oat oil’s lightweight and non-greasy texture in cold process soap. It can be used at 5-15%.

Olive Oil (Pomace & Pure) – 2 years
This is a staple in cold process recipes. It’s a thick oil that moisturizes the skin and creates creamy lather. Compared to pomace, pure olive oil creates softer bars and takes longer to trace. It can be used up to 100% in cold process.
Recipes: Simple Castile Soap, French Green Clay and Milk Soap, Eggnog Soap

Palm Oil – 1 year
Palm oil adds a unique feeling to cold process soap. It helps harden the bars and it creates lather when paired with coconut oil. In cold process soap, the oil can be used up to 33%. Don’t forget to fully melt and mix the palm oil before use, that way the fatty acids will distribute evenly. Our supplier is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – learn more about the organization here.
Recipes: Daisy Soap, Creamy Goat Milk Soap, Rose Quartz Soap

Palm Kernel Flakes – 1 year
This is a mixture of partially-hydrogenated palm kernel oil and soy lecithin, and it comes in flake form. We only recommend it up to 15% in cold process soap – a higher percentage can make the bars too hard. It will speed up trace, so be prepared to work fast. These flakes are also from an RSPO supplier.
Recipes: Christmas Tree Swirl Soap, Smoky Bay Soap

Peach Kernel Oil – 1 year
This skin-loving pale yellow oil adds moisturizing properties and creates a stable lather in cold process soap. We recommend it up to 25%. It’s a great substitute for sweet almond or grapeseed oil.

Peanut Oil – 1 year
This pale yellow oil is typically used as a substitute for olive or canola oil in cold process recipes. It can be used up to 25%.

Raspberry Seed Oil – 2 years
Keep your skin feeling smooth with this oil. It’s packed with essential fatty acids. When applied, it feels lightweight and absorbs quickly. Use it in cold process soap at 5-15%.
Recipes: Blueberry Thyme Soap

Red Palm Oil – 2 years
Add this oil to your cold process soap to create firm bars. It also adds a beautiful orange color. This palm oil comes from a supplier that’s part of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. It can be used up to 33%, but we recommend it around 15% because it can stain molds and the skin.
Recipes: Tomato Garden Soap

Rice Bran Oil – 2 years
You’ll love the way this oil feels in handmade soap. It’s rich in vitamin E and antioxidants, and it has a thick and moisturizing consistency that’s similar to olive oil. It can be used up to 100% in cold process soap, but the bar will be soft and have small lather. We recommend using rice bran oil around 20%.
Recipes: Sushi Soap, Pink Salt and Gold Soap, Pumpkin Pie Soap

Rosehip Seed Oil – 2 years
Those with dry or mature skin will love rosehip seed oil. It’s rich in vitamins A and C, and it feels hydrating on the skin. It has a lightweight and non-greasy consistency. Try it in cold process around 10%.

Safflower Oil – 1 year
This mild and skin-loving oil is similar to canola or sunflower oil. It can be used up to 20% in cold process soap.

Sesame Oil 1 year
This light golden oil is high in antioxidants and fatty acids, which add moisturizing properties to soap. It’s not the same as toasted sesame oil that’s typically used in Asian cuisine. It can be used up to 10% in cold process recipes.

Shea Butter – 2 years
Shea butter feels luxurious and moisturizing on the skin. It helps harden cold process soap and it can be used up to 15%. We recommend tempering it for the best results, learn how here.
Recipes: Oatmeal Baby Soap, Honeycrisp Apple Soap, Safflower and Ginger Soap

Soybean Oil – 3 months if refrigerated
Soybean oil has a creamy, stable, and conditioning lather. It produces a hard bar of soap when paired with palm or coconut oil. It’s typically used at 50% or less in cold process recipes. We recommend a usage rate of up to 15%.

Sunflower Oil 6 months
Sunflower oil is rich in essential fatty acids and vitamin E, making it it one of the more cost-effective oils. It produces a lather that is incredibly conditioning on the skin. It does have a slower absorption rate, so it can feel slightly oily on the skin in leave-on recipes like balms and lotions. To help increase the shelf life of this oil, be sure to keep it refrigerated. It can be used in cold process recipes up to 100%, but we recommend 20% or less.
Recipes: Wild Rose Soap

Sweet Almond Oil 1 year
You need sweet almond oil in your collection. It’s full of fatty acids and it has a lightweight and moisturizing consistency. You’ll love the way it feels in DIY soap, lotion, and scrub. It can be used up to 20% in cold process.
Recipes: Wild Rose Soap, Siren Soap, Baby’s Breath Soap

Tamanu Oil – 2 years
Tamanu oil has a lightweight and moisturizing consistency that absorbs quickly into the skin. It’s also packed with essential fatty acids. It can be used up to 5% in cold process.
Recipes: Charcoal Facial Soap

Walnut Oil – 3 months
This antioxidant-rich oil conditions and moisturizes the skin. It can be used up to 15% in cold process soap.

Wheat Germ Oil – 1 year
When it comes to skincare, wheat germ oil has a lot to offer. It’s jam-packed with nutrients like vitamins A, B, D, and E. Even though the oil is fairly heavy, it has a light and almost powdery feeling on the skin. It can be used in cold process up to 10%.
Recipes: Nourishing Soap

Organic Sweet Almond Oil

Cold pressed from the dried kernels of the almond tree, it has moisturizing, nourishing properties and is easily absorbed, leaving the skin soft and smooth without a greasy feel.​

Organic Aloe Vera Butter

An extraction of healing aloe in coconut oil so that it can be used like a butter. Aloe Butter melts on contact with the skin and is wonderful for treating dry skin, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, sunburn and chapping.​

Organic Apricot Kernel Oil

Virgin, organic apricot kernel oil is a great moisturizing and conditioning oil for mature and sensitive skin and skin that is inflamed and dry.​

Organic Argan Oil

Unrefined organic argan oil is rich in vitamin E, natural squalene, phytosterols and essential fatty acids that help reduce wrinkles and fine lines. It contains natural anti-inflammatory agents that help with inflamed skin, sebum-regulating properties to help reduce the appearance of blemishes and acne and a hefty dose of antioxidants to neutralize free radicals.​

Organic Avocado Oil

Unrefined organic avocado oil imparts valuable nutrients to the skin because it is a penetrating oil rich in vitamins A, B1, B2 pantothenic acid, E and lecithin and fatty acids. Great for sun damaged and mature skin. In hair care, it helps restore luster and hydrate dry and damaged ends.​

Organic Babassu Oil

A fast penetrating oil, Babassu is one of nature’s richest emollients and is especially good for eczema, itchy, dry and inflamed skin. In hair care, babassu oil nourishes, moisturizes and restores hair strength, giving you shiny, healthy-looking hair.​

Organic Baobab Oil

Baobab oil is high in vitamins, antioxidants, and fatty acids. The oil absorbs quickly does not clog pores, helps moisturize and soothe dry, chapped skin, eases symptoms of eczema and psoriasis, and helps combat early signs of aging by reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Organic Beeswax

Unrefined organic beeswax forms a lovely, light barrier on your skin that prevents loss of moisture and helps seal in moisturizing oils and butters, without clogging pores. In hair care, Beeswax adds moisture, hydration, and softness to hair and can add shine and glossiness to dull hair.​

Organic Borage Oil

Unrefined organic borage oil restores moisture and smoothness to dry and damaged skin and provides relief from chronic skin disorders such as eczema and atopic dermatitis.​

Organic Canola Oil

Rich in essential fatty acids, canola oil helps prevent moisture loss, conditions, and softens skin. In hair care, canola oil penetrates the hair shaft and revitalizes and softens hair as it imparts shine.​

Organic Castor Bean Oil

Castor bean oil adds mildness and richness to soap and provides a conditioning, fluffy lather with thick, large bubbles. In hair care castor oil smooths the cuticle layer, sealing in moisture and leaving hair feeling soft and silky.​

Organic Cocoa Butter

Unrefined organic cocoa butter is an excellent moisturizer that soothes and softens skin. In hair care, cocoa butter easily absorbs into the hair and imparts sheen. It locks in moisture and helps protect the hair shaft. Fair Trade Certified by Fair Trade USA.

Organic Coconut Oil

Coconut oil, a great natural moisturizer, gives soap cleansing properties and makes a rich creamy lather with big, fluffy bubbles. In hair care, it is used as a hair tonic to stimulate the scalp and encourage hair growth.​

Organic Virgin Coconut Oil

Naturally antibacterial and antifungal, organic virgin coconut oil is an excellent skin moisturizer, can penetrate hair better than other oils and it smells delicious. Our virgin coconut oil is Fair Trade Certified by Fair Trade USA.

Organic Evening Primrose Oil

Virgin organic evening primrose oil promotes healthy skin by restoring moisture and helping to maintain skin elasticity. This soothing oil has been used to help with conditions like eczema and is an excellent oil for dry, aging or chapped skin, or massage.​

Organic Flaxseed Oil

Virgin organic flaxseed oil helps seal moisture into the skin, reduces inflammation, which may help with psoriasis and eczema, and softens the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. In hair care, flaxseed oil has been use topically to improve hair strength and shine, minimize dandruff and flakiness, moisturize and help prevent hair loss.​

Organic Grapeseed Oil

Virgin organic grapeseed oil, extracted from the seeds of grapes, is a lightweight oil that easily absorbs into the skin without leaving a greasy feeling.​

Organic Hemp Seed Oil

Rich in vitamin E, hemp seed oil is a great oil for all skin types, balances skin oil production, provides long-lasting moisture, does not clog pores, soothes irritated skin and may help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Folks with sensitive skin will love how gentle it is. In hair care, hemp seed oil imparts luster and manageability to hair, bringing relief from dry scalp or hair damage.​

Illipe Butter

Illipe butter, similar in nature to cocoa butter, moisturizes and helps restore skin elasticity. Many believe it to be the most nourishing of the healing butters.​

Organic Jojoba Oil

Jojoba Oil penetrates the skin easily, has anti-inflammatory actions and can be used on acne without any problems. It is great for mature, aging skin and is exceptionally mild for sensitive skin. In hair care products, jojoba provides shine, promotes hair growth and improves the health of the scalp and hair.​

Kokum Butter

It has been used traditionally in India to soften skin and restore elasticity and as a balm for dry, cracked, rough and calloused skin. It is a great ingredient to add to healing creams and body butters because of its ability to soothe and heal chapped dry skin.​

Organic Mango Butter

Mango Butter is a great moisturizer for all skin types, but especially mature, dry or sun-damaged skin. Nourishing mango butter helps provide relief from the dryness of eczema and psoriasis. In hair care, mango butter replaces moisture, adds softness, elasticity and shine to your hair.​

Organic Neem Oil

The neem fruit, with its garlicky odor, has been used in the treatment of acne, psoriasis, and eczema. It is especially gentle and nourishing when used for itchy, sensitive or dry skin conditions. In hair care, it is used to treat itchy, irritated scalps, dandruff, and other scalp problems.​

Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil

We use the oil from the first light pressing called extra virgin olive oil.
Olive oil is believed to have healing properties and helps keeps skin soft, supple and younger looking. In hair care, olive, used for centuries in hot oil treatments, helps repair split ends, control dandruff, and makes your hair shiny, silky, and lustrous.​

Olive Butter

Olive Butter contains the moisturizing and antioxidant properties of olive oil with the deep moisturizing and skin nourishing qualities of a thicker butter for healthy, hydrated skin. Olive butter is a rich, thick moisturizer.​

Olive Squalane

Olive squalane is a botanical lipid that is similar to the squalene produced by our skin’s sebaceous glands. Olive squalane is a unique emollient that penetrates quickly and absorbs deeply. It helps increase hydration and maintain our skin's moisture barrier. Squalane is believed to help to promote cell growth and help with dry, rough skin, and skin irritations like eczema and psoriasis.​

Organic Palm Oil (Sustainable)

It is an excellent moisturizer to help make skin soft and supple. It makes a nice hard bar of soap that cleans well and adds a smooth creamy lather. Certified sustainable by the Friend of the Earth.​

Organic Virgin Palm Oil

The nutrients in virgin palm oil can help minimize the signs of aging, soothe and heal acne, relieve psoriasis and eczema, and help fight fine lines and wrinkles. In hair care, virgin palm oil conditioner is great for dry hair and may help with hair loss. Certified sustainable by the Friend of the Earth.​

Organic Pomegranate Seed Oil

Pomegranate Seed Oil helps fight free radicals and skin aging; helps heal, protect and moisturize dry, cracked, mature, and irritated skin; revitalizes dull or mature skin, assists with wrinkles; improves skin elasticity; and soothes minor skin irritations, including dry skin, eczema, psoriasis and sunburn​

Organic Pumpkin Seed Oil

Pumpkin Seed Oil is rich in essential fatty acids that regulate skin oil (sebum) production, it is great for both oily/acne-prone skin and dry damaged skin. It helps combat fine facial lines and dryness and may be helpful for eczema and psoriasis. In hair care, it helps protect hair follicles and promote shine. It is an emollient that moisturizes and helps smooth frizz.​

Organic Rosehip Oil

When used as an ointment or topical cream, rosehips oil promotes healing of eczema, rosacea, dermatitis and burns, including radiation and sunburn. It has been known to diminish stretch marks and sunspots and work wonders on scars from surgery and acne.​

Organic Sea Buckthorn Oil

Seabuckthorn helps promote wound healing and reduce scarring by encouraging tissue regeneration. When used as an ointment or topical cream, sea buckthorn oil promotes healing of eczema, rosacea, and burns, including radiation and sunburn.
We use virgin, unrefined, organic sea buckthorn oil. Unrefined oils have not been bleached or deodorized and retain their natural scent, color, and nutritional benefits.

Organic Sesame Seed Oil

Sesame oil is one of the best oils for dry skin because it absorbs easily and creates a protective film on the skin. It is used for massage and health treatments in ayurvedic medicine, contains a potent antioxidant called sesamol that is beneficial for mature aging skin and helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.​

Organic Virgin Shea Butter

Virgin shea butter penetrates deep, moisturizes and nourishes. It is excellent for dry, damaged and maturing skin. In hair care, Shea Butter provides deep nourishment for the hair shaft and moisturizes dry, dull hair resulting in improved luster and manageability. Fair Trade Certified by Fair Trade USA.

Organic Shea Olein

Shea olein oil penetrates quickly and is great for dry skin and damaged hair. It is believed to have exceptional nourishing, protective and reparative properties, which may help with aging and/or irritated skin. It also makes an excellent massage oil and leaves hair feeling healthier and more manageable.​

Soy Wax

Soy wax melts at a about 102 degrees, which is only slightly warmer than body temperature, making it a great ingredient for a lotion candle or massage candle. The soy wax is made from 100% pure soybean oil - a natural moisturizer that makes your skin silky smooth!​

Organic Sunflower Oil

Sunflower oil is easily absorbed and can be used on all skin types. It is especially helpful for delicate or dry skin. It is known to be one of the most moisturizing vegetable oils. In hair care, nutrient-rich sunflower oil moisturizes, nourishes and protects for silky, strong, healthy hair.​

Organic Tamanu Oil

Tamanu is high in antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. It helps fades stretch marks, helps improve the appearance of scars, promotes new tissue formation and encourages healthy skin growth to aid in healing minor cuts, burns, rashes, acne, eczema, rosacea, and other skin conditions.
It is a rich source of fatty acids, which help keep skin super moisturized. Tamanu is safe for use on oily, acne-prone or sensitive skin.​

Organic Walnut Oil

Walnut Oil is believed to have anti-aging, regenerative and skin toning properties, which makes it wonderful for damaged or maturing skin. Walnut oil is an excellent hair care oil. It helps condition your hair and to provide flowing, smooth, and manageable hair.​

Wheat Germ Oil

Wheat Germ is believed to promote skin elasticity, nourish skin cells, and prevent moisture loss resulting in smoother, younger looking skin. In hair care, wheat germ oil improves the scalp’s ability to utilize oxygen, leaving the scalp healthy while softening hair.​
 

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Rising Star
BGOL Patreon Investor
There are four common methods you can use to make soap: melt and pour, cold process, hot process, and rebatching. Before diving into your first batch of homemade soap, familiarize yourself with the four most common methods of soapmaking. Some of these processes are easier than others. Knowing how each one works will help you decide which tutorials you want to tackle.
  • The melt and pour process is not soap from scratch. Instead, pre-made soap bases are simply melted and molded, and you don't have to touch any lye.
  • The cold process and hot process are both techniques for making soap from scratch. The more popular cold process takes longer than the hot process, and the hot process creates more rustic-style soap. Both methods include working with lye.
  • Rebatching is remaking a bad batch of finished homemade soap. It's a way to save all the ingredients, but it's labor and time-intensive and often results in less aesthetically-pleasing soap.

The Four Methods of Making Soap at Home
There are four main ways you can go about making soap at home. These are ‘melt and pour’, the ‘cold process’, the ‘hot process’ and a ‘rebatching process’. The first two are the most popular, as a hot process or rebatching are considered to be more advanced.

1. Melt and Pour
Melt and pour is essentially just melting pre-made soap and adding your own fragrance to it. It’s good for beginners but doesn’t give you much room for creativity and the end result is only as good as the soap you start with.

2. Cold Process
The cold process involves making soap from scratch using oils and lye. You’ll need to be careful when using ingredients like lye since it is a caustic substance. Sites like brambleberry.com specialize in cold process soap making and provide safety tips too. Definitely check that out if cold process soap making is on the agenda.

3. Hot Process
The hot process is similar to the cold process but requires heating the soap in an oven or slow cooker.

4. Rebatching
And rebatching involves grinding up and re-blending batches of poorly made handmade soap.

The cold process is the most highly recommended soap making method for a sustainable home business. Soaping 101 on YouTube is a great channel to check out for cold process free recipes.

It’s a good idea to do a test run so you can get an idea of the process, which ingredients and materials you’ll need and whether soap making is or isn’t for you. If you decide you don’t like soap making, then don’t worry, at least you’ll know and then you can check out some of the other business ideas.
 
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Rising Star
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Apple Tart Soap
4oz. Clear, Unscented Glycerine Soap
1 Tablespoon Liquid Soap
1 teaspoon Liquid Glycerine
1/2 teaspoon Apple Fragrance Oil
2 Drops Red Food Color
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
Melt soap in small pan over low heat or in a glass cup in the microwave. Add Liquid Soap and glycerine and stir gently but well. Add fragrance, color and cinnamon. Stir and let stand a couple minutes, just enough to start to thicken so when you stir again the cinnamon will be more evenly distributed. Pour into molds. Allow to set completely (in or out of freezer). Wrap in plastic wrap or use cellophane candy bags.

Apricot Freesia Tarts
Ingredients For Tart:

1 lb White Glycerin Soap Base
12 Drops Cosmic Color Canary Yellow
11 Drops Cosmic Color Red
1 t. Apricot Freesia FO
Ingredients For “Whipped Cream” Topping:

4 oz White Glycerin Soap Base
¼ t. Apricot Freesia FO
A “Shake” of Super Sparkle Gold Sparkle Dust
Melt soap base for tart in a double boiler. Once melted, add color and fragrance. Pour into a muffin tin and allow to harden. Remove from tin.Melt soap base for topping and add a shake of Sparkle Dust. With an electric mixer, mix until thick and bubbly. Spray tarts with rubbing alcohol and spoon the topping onto the tarts while allowing some to run over tarts. Top with a dash of Sparkle Dust if desired.

Candy Cane Swirl
½ lb. MP opaque base
1 tsp. Stearic acid
red colorant
Candy Cane fragrance oil
candy cane cookie cutters (you could also use the Wilton mini cake pan candy cane mold)
wax paper lined pan or tray
Melt the MP base and stearic acid separately. Combine them when they are both liquefied. Whisk well. Add the fragrance oil and pour into a wax paper lined pan or tray. Take a bit of red coloring (just a bit on the tip of the toothpick) and swirl into the soap until it is marbleized. When it is firm enough, take cookie cutter and cut out candy cane shapes. These are great for Christmas.

Camphor and Clary Sage Soap
2 c. M&P soap base
2 T. camphor oil
1/4 c. clary sage infusion AND/OR 1 tsp. clary sage oil
Combine melted soap and herbal ingredients. Stir until blended, and pour into molds. Keep soap wrapped or store in a cool dark place. It will be good for about 18 months. Note: This also works well for poison Ivy.

Cherry Cheesecake Soap
(Makes Two 4-1/2 inch cakes – 4 slices each)

1-1/2 lbs. White M & P Base
1/2 lb Clear M & P Base
2-1/2 tsp. Oatmeal, Milk & Honey Fragrance
1 tsp. Blending Vanilla
1 Tbs. Cherry (not Maraschino) Fragrance
Dash of Lemon Fragrance
Red Colorant
Green Colorant
Yellow Colorant
1-2 Tbs. Finely Ground Oatmeal
Life of the Party Mold – AO52
4-1/2 inch springform pans
Melt 1/2 lbs white base. Add sufficient coloring to make as dark red as possible, add 2 tsp of Cherry fragrance. Pour at least 30 “cherries” in the mold (it looks like it makes two halves of a 1 inch christmas ball). Allow to cool, unmold and set aside.

Melt 4 oz of clear base. Add 2 drops of green and 2 drops of red colorant. Will turn brown. Add 3/4 tsp of Oatmeal, Milk & Honey Fragrance. Mix in oatmeal. Pour evenly into two of the springform pans.

Melt 1 lb of white base. Add a few drops (only) of yellow colorant. Add 1-3/4 tsp of OM&H Fragrance, 1 tsp of blending vanilla (will add amber glow) and a small dash of lemon fragrance. Mist brown base with alcohol and pour creamy base evenly into pans – be sure to leave about 1/4 to 1/2 inch head room. Allow to cool about 20 minutes until surface is fairly solid.

Spray top of “cake” and bottom of “cherries with alcohol. Arrange about 15 cherries on each cheesecake. Melt 4 oz of clear base. Add red colorant to make deep red, add 1 tsp of Cherry Fragrance. Spoon over cherries, covering them and allowing excess to flow around them. Allow cakes to cool about 30 minutes. Pop springform pan and enjoy.

Chocolate Soap
12 oz grated soap
5 oz water
1/4 cup instand cocoa powder
1/8 oz Chocolate Fragrance oil
Combine the grated soap and water in a saucepan, and set on medium heat. When the soap has melted, add the cocoa powder, and chocolate fragrance. Stir well, then pack into molds and let sit until hardened.

Citronella Soap
1 cup grated Castile soap
1/2 cup water
10 drops citronella essential oil
5 drops eucalyptus essential oil
1 T. dried, crushed pennyroyal leaves
Mix the ingredients into the melted soap/water mixture. With an electric mixer, whip the soap until it has doubled in volume. Spoon the soap into the prepared molds, pushing it into the molds as best you can (the beating action cools the mix, so work quickly). If the mixture has cooled off and thickened so much you can’t put it into the molds, hand mold the soap into large balls.

Citrus Yum
½ lb. Transparent MP base
½ TB. Coconut oil
3 drops lemon oil
3 drops grapefruit oil
3 drops orange oil
fruit wedges mold
orange/yellow colorant
Melt the MP base and coconut oil. Remove from heat and whisk well. Add essential oils and whisk well. Add a few drops of yellow/orange dye. I mixed red and yellow food coloring. Pour into molds. When I want to do each the “correct” color and flavoring for each fruit wedge, I use plastic leftover yogurtcups, pour my base into it (after heated) then do the color mixing and flavoring.

Coffee and Cream Soap
This glycerin soap recipe is for the coffee lovers in your life. It has a deep brown color and smells like fresh coffee when you use it.

4z. bar melt and pour soap
1 teaspoon ground espresso
1 teaspoon powdered milk
10 drops coffee fragrance oil
In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the soap until liquefied. Remove from heat and stir in ground espresso, powdered milk, and coffee fragrance oil. Pour soap into a mold and let set for three hours or until hardened.

Coffee and Cream Soap II
2 tsp. Coffee beans (can replace with 1 tsp. instant espresso)
4 oz. MP base
1 tsp. Heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. Aloe vera gel
Grind two teaspoons of your favorite coffee beans to espresso grade in coffee grinder. Melt the MP. Remove from heat and add the ground coffee, whipping cream, and aloe vera gel, stirring until well blended. Pour the mixture into a mold and let set for three hours or until hardened.

Creamsicle Soap
8 oz. MP base (divided into 4 oz. quantities)
10 drops orange oil
1 drop orange food coloring
3 TB. Heavy whipping cream
10 drops vanilla fragrance oil
Melt soap and remove from heat. Add the orange oil and food coloring, stirring until well mixed. Pour half of the mixture into each soap mold and let it set for on hour. When the orange soap has set, melt the second half of MP base. Remove from heat and stir in the whipping cream and the vanilla fragrance oil. Pour the melted soap into the molds on top of the orange soap. Let it set for three hours. Your finished bars should come out half orange and half white. Enough for 2 bars.

Cucumber Loofah Soap
3 oz. opaque soap
2 tsp. powdered loofah
15 drops cucumber fragrance oil
1 T. Aloe Vera gel
green coloring
mold
Shred the soap in a food processor and set aside. Boil 1/2 cup of water over low heat and stir in the shredded soap. Continue stirring until the mixture becomes a sticky mass, approximately four minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the aloe vera gel, the fragrance oil and the coloring until well blended. Spoon the mixture into a mold and let set for six hours or until hardened. Wrap finished soaps in cellophane.

Cookie Cutter Soaps
Melt and Pour soap base(opaque)
Scent (optional)
Color (must be liquid, like gels)
cookie sheet (must have at least a 1/2 in. edge on it)
knife (to swirl your colors!)
cookie cutters
Melt down the soap base and scent. You can give the main base a color if you wish or leave it white. Pour the base on the cookie sheet and add colors and swirl them all over – be creative! When this dries, pop the block of soap out of the cookie sheet. Use cookie cutters to cut up the soap. There are lots of different things you can do with this:

Christmas Soap: Swirl red & green into white and use cookie cutters
Candy Cane Soap: Swirl red into white with peppermint scent and candy cane cutters
Easter/Spring: Swirl multiple pastels and find some fun cookie cutters
4th of July: Patriotic white soap with a beautiful red & blue swirl (find a nice star cutter!)
Cold Cream Soap
4 oz M&P soap
2 tsp cold cream
10 drops fragrance oil
1 drop coloring (optional)
Melt soap, then add cold cream and stir until melted. Remove from heat; add fragrance and color, and then mold.

Creamy Rosemary
One Pound Soap Base (any variety)
One Cup of Whole Milk
1/2 Teaspoon Rosemary pure Essential Oil (see EO caution below)
One-foot length of PVC pipe with one end cap or other tube
This is a wonderfully creamy soap to wake up to in the morning! And everyone LOVES the scent of pure Rosemary! Men even go nuts for it! Make sure you spray your mold with a vegetable spray. Pour all of the soap mixture into the mold. After a couple of hours, push it out of the mold and slice the soap into round soaps!

Important Note: Rosemary EO is not recommended for individuals with high blood pressure or epilepsy.

Chocolate Cookie Soap
1 lb. Opaque MP
1 TB. Cocoa butter
Cocoa powder for colorant (or brown dye)
1 TB. Chocolate FO
Round or cookie molds
Melt the MP soap. Remove from heat and slowly stir in the cocoa butter and enough cocoa powder to make it a pale brown or tan. Add fragrance oil. Reserve enough of the soap to make a darker brown color. Pour the lighter shade of brown soap into round/cookie molds. Add more cocoa powder to the reserved batch of MP base to make a darker brown. Marble into the pale brown soap.

Cinnamon Soap
4 oz. MP base
10 drops cinnamon oil
1 drop red food coloring (optional)
Melt MP base. Remove from heat and stir in the cinnamon oil and coloring until well mixed. Pour the soap into a mold and let set for three hours.

Citrus & Calendula Soap
1 # M & P transparent soap base
A handful of calendula petals (dried) , about 1/4 cup
15 drops of yellow food coloring
3/4 tsp. grapefruit EO
1/2 tsp. tangerine EO
1 TBSP melted shea butter ..melted separately
Melt the soap base and at the same time melt the shea butter in a custard cup placed in a pan of boiling water or in the microwave. Add calendula petals to the melted base, a few drops of yellow food coloring, the EO and then the melted shea butter. Try to have this the same temp as the melt and pour. Keep stirring the soap/shea butter mixture. As it starts to set up spoon into heart molds (by spooning you have more control how many of the calendula leaves go into each mold.) I like to let my molds set at room temp until them are skimmed over fairly firm then I chill them in the freezer for about a half hour before removing them from the mold and place them on a rack to finish drying completely. This is a very pretty soap. Makes 8 heart soaps.

*****By stirring the soap/shea butter mixture as it cools the butter will not float to the top and make little circles of butter which might look like mold to those that don’t know.

Fresh Aloe Vera and Nettle Leaf Soap
1 c. glycerin soap base
1/8 c. aloe vera gel
2 T. crushed dried nettle leaf
OR 2 T. simmered, macerated fresh leaf
Mix together all ingredients and pour into molds. Once cooled, pop out of molds, and store them in a dark cool place.

Gardening Soap
8 oz. M&P base
2 T. white cornmeal
1 1/2 T. fine pumice
1 T. bentonite clay
2 tsp. of a citrus essential oil (orange, lemon, etc.)
Melt base and scent. Stir in cornmeal, pumice, & clay continually until it gets to the point where it will stay suspended in the soap. By this time the soap will be quite thick and cool. Pour into molds.

Honey Bee Soap
4 oz. Opaque MP soap
1 T. beeswax pellets
1 T. honey
Melt beeswax and keep warm/liquid. Melt soap base and then mix in beeswax. Add honey and keep stirring until melted. Pour into mold. This recipe looks neat in a similar mold – Milky Way Molds have a bee and a flower. I’ve also seen a great bee/honey mold (it looks like beeswax sheets on the surface) at other places.

Glycerin Soaps

Layered Soaps
2 4oz. bars glycerin soap
10 drops fragrance oil (your choice)
10 drops fragrance oil (your choice, different than choice above)
2 drops different colored food coloring (your choice)
In a heavy saucepan over low heat, melt one bar of glycerin soap until liquefied. Remove from heat and stir in one drop food coloring and 10 drops fragrance oil. Pour half of the mixture into two soap molds, filling each mold halfway. Wait twenty minutes.

Melt your second bar of glycerin soap until liquefied. Remove from heat and stir in the other drop of food coloring and fragrance oil. Pour this second layer on top of the first layer (already in molds). Let soap set for three hours or until hardened. Your finished bars should come out half one color and half another.

Lemon Loofah Soap
Dried loofah sponge (1 square inch)
4-ounces MP base
1 tsp. liquid lanolin
1 tsp. aloe vera gel
15 drops lemon essential oil
1 drop yellow food coloring
With a pair of sharp scissors, cut off one square inch of loofah sponge. Shred the loofah sponge into tiny pieces, either in a coffee grinder or with scissors, and set aside. Melt MP base. Remove from heat and add the lanolin, aloe vera gel, lemon oil, and food coloring, stirring until well mixed. Immediately add the shredded loofah and stir until evenly distributed. Pour into a mold and let set for three hours of until hardened. Makes one bar.

Luscious Body Soap Recipe
8 oz. shea or cocoa butter melt and pour soap base
2 Tablespoons shea butter
1 Tablespoon cocoa butter
2 Tablespoons finely ground oatmeal
1 Tablespoon rose petal powder
20 drops red colorant
40 drops rose geranium essential oil
20 drops ylang-ylang essential oil

Melt the soap base over a double boiler. Add the shea butter and cocoa butter and heat until melted. Add the oatmeal and rose petal powder. Add the red colorant and continue stirring, making sure it is fully incorporated. Lastly, add the essential oils and stir well. Pour into desired soap molds and let set.

Minty Herb Soap
1 lb. M&P soap
1 T. Mint leaves (finely crushed)
1/2 tsp. Peppermint essential oil
1/2 tsp. Spearmint essential oil
Melt soap base and add mint leaves and fragrance – pour into molds.

Party Time Confetti Soap
Transparent M&P soap
Opaque M&P Soap
various colors to make a bright display
Scent (optional)
Melt transparent soap and split into separate dishes and color. Pour into
separate molds and let harden. When hard, pop out and cut into small pieces (1/4-1/2 in.)
Melt opaque soap and scent. Spay confetti pieces with alcohol and place in mold. Let opaque base cool for a while until a skin has formed twice (you don’t want to melt your confetti!). Pour over confetti pieces in mold. This recipe works nice in any tube type mold (try PVC with an end cap!). If you use a tube mold you’ll want to make bigger pieces of confetti and pile them up in the mold and pour over, let harden and then slice.

Peaches and Cream Bath Bar
Castile soap (or pure white unscented, such as Ivory)
1/4 cup distilled water
1/4 cup powdered milk
1 tbs. sweet almond oil
1/8 tsp. peach fragrance oil
1 drop orange food coloring (optional)
Shred the castile soap and set aside. Heat the water in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Stir in the shredded soap until it forms a sticky mass. Remove the pan from the heat and add the powdered milk, sweet almond oil, peach fragrance oil and food coloring. Stir until well blended. Spoon the soap into a mold and let set for 4 hours or until hardened. Makes one 4-ounce bar.

Peaches And Cream Soap
1 bar Castile soap
1/4 cup distilled water
1/4 cup powdered milk
1 tablespoon sweet almond oil
1/8 teaspoon peach fragrance oil
1 drop orange food coloring (optional)
Shred the Castile soap and set aside. Heat the water in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Stir in the shredded soap until it forms a sticky mass. Remove the pan from the heat and add the powdered milk, Sweet almond oil,Peach fragrance oil, food coloring; stir until well blended. Spoon the soap into its mold and let set for four hours or until hardened.

Peach Tea Soap
½ lb. Melt and pour soap base (either type)
1 peach tea bag (take 1 tsp. of tea from this)
1 TB. Coconut oil
Peach FO
Peach colored dye
Peach shaped molds
Melt the soap base and coconut oil, stirring well. Remove from heat and add 1 teaspoon of the peach tea, peach FO, and peach dye (a tad of orange works fine). Pour into peach molds.

Peach Vanilla Soap
1 lb White Glycerin Soap Base
1 t. Sugar
½ t. Salt
1 t. Sweet Almond Oil
1 t. Peach Gel Colorant
1 T. Vanilla Peach FO
Melt soap base, sugar and salt in a double boiler. Remove from heat and add sweet almond oil, colorant and fragrance oil to mix. Whisk until mixed. Pour into mold and lightly spray with rubbing alcohol. After removing soap from mold, place on drying rack for 48 hrs, then wrap.

Raspberry Oat Powder Soap
1/3 cup dried oats
4 oz. MP base
15 drops raspberry fragrance oil
1 drop red food coloring (optional)
Grind the oats into a fine powder in a food processor and set aside. Melt the MP base. Remove from heat and add the raspberry fragrance oil and the red food coloring, and oat powder, stirring until well mixed. Pour into a soap mold and let set for three hours or until hardened.

Rose Cold Cream Soap
4 oz. MP base
2 teaspoons cold cream
10 drops rose fragrance oil
1 drop red food coloring (optional)
Melt MP base until liquefied, stir in the cold cream until dissolved, then remove the pan from heat. Stir in the rose fragrance oil and food coloring. Pour into mold and let set for four hours or until hardened. Makes one bar.

Sea Salt And Pepper Soap
½ lb White Glycerin Soap
½ lb Clear Glycerin Soap
½ T Table Salt
½ T Castor Oil
½ T Beeswax
¼ Cup Sea Salt
2 T Poppy Seeds
1T peppercorn Fragrance
Melt clear soap in a double boiler. Add table salt and ½ of fragrance to melted soap base. Pour into rectangle drawer divider so soap will be approximately 1/4″ thick. Sprinkle sea salt on top. When cooled cut into triangular shapes and place pieces in Debbie’s Favorite Wilton mold. Next, melt white glycerin in a double boiler. Add castor oil, beeswax, poppy seeds and ½ fragrance to melted soap base. Pour over clear, sea salt soap triangles.

Summer Dreams Bath Salts
M&P opaque (“exfoliating”) base
1 bag Celestial Seasonings Spearmint tea
5 or 6 drops green food coloring
Purple colorant/dye
1 teaspoon oil of wintergreen (from the drug store)
Heat M&P in bain-marie, double-boiler, or microwave until melted. While it’s heating, rip open tea bag, put leaves in either coffee grinder or pestle, and pulverize them thoroughly. Add ground leaves, wintergreen oil and food coloring to melted soap, and stir. Pour into molds (you can get neat shamrock shapes at party stores!), and let cool. Voila – St. Paddy’s Day soap! N.B. Oil of Wintergreen is said to be excellent for sore muscles. The soap smells a bit like Ben Gay (guess why?), but is very refreshing to use.

Tomato and Baking Soda Soap
4 oz. MP base
5 tablespoons tomato juice
½ tsp. Red wine vinegar
15 drops lemon oil
1 teaspoon Baking soda
Melt MP base until liquefied. Stir in the tomato juice, red wine vinegar, and lemon oil. Remove from heat. Stir in the baking soda until dissolved. Pour the soap into a mold and let set for three hours or until hardened.

Tropical Blend
½ lb. MP transparent soap base
½ TB. Coconut oil
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. each of:
Coconut fragrance oil
Mango fragrance oil
Pineapple fragrance oil
Fruit molds (I used the TKB mold with 2 fruit baskets and 2 pineapples)
Melt the MP base and coconut oil until liquefied. Remove from heat and be sure to mix well with a whisk. Add the fragrance oils and colorant. Pour into molds.
 

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you can use this shit right here to whip up some nice essential oils, soaps, & creams with this listing of pdf' encyclopediae. This is essentially what anyone who makes up their own shea' butter & coco butter based products. The oils & added to create the magic. You can get ALL the plants ( herbs) in an extract oil form.

wholesale butters & other essentials
https://www.newdirectionsaromatics.com/products/butters/lime-butter.html
https://www.madinaonline.com/
http://www.essentialdepot.com/product/SHEA-BUTTER-5LBS.html
https://www.bulkapothecary.com/raw-ingredients/waxes-and-butters/wholesale-cocoa-butter-bulk/
http://www.cocoasupply.com/cocoa-butter/
http://www.back2africa.com/personal-care/cocoa-butter.html


the most important oil books
https://ttngmai.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/handbookofessentionaloil.pdf
http://redwheelweiser.com/downloads/encyclopediaessoils.pdf
https://www.ifparoma.org/IE6789/inessence1401/ebook/content/inessence1401.pdf

Herbs
https://extension.umaine.edu/york/wp-content/uploads/sites/91/2013/02/BeginnersHerbGarden_pdf.pdf
https://interpreteenergetico.files....da-shiva-tirtha-the-ayurveda-encyclopedia.pdf
https://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/medicinal_plant_11_book.pdf
http://memberfiles.freewebs.com/81/39/52093981/documents/Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs - Scott Cunningham.pdf
https://www.enad.eu/wp-content/uploads/Natural-Health-Encyclopedia1.pdf



some of everything
https://www.madinaonline.com/

nice runners up with excellent info
content/uploads/2013/06/Vibrant_Blue_Beginner_Guide_to_Essential_Oils.pdf
http://www.floracopeia.com/site/pdf/Floracopeia-Essential-Oil-eBook.pdf
https://www.vibrantblueoils.com/wp-
 
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product resources
 
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Soap base: There are several options to choose from when selecting a base. Clear and White Melt and Pour is a good place to start. They’re simple, cleansing, and ready to customize. The clear base will have more bright colors, while the white will have more pastel colors. You can also try bases with additives like shea butter, goat milk, or aloe vera. Find all the bases here, and learn more about them in this blog post.

Fragrance: You can scent your soap with fragrance oils or essential oils. A general usage rate is about 0.3 oz. of scent per pound of soap. Find light, medium, and strong recommendations with the Fragrance Calculator. It’s important to use skin-safe scents like the ones from Bramble Berry. Potpourri, craft, or candle fragrances may not be skin safe or tested in soap. Be sure to check with the manufacturer before use.

Glycerin: Glycerin is a natural byproduct of the saponification process. It’s one of the reasons handmade soap feels so amazing – it draws moisture to the skin and keeps it hydrated. Additional glycerin is added during the melt and pour manufacturing process to make it easy to work with. It can also cause the soap to sweat in humid climates, so make sure to wrap your bars and keep them in a cool, dry place. Learn more in the Explaining and Preventing Glycerin Dew post.

Molds: You need to use a mold that can withstand higher temperatures so it doesn’t melt when you pour in hot soap. You also want it to be flexible so it’s easy to unmold the bars. We love silicone and plastic molds for melt and pour, you can find those here.

Colorants: There are plenty of options for coloring melt and pour soap. Micas and color blocks are easy to use and they look great in the finished bars. Learn more about how to work with our skin-safe soap colorants in this post. We don’t recommend options like food coloring or crayons because they haven’t been tested or approved for use in soap. They tend to morph, fade, or bleed.


Safety:
Soap bases start to melt around 120F. Use heat-safe tools and handle with care – melted soap can hurt if dripped or splashed on skin.
 

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Body butters are made with your choices of base oils, solid butters, emulsifying wax, stearic acid, distilled water, fragrance or essential oils, preservative and anti-oxidants.
 

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Full Item List for Soaping
Here's a list for anyone who is starting out. I got all this and watched a ton of videos just before I
made my first soap.

Submersion blender
Gloves
Safety glasses
Palm oil
Coconut oil
Castor oil
Sweet almond oil
Olive oil
Lye
Distilled water
Scale in Walmart for like $15
Whisk and spatulas
Micas

Fragrance oil and or essential oil
Silicone loaf mold but you can buy shaped ones too.
If you don't have or want to use silicone molds. You can use a sturdy box or wood box just make
sure you line it with freezer paper only, don't use wax paper or parchment or plastic wrap,
especially if you plan on selling, no food dyes either. There are plenty of videos on YouTube to
watch that shows how to line a box properly. Royalty Soaps has one for sure.

Always wear long sleeves, long pants, and full-coverage shoes. You don't want to touch the lye it can burn you and make sure you do all this in
a highly ventilated area with preferably no kids or animals to maintain the safety of all.
 

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Coloring soaps

Colored fats.

Fats in themselves are white and will give a white soap. What gives fats, and soaps, color are impurities, or, as soapers like to call them, unsaponifiables, of which there have to be enough to color a soap. Refined fats, with impurities removed, will therefore give white soaps, but unrefined fats will have some chance to color a soap. As with everything in chemistry the dose is all; it takes a sizable
percentage of a colored fat to color soaps, and they do not do it the same way.

Laurel bay oil and red palm butter are the two most brightly colored oils for the purpose and will give the two most brightly colored
soaps; in green and orange, respectively. I use 15% each, but other soapers might want to use more or less – just remember that they behave fairly similarly to palm oil; they harden soaps and tend to be drying.

Greens can also be achieved by using extra virgin olive oil, virgin avocado oil and virgin hemp oil, though more as a tinge than as a
distinct color. For color, I’d recommend to use as much of them as possible. However, since they can be quite expensive, they’re often used at no more than 10%, which limits their usefulness in coloring soaps; making a (mainly) olive oil, avocado oil or hemp oil soap,
however removes this limit. Green can be reinforced by other means, more to follow on this. Browns can be achieved by using toasted sesame oil, pumpkin seed oil and/or neem oil, none of which I’ve seen used as more than 10% of the oil mix. I wouldn’t know why, except for neem oil, which is
odoriferous and is considered medicinal. Final color is therefore a light beige, and can be reinforced by other means. Again, more to follow.

I haven’t tried other naturally colored oils – many of them being expensive luxury oils, whose coloring properties do not warrant the price. I cannot therefore say much about their behavior.

However, one can infuse turmeric or (sweet) paprika in a clear oil, sunflower, peanut, corn, etc. Turmeric can give a very intense yellow and paprika an even more intense red. According to how much powder one uses, and for how long it lets it infuse the final color can go from a pale yellow or orange to an extremely garish (think Indian puja intense) color. A recommendation of 70-100g1 of spice in 500g oil for 30 days. A white soap base is pretty much a must, since olive oil color interferes.

Beeswax is, of course, not an oil, but the yellow form gives a yellowish tone to any colored soap, even if used at 3% of the total oil
1 In “Saponi e shampoo solidi” by Liliana Paoletti, Arianna Editrice, 2015.
weight.

Lye solvents.
At room temperature, lye is most easily dissolved in water; one can
therefore use about any liquid that is water-based; infusions, decoctions, juices, beer, milk, wine, the more, the merrier. Up to
100% substitution of water.

It is quite impossible to predict what the final soap color will be, but some general indications are given here.
Pumpkin, carrot and apricots, juiced or pureed give each a different shade of yellow/orange, which can be used alone or in combination
with red palm butter. (I like apricot puree alone.) Celery juice, puree or extract give a good green, which, however,
fades to white in a few months. Good to enhance laurel bay green in a soap’s early months, but the soap gets an old(ish) green anyway.
Forget spinach juice (more to it later).

Pureed cucumber, unpeeled gives a more intense green than peeled, of course. Might be spotty, might be uniform, it all depends on how
finely it has been ground/pureed.

Paprika infusion gives a nice red, initially, but it morphs quite rapidly – better the oily macerate. Turmeric infusion gives an
earthy yellow, far different from the oily macerate.

Coffee infusion gives a fairly intense brown, extremely good to boost chocolate and cocoa. More to it later.
I generally get a very pleasant yellow with an infusion of chamomile and/or calendula, but this may not hold true for all soapers.

Other infusions behave on their own, to be evaluated case by case. Standardizing the infusion’s strength is a good idea: again 75-100g
of dried material in 500g of distilled water, infused for one to four hours.2

Unscorched milk gives a white soap, and beers very much depend on their original color. I personally would avoid the use of wine for coloring.
Freeze whatever you have decided to use, and make the lye solution directly from the ice cubes. A hand whisk will do just fine and 10g
more or less liquid will not change the final soap. I’ve never bothered to go slowly; I just weigh the ice cubes in the mixing container and the lye granules over them. Not difficult to be precise in weighing everything.
2 Again, in Paoletti, “Saponi e shampoo solidi”.
Chocolate and cocoa Brown, what else? White chocolate gives an off-white color. Up to 2% of oil weight.

Powders.
At 0,5% of the oil weight. Feel free to use more or less.
Spinach powder, spirulina, chlorophyll are green, of course, however, they fade to white within a few months. Avoid, if you aren’t
prepared for this behavior.
Cocoa powder has already been explained.
Turmeric and paprika give a yellow(ish) and a red, quite earthy.
They morph with time, so if you want a stable yellow and red, macerate them in oil.

Micas.
Got little experience with them – a swirler will have better experience than I do.
Micas need to be CP/HP stable. Micas for M&P are not suitable.
Plenty of suppliers out there, all with their own products – be prepared to experiment and mix them to get the exact shade you want.
Again, a white soap base is pretty much a must, colored oils interfere.
 

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COMMON SOAP-MAKING ABBREVIATIONS

AC | Activated CharcoalAVG | Aloe Vera Gel
AKO | Apricot Kernel OilAVO | Avocado Oil
CM | Coconut Milk
CO | Coconut Oil
CP | Cold Process
CPLS | Cold Process Liquid Soap
CPOP | Cold Process Oven Process
DOS | Dreaded Orange Spots
EO | Essential Oil
EVOO | Extra Virgin Olive Oil
FHP | Fluid Hot Process
FO | Fragrance Oil
GM | Goat Milk
H2O | Water
HP | Hot Process
HTHP | High Temperature Hot Process
HTLS | High Temperature Liquid Soap
ITP | In The Pot Swirl
KOH | Potassium Hydroxide
LS | Liquid Soap
LTHP | Low Temperature Hot Process
LTLS | Low Temperature Liquid Soap
MP | Melt & Pour
NaOH | Sodium Hydroxide
OO | Olive Oil
PCSF | Post Cook Superfat
PKO | Palm Kernel Oil
PO | Palm Oil
PPO | Per Pound Oil
RBO | Rice Bran Oil
ROE | Rosemary Oleoresin Extract
RT | Room Temperature
SAP | Saponification Value
SF | Superfat
SL | Sodium Lactate
TD | Titanium Dioxide
UG2HP | Ultimate Guide to Hot Process Soap
UG2LS | Ultimate Guide to Liquid Soap
%TOW | % Total Oil Weight
30HTLS | 30-Minute Liquid Soap
 

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Target Market
While everyone uses soap, soap making businesses tend to target more specific audiences. A soap maker might market to adults who value vegan, eco-friendly products. Another business might market to buyers who like to give beautiful soaps as gifts. The specific target market will largely depend on a business’s branding and the products that it creates.

Skills, experience, and education useful in running a soap making business
While starting a soap making business doesn’t require a business degree, certain skills and experiences can increase the chances of that business becoming a success.

Soap making experience. Making soap can be challenging, and getting consistent, quality results batch after batch is even more of a challenge. Previous experience or education in soap making techniques will be helpful and can help to soften the learning curve when starting a soap making business.

Understanding of aesthetics. Soaps need to be visually appealing, so an eye for aesthetics and overall design can help a soap maker to create products that look great on shelves and in photos.

Knowledge of fragrance and color blending. As soap makers get more advanced and creative in their products, knowledge of fragrance and color blending techniques can help them create truly unique soaps that will stand out from the competition.

Attention to detail. Details matter when making soaps, packaging them, and presenting them. An eye for detail is a valuable skill in this business.

Marketing skills. Many soap makers don’t have their own stores, and they often market their products themselves. Some experience with online marketing and in-person networking will be an advantage.

Customer service experience. A soap maker who has previous customer service experience will know how to provide a great customer experience to increase customers’ chances of returning.

Creativity. The soap making industry is highly saturated, so a business owner needs to be creative in designing unique products that will stand out from others.
 

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Soap Stats
So here’s a crazy statistic for you. The global soap market is worth an estimated 18 billion US dollars.

A growing sector within that market belongs to just organic soap, which is expected to reach a value of $383.4 million USD by year 2025.

More people are looking for natural products that don’t contain harsh chemicals, aside from the sodium or potassium hydroxide, otherwise known as ‘lye’, which is used in the soap making process.

Most handmade soaps contain herbs, essential oils, and organic items to create one-of-a-kind products. Handmade soaps also can include glycerin, which helps to soften and moisturize the skin.

If you’re new to soap making then I really recommend checking out thesprucecrafts.com or Royalty Soaps on YouTube. They lay out the different methods you can use and walk you through the process for each one.
 

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Supply Chain
Next thing I want to talk about is your supply chain. You’ll want to know the best places to buy ingredients in bulk at wholesale prices. Many sellers find it easier and cheaper to source oils such as olive oil and coconut oil from places like Costco and Amazon.

For other supplies like lye, colorants and fragrances, brambleberry.com has really great reviews within the community, as well as Nature’s Garden and wholesalesuppliesplus.com.
 

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Pricing
Another factor that could potentially scare off customers, or entice them, is the price of your bars of soap. People tend to value the “handmade” aspect of a product and are willing to pay a little bit extra for it.

However, be wary that in a congested market such as Amazon, people have a lot of options and will often go for the cheaper option if another looks vaguely similar. Amazon does have a handmade platform but in my experience sales do not benefit from it as much as on the standard Amazon site.

The good thing for you is, soap is very cheap to make. A 3.5 ounce or 100-gram bar of soap should cost you anywhere from 50 cents to $1.50 to produce, depending on the wax and fragrances you use.

For a bar of that size, you can expect to sell it for around $4 to $5 or approximately 4 to 5 times the amount it cost you to make it. This may sound like a small amount but there are ways to increase how much you earn.

Making bigger bars or offering value or ‘tester’ sets which include a range of different smells, means you can sell more product in higher quantities.

Not to mention, if you have great branding and customer experience, you could even charge $10 to $12 for a bar of soap!

Shipping
You’ll also need to consider the cost of shipping your soap products. Soap can get quite heavy, so if you’re in the US, definitely take advantage of USPS’ flat rate shipping boxes. You pay a flat fee regardless of how many soaps you’re shipping.

You’ll also want to think about how to package and protect your soap so that it doesn’t get damaged in transit. Other soap sellers have suggested using shrink wrap, bubble wrap or tissue paper.

Before you sell online, or even as you’re gearing up to sell online, it may be a good idea to test your product at a craft show or live event. That way you can interact with customers, ask them questions, get genuine feedback, and ultimately, tweak your product if you need to.

Selling soap isn’t about huge profit margins and you should definitely not look at it as a get-rich-quick plan, however, it is a great way to have fun and get creative while also learning about handmade businesses and selling online.

It’s very possible to break through the saturated market and make a living from it, but you will need to stand out from the crowd and make good strategic choices along the way.

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Keep a Good Name for Soap Business
To run a business, it has to have a name. The rules are simple for that. Your business name must tick mark the following branding principles:
  • It should be unique. There should not be other registered business with that name.
  • The name should not attract any cultural or religious backlash in any language.
  • It should be simple to write and pronounce.
The best hack to name your handmade soap business is to name it after you. That way it gets to have unique personal branding after you.


Track Down Wholesale Soap Supplies to Start a Business
There are 2 ways to have a successful soap-making business:
  • Lower your expenses
  • Increase your prices
If you concentrate on the first one. Then, the soap supplies constitute the major portion of the fixed costs. If you could crack down sources to get them at wholesale rates. Then, you can bring up your ROI at a significant rate.

Though do not sacrifice the quality of raw materials to gain profits. Else your handmade soap making business will never pick up the pace.

Price Them Right
Pricing is a complicated task. Moreover, it becomes more difficult when it comes to pricing your handmade soaps.

The theories of pricing require its separate book or a blog post. But as a general rule of thumb, I go by the following principle:

Price your product 10% more than the average price point of your niche.

Then, as a cross-check, that price should match 3 times the cost of your tangible raw materials.

These simple tactics would ensure that your soap making business remains successful.

But you must nail down #2 and #4 prior to pricing your soaps.
The Handmade Business Plan worksheet in my Shop can help you with that.

Burlap Wrapped Handmade Soap

Dress them Well
Packaging is crucial to brand your soaps. Many first time buyers make an impression of your soaps through your packaging.
Hence, it is important to get it right.
Handmade soap makers are in luck when it comes to pricing. That is because organic chemical-free soap niche associates itself with minimal packing. You should thank Lush cosmetics for pioneering this trend.

So, you can even use burlap or recycled newspaper for packaging. This way you also add the nature-friendly elements to your soaps.

Identify Best Places to Sell Handmade Soap
To have a successful soap-making business, you must sell all the soaps you create. Though it is easier said than done.
Depending upon your operational and technology skills. You can choose as many options as listed below:
  • Your own brick-and-mortar store
  • Stocking your products at other physical stores and malls
  • Your own Shopify e-commerce store
  • Selling on generic online e-commerce stores – Amazon, E-bay
  • Selling on niche e-commerce stores – Etsy, Amazon Handmade
 
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