As an handmade soap company I want to include both handmade bar soap and also handmade liquid soap. I’m almost ready to add liquid soap to the web site. The only thing holding me up is what type of bottle and labels. We are close though and I hope to have labels designed in the near future. Then it is only a matter of bottles & tops! In the meantime, I thought I’d share how I make my handmade liquid soap. The process takes a bit longer than handmade bar soap but once you get the hang of it then it is like anything else, practice makes perfect! Here is what I do.
1. Combine Melted Oils and Potassium Hydroxide on the cook top using very low heat. Stick blend. The solution emulsifies.
2. After stick blending for a bit you will feel the solution start to smooth out.
3. Then you get bubbles…big fat bubbles….
4. After the bubbles comes the beginning of the taffy stage….
5. Thick taffy…
6. Before you know it you can’t stick blend anymore. The soap is too thick and won’t budge. I take a big stainless spoon at this point and flip the paste around. Turn your burner off. I used to cook the paste on the stove top in a rigged up double boiler. What a mess this used to make. Remember you are cooking the soap paste for several hours. So now, I just turn my oven on to 185 degrees, put a lid on the pot and cook the paste in the oven.
7. This is the paste at 3 hours. When I first started making liquid soap I read to cook it for 3 hours. Well.. that is definitely not enough time for my paste. I cook for several hours until I get a good translucent gel. When I say several hours I really mean it. I’m talking 12 or more. This has saved me a lot of frustration.
8. Here is the liquid soap paste ready to be diluted. It’s perfect! Can you see the difference?
Popularity: 24% [?]
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With LOTS of calendula flowers that’s how. Calendula has so many wonderful skin care properties that it just begs to be put into handmade soap. Every year, I grow a garden patch of calendula, pluck off the flower heads every morning and dry them. Once dried the petals are pulled and put into bags for future use. The dried flowers can be made into an herbal infusion which makes an excellent addition to handmade soap bars and is one herb that retains its natural color through the soap making process. The dried flowers yield a beautiful soft yellow to handmade soap bars. Take a look at the Pearberry soap we make. It has ground up and whole calendula petals in it and is very popular with both retail and wholesale soap customers.
Popularity: 28% [?]
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Here is a new handmade soap made in the past couple of weeks. It’s scented with a simple but perfect blend of Virgina Cedarwood and Lavender essential oils and has a fabulous woodsy aroma making it a perfect handmade soap gift for that special man in your life. Sometimes simple is best! Coming soon!
Popularity: 29% [?]
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I’ve gone ahead and ordered more custom molds specifically for one ounce handmade soap bars sized for hotels, bed and breakfast inns, and bulk wedding favors. I’m so excited. These will make a great addition to my collection of molds and they are silicone! Yippee! Got to be a soapmaker to appreciate the ease of silicone molds. They are simply wonderful. So easy to use and a breeze to clean. I love making handmade soap with them! Check out Woodfields. Larry will make custom sized silicone molds. I get mine in about a month and can’t wait!
Popularity: 27% [?]
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Well, it’s the second weekend setting up a sales booth for my handmade soap company at the Portland Saturday Market and boy am I out of my comfort zone. First problem, getting there and not getting lost. 2nd problem, hauling booth, displays and product in without getting exhausted before the market opens. Third problem, how to set things up in an 8 x 8 stall instead of the standard 10 x 10. There is a huge difference between a 10 x 10 space and a 8 x 8 space. Saturday, we were going to just set tables up for the handmade soap right at the front of the booth, however, since we were sandwiched in between vendors I realized that I’d have to crawl under the tables to get out! Not fun! I improvised and set things up as best I could but didn’t have much room for my body let alone a chair, storage boxes and extra product. I also felt like I was in a cave since both vendors on either side of me had curtains up. So Saturday evening, I went home and pulled out some 2 x 4 tables, along with a couple of smaller tables and did a quick mock up of something I thought might work better. I’ve got alot of different handmade soap bars to sell and this set up worked in a way but still needs work. Customers were drawn to the handmade soaps up front but had to be shown the handmade soaps on the smaller table. Oh well….I know what I’ll be working on this week!
Popularity: 33% [?]
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It’s with a heavy heart that we have moved the weekend market operations of our handmade soap company from the Vancouver Farmers Market to the Portland Saturday Market. This was a tough decision to make after almost eight years, however, it is a necessary move. If you are one of our cherished regular local Vancouver customers you can still continue to buy handmade soap off of the website or by visiting our sales booth at the Portland Saturday Market. For those local Vancouver customers wishing to place orders off the website, please email us for a “Free Shipping” coupon.
Popularity: 27% [?]
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Yep, we are actively seeking to increase our line of wholesale soap and that is the reason for offering soap logs. This past winter I’ve had many requests from wholesalers wishing to purchase our handmade soap by the log so that they can cut the bars into sizes they want and add their own labels. Private label soap is a way you can add premium handmade soap to your list of products and keep the cost down. There are many terms for soap logs which include soap loaves, bricks and bulk soap. Use the “deli” approach and cut the log in front of the customer and charge by the ounce. It’s an interactive and interesting approach for the customer.
Who can benefit from offering handmade soap logs? Just about everyone. Adding quality, handmade soap to your current product line is great for:
*corporate gifts
* spas & salons
* tea houses
*boutiques & gift shops
*bookstores
*museum gift shops
*vitamin/nutrition stores
*natural product stores
*garden centers
*fundraising
*feed stores
And the list goes on….everyone loves premium luxury soap.
Popularity: 32% [?]
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One of the first questions I get from a new wholesale soap client is “What are your best selling handmade soap fragrances?” and “How do I choose, you carry so many fragrances? Let’s make it easy. You can’t go wrong having a selection of handmade bar soap that includes citrus, lavender and mint. Those simple fragrances please just about everyone. Don’t forget to include a floral like Gardenia or Plumeria and a spice like Applejack & Peel or Warm Citrus Spice. I know it can be overwhelming to choose from a large selection. Keep things simple. Start with six or eight different fragrances but include a citrus, lavender, mint, floral and spice fragrance. We have several different handmade soap bars within those categories to choose from. Enjoy the process!
Popularity: 42% [?]
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Oh I had a time today cutting a hugh batch of Lavender & Rosemary goat milk soap. I had so much to cut that the smell was overpowering and all I wanted to do was go outside and take a whiff of fresh air. I’m sure your wondering why I’d want to get away from fresh goat milk soap blended with lavender & rosemary essential oils. Let me explain. Freshly cut milk soaps have a funky smell initially which actually smells just like one of those old fashioned diaper pails you used to put baby diapers into. Oh my gosh, it’s bad! This is because the sodium hydroxide reacts with the milk protein and produces a bit of ammonia. Thank goodness the smell dissipates over a few days of sitting on the drying rack. This is because ammonia is very volatile and just evaporates off. What you have left is the lovely smell of your scented goat milk soap. All of our handmade goat milk soaps are favorites for wholesale soap customers.
Popularity: 33% [?]
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I had several batches of handmade soaps to make and had all my oils and lye solution measured out and sitting on the counter. Since I was making several batches of Oatmeal, Milk & Honey soap I had some oatmeal measured out. Well…I should NOT answer the telephone when I’m in the middle of making soap. I accidently knocked some of the pureed oatmeal over and it went right into a batch of oil that was meant for some shea butter soap. It crossed my mind that people have been asking for unscented soap so thinking quickly I added some more oatmeal along with some honey and decided to leave this particular batch of handmade soap unscented. Cut this morning it is looking quite nice. The smell is a natural oats & honey smell. I think I’ll call this soap Oats, Honey & Shea or it struck my mind while taking a photo that maybe just Simplicity will do
Popularity: 36% [?]
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