If you are stuck at home during the coronavirus and want to save a little bit of money, or just do something fun, you can create your own soap. You will need an immesion blender to emulsify the oils and a digital scale to measure the weight of the soap. You’ll also need a mixing bowl to mix the oils together and a spatula to scrape the oils out. You also will need a double boiler or a microwave if you plan on including something like cocoa butter into the soap.
Key Takeaways:
If your kitchen is also your soap-making lab, dedicate official time and space to the creation of soap when you will not be preparing for a meal.
Create a checklist for needed ingredients, tools and specifically required steps prior to embarking on your soap-making.
Since soap-making measurements are by weight, you must have a precise digital scale for your ingredients.
“A stick or immersion blender helps to emulsify the oils and lye solution to create the soap. Doing this manually can be a long process to achieve trace, but thankfully the immersion blenders on the market that have made this job so much easier.”
Some people are wary about creating cold process soap, but the recipe is simple, and can even be environmentally friendly. Not only does the recipe eliminate the use of palm oil, which can be harmful for nature, but it also uses recycled molds. The main ingredients involved are sodium hydroxide, distilled water, coconut oil, Shea butter, olive oil, and castor oil. After the soap has been created, it’s important to give it a cure time of at least twenty-eight days before use.
Key Takeaways:
Soap making can be expensive, so the fewer ingredients you use, the more money you’ll save.
Many soap recipes include oils and butters that are naturally a deep yellow or even greenish-yellow in color.
If having pure white bars is important for you, make sure to use pomace olive oil instead of extra virgin olive oil in the recipe.
“I know that a lot of people are hesitant to make cold process soap so I’ve made the recipe as easy to follow as possible. It includes only four soap making oils, water, and Sodium hydroxide. No fragrance, no additives, nothing extra.”
Self-care and the beauty industry have been on the rise in recent years, and with the advent of the internet, homemade soap makers have the opportunity to turn their hobby into a business. There are a few initial investments like dyes, oils, molds, and pigments, but soap makers should first focus on investing in a quality hand blender. Once created, the products can be displayed online or at corporate events. Also, it’s important to understand that each state has their own health standards that soap makers will need to comply with.
Key Takeaways:
One business sector that has grown exponentially in the last half decade is the personal care industry.
Some personal care product companies actually began as producers of soap only before segueing into a full line of care products.
Some likely expenses for would-be soap-making entrepreneurs include, mixing equipment, moulds and workshops.
“With masses becoming aware about the ingredients used to make personal care products, including soaps and shampoos, many homemade soap companies have gained traction.”
When you are figuring out how to charge more for your items, keep in mind that every amount of effort you put into your product matters and should cost a bit extra for those who are willing to pay for it. If you have an item you want to sell, don’t sell it short, that could have damaging effects for your business. People will spend more for a couple different reasons, one of them is gift giving, people don’t like to give cheap items as gifts.
Key Takeaways:
There are times when your customers are shopping for a gift and they want the recipient to know they picked out something special.
Your handmade business should not be appealing to shoppers who want the lowest price.
When shoppers want something that’s out of the ordinary, they’re willing to pay more.
“Of course, there’s a right way and a wrong way to raise prices. And I’m not suggesting you simply slap a higher price tag on existing products.”
If you want to gain a lot of customers at a farmers market then you are going to want to make your booth appealing for people to want to stop and look at what you have to sell at your booth. You will also want to make sure that your booth is separated from booths that have similar items. Figure out a way to get the word out about what you’re selling and make name for yourself that will create word of mouth by having an attractive table.
Key Takeaways:
Farmer’s markets and similar events can be an effective and inexpensive way to build brand recognition in your community.
The marketing plan you put into motion before the event at which you’ll exhibit has a significant bearing on the amount of success your business will have at the event itself.
Your booth should make every person who walks by want to stop and browse your selection.
“Social media networks like Facebook allow you to create paid campaigns based on your budget and make it easy to target audiences based on location and interests so you can expose prospects who may be likely to attend the event to your brand beforehand”