How to Make Soap: Homemade Soap Making Business Ideas

Soap is one of the most useful items used for home wash. It is used to wash our body, hands, dishes, cloths and dirty surfaces.

The demand for soap is increasing however there is stiff competition from major manufacturers. You can find soap of various shapes, sizes, colors and aromas. The look, smell and functionality of the product are limited by the manufacturer’s imagination.

Homemade soap making is a fun and practical way to reduce costs. It also serves as an outlet to make additional money for the family.

Before starting an enterprise develop the skill and try your local market small scale before going full scale.

The amount of funds you need is predicated on the business format and size of your operation. There are different recipe for soap because no two soap bars are the same.

However under controlled environment and proper ingredient management you will achieve the same result on a specific receipt. Soap making is technical yet easy to accomplish.

It requires good knowledge of soap making, safety equipment, and quality ingredients. You also need a workstation, funds, steady source for raw materials and licenses.

Learn How to Make Soap

You need to learn how to make soap and perfect the soap recipe. Through careful management and experimentation you can develop a good product.

Do lots of sampling, tests and reviews before choosing a formula.  Learn the craft through seminars and symposiums.

Study as an apprentice or work in a soap producing company. You may decide to hire a personal coach to teach the rudiments or skilled staff.

Other ways to gain knowledge is through online resources, ebooks and tutorials. Nothing replaces practical experience and product testing.

Registration and Licensing

Before you can sell your soap you need branding, and a license from an agency in your country that deals with standardized products. They will provide an identification number once your product is certified as safe.

You need a trade licenses, environmental protection license and insurance. Others are tax identification number and company registration.

Register your business as a sole proprietorship and get a business name. If you just want to produce a few bars and sell online or in your community no need to register a company.

Funding

The amount of money depends on the scale of your enterprise. Large factories have huge boilers, however a small one can use fabricated equipment.

Use personal savings or get soft loans from family and friends. The good thing is that the business model works both part time and full time.

Start small build a good reputation to reduce risk and capital flight.

How to Make Homemade Soap

Soap making depends on the maker and ingredients. The soap maker could use a simple recipe or include lots of additives to create a unique blend.

To create a unique bar of soap you need to measure the ingredients proportionally. Once you have achieved a soap bar you like write down the measurement.

Each ingredient is used according to the recipe to produce the same result. Accurate measurement is the key to making the same quality soap.

To make homemade soap you need an ingredient called lye. Lye is sodium hydroxide a caustic alkali that should be handled with care. 

Lye requires careful handling so you need protective gloves and eye goggles. Lye is used in crystal form in the soap making process.

It is heated up by adding the lye to water which produces heat and an unpleasant fume. Soap is made through a process of mixing certain fats with alkali. You can also make soap by using lye or pre-made melt and pour.
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Equipment

Make sure the equipment you use is strictly for making soap. The equipment you need are stainless steel bowls, styrene plastic, silicone baking pans or prefabricated soap molds. Other equipments are thermometer, weight scale or canning jar, old newspapers and a towel.

List of Equipment

Here is a list of equipment needed to produce homemade soap.

·         A Spatula

·         Plastic cups

·         Digital scale

·         Blender

·         Metal spoon

·         Wooden spoon

·         Soap molds

·         Stainless steel bowls

·         Old newspaper

·         Safety Gloves

·         A neutralizing agent like vinegar

·         Safety Goggles

Additives

The additives you need depend on the type of soap you want to produce. Common additives used to produce soap are essential oils, and herbs. You can add natural colorants and other items to your mix.

Customizing your Soap

The other items you add to your mix is what customizes the soap. There are different things manufacturers add to their soap to give the soap distinct properties.

Some use ingredients such as lavender, ground coffee for color, beet root, salts, hibiscus dry milk powder and other ingredients.

Homemade Soap Receipt

Wear your safety gear such as gloves, goggles and something to cover the nose. Make sure your work area is well ventilated because of the fumes.

Measure your lye and slowly pour into water and stir. Mix oils and heat in a double stainless steel pot with water.

Before you add the oil to the lye make sue both cool to about 100 degrees. Pour oil into bowl and slowly add the lye and stir the mix manually or with an immersion blender for 5 minutes.

Once you achieve a clear white consistency and add your additives such as herbs and color. Stir thoroughly and pour into soap molds and cover with plastic wraps.

Wrap in towel or cloth to encourage the sponification process. Allow it to sit for 24 hours to remove heat and get a firm and cold product.

Cut your bar with a fabricated soap cutter once it has set and brand. It takes about one month for the soap to cure and safe to use.

Within that period turn the bar to expose all the sides to atmospheric air. Once cured keep your soap in airtight container for best results. Don’t forget to clean up your equipment by neutralizing the lye with vinegar.

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If you don’t want to handle lye try melt and Pour Base. The method is easy and reduces the risk of using lye directly.

Here are a few steps to making your soap using melt and pour

Buy high quality melt and pour base and cut into chunks. Melt the soap base by using either a double boiler or microwave.

Follow the instructions carefully to achieve a good blend. Then add essential oils and perfume when the soap cools.

If you want a colored soap add a soap dye for color. There are many liquid soap colorants in the market try a few.

The last step is stir the melt soap and additives to get a good consistency. Make sure there are no air pockets or bubbles in your mixture. Pour the soap into a mold and cover.

Build a website

If you want to sell online you need a dedicated website for your products. Highlight your products with images, description and properties.

Make sure your prices are competitive and fair. For online payment use a merchant account or a PayPal account by adding a shopping cart.

 Marketing

Soap business is saturated and has many players. You need lots of effective marketing to reach your customers.

Create promotional materials such as flyers, business cards, posters and billboards. Sell through electronic media, and online. 

Use classified advertisement, yellow pages and directories. Sell your products at flee markets, supermarkets, fairs, festivals or the open market. Offer discounts, promotions and use commission based sales representatives.