Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more
Flint River Soap Company was inspired by my little Pineapple Broken Cake experiment and made her own totally perfect, beautiful confection. Click here to see her successful yummy cake.
We are so honored – Whip Up has included one of our fun soap tutorials on their crafty compilation site. Click here to go see the How-To on making this fun Airplane soap.
The most screamin’ deal *ever* – these adorable little candle containers are just $6. 00 for a full case of 24. These are the same glass containers from the sad candle experiment and the more successful beeswax project. We got incredibly lucky and bought them as a one-time deal from a candle company who discontinued their container line.
They hold 10 to 16 ounces of candle wax. I found that it took a full 16 oz. of beeswax to fill the candle glass but slightly less of the Soy Wax.
Buy them here (and buy them fast because they’re not a permanent addition to our line).
Also, an opportunity to improve your business: Seth Godin has a wonderful audio posted on his site hereabout marketing in 2008. If you’re busy cooking, soaping or just answering email, it’s worth streaming for the hour program.
Here are some photos of the newly cut Red Lychee Tea soap. I’m very happy with how the batch turned out, especially the dark vibrant blue.
Colors used:
Non-Bleeding Pink Pigment (liquid)
Non-Bleeding Blue Pigment (liquid)
Non-Bleeding Purple Pigment (liquid)
Sparkle Gold Mica
I roughly sketched out the Profit & Loss of this loaf on the back of a napkin. The rough economics behind this loaf of soap look like this:
COG (cost of good sold) – the price you pay for the raw materials
4 pounds soap = $7.40
2 ounces fragrance = $3.00
color = $1.30
total: $11.70 for materials
Mold: suggested retail around $30; if the old is used 30 times, this works out to $1 per use
The soap loaf makes approximately 12 bars of soap. At $5 per bar, that works out to $60-$70 retail value.
Gross profit for the loaf, sold at retail, is approximately $53. Gross profit is the retail price less the COGS (materials). Afte
If fixed costs are taken out of the Gross Profit number, such as the cost of the mold ($1), wrapping ($1), overhead ($3) and labor ($15), the net profit works out to about $33.
That’s a pretty good return for such a wondrous creative outlet of expression.
What’s a Massage Candle? It is NOT pouring burning hot wax all over your body. Taking a wild guess, this probably doesn’t sound relaxing to most of us. A massage candle is a blend of skin safe waxes, oils and a bit of fragrance that melts at a very low temperature, making it an enjoyable alternative to cold massage oils.
Massage Candles started growing in popularity in 2006 with the rise of soy wax as a mainstream paraffin wax alternative. The Massage Candle pictured at the right is one of the more economical brands on the market, selling for $10. Pricing for these unique candles goes up to $40 depending on the claims made and essential oils used. Alternate names in use for these burning amusements are Lotion Candles, Body Wax and Body Candles. Other uses for Massage Candles are a cuticle oil or an all-purpose heavy duty lotion for elbows, knees and feet.
The wax for making Massage Candles needs to be all-natural soy wax. The secret to making a Massage Melt Candle work is the low melt point of this wax.
What is a melt point? It’s the temperature at which the solid wax becomes liquid when exposed to a heat source (normally a flame).
Soy wax melts at a lower temperature than paraffin wax, making it a fit for this romantic gift. The instructions are simple: light the candle, wait 30 to 45 minutes so there is a wax pool to draw from, blow out the candle, pour the warm wax in your hand and, begin the massage.
This week on the Soap Queen blog will discuss over massage candles. We’ll make them, design some recipes and also give hints for designing your own recipes.
Last week, I met Senator Patty Murray. I was so excited to meet her, I practically hyperventilated. Senator Murray ran for office in 1992, as a “Soccer Mom in Tennis Shoes” and has slowly risen to a position of prominence and respect in congressional leadership roles.
Senator Murray spoke to the Bellingham Herald Editorial Board. I’m lucky enough to be on the board and found her smart, funny and poised. She answered all the questions of the Board questions quickly, with a clear grasp on a wide range of issues.
I was inspired by her grace, humor and brains and came away more educated on a wide range of issues.
On a more soapy note, I apologize for not posting the photos of the Red Lychee Teasoap yet. I’m traveling this weekend and the photos are locked up in my computer at work. I will do my best to post them Sunday and also start the Massage Candle Tutorial.
When pouring layers in melt and pour soap, sometimes the temperature is too cool between layers. This is one of the more common causes of layers not sticking together. But getting the temperature right is tricky. Too warm and the soap will melt through the bottom layer. Too cool and the layers will not adhere.
If this happens to you, there is an easy fix. Watch the video above to see a new bond being formed between the two layers.
To answer the musings of a Soap Queen commenter here, Oprah has made soap. And, she got to learn from the Queen of Crafts herself, Martha Stewart.
Phew. It would have been tragic for Oprah to not have experienced the fun of soapmaking. After all, soap is a consumable art form that brings in all the senses. Now, if we could only convince Oprah to graduate her soapmaking skills and move onto Jelly Roll Soaps or the Ducky Embedding Soap.
Sigh. A girl can dream, can’t she?
Notice the air lock releasing during the unmold; you can tell by the white color that moves up the side of the soap. If the air lock hasn’t been broken, you can push and push with all of your might and the soap won’t release. Before attempting to unmold any soap, be sure to gently pull back on all of the sides of the mold prior to pushing to break the air lock.
The nice thing about this flexible silicone mold is the ease of unmolding. We have a lot more testing to do to ensure that it will hold up to the rigors of regular use. I already notice just a little bit of “bowing” in the plastic. A little bowing is to be expected. If the mold is flexible enough to release the soap easily, it’s a fairly soft material that won’t maintain a completely rigid line.
FeedBlitz Email Subscribers: I’m sorry you won’t be able to see this video in your Email Daily Digest. But, if you click on the link and go to the Soap Queen site, you can see this video and the humorous Mandles Candles video from earlier today.
We just got in a new Limited Edition fragrance at Bramble Berry and I am enamored with it. It should be up on the web site next week.
Lychee is a popular fruit enjoyed extensively in Vietnam, China and Thailand. It is gaining in popularity in the US in food and I love it in this blend because of its intriguing exotic fruity sweet note. It has a subtle nuance of dew fruit and a unique finish that makes your mouth pucker and water at the same time. Mixed with Red Tea (also known as Rooibos), this blend finishes with the white florals of geranium and lily.
When my dear husband smelled it, he said, “Yum, it smells like Fruit Punch.” Make that a sophisticated, slightly tart Fruit Punch and he’s hit the nail on the head.
Look for photos of the first cut of the loaf soap and a video later today.
This is a short video showing the final layer being poured in the loaf soap. Notice that a very thin layer has formed on the top of the soap. The loaf soap has been cooling for approximately 2 minutes. The teal soap is very viscous and thick. It is within a minute from setting up completely.
The thicker the melt and pour soap is, the better it keeps a distinct swirl.
When making melt and pour logs, it’s always suspenseful waiting for the first cut. Here is what the soap from last night turned out like.
I’m pretty happy with the results (though definitely see room for improvement). I’m doing more testing tonight using our non-bleeding colors and our brand new economy soap base. I’ll be sure to post photos.
This is a short video showing the final layer being poured in the loaf soap. Notice that a very thin layer has formed on the top of the soap. The loaf soap has been cooling for approximately 2 minutes. The teal soap is very viscous and thick. It is within a minute from setting up completely.
The thicker the melt and pour soap is, the better it keeps a distinct swirl.
We got the prototype for our new flexible loaf molds in. I had lots of fun testing it last night.
The loaf uses Red Blue Mica, Sparkle Gold Mica, Dark Purple LabColor, Teal Labcolor and Canary Labcolor for the various swirled layers. All of the colors are done in Olive Oil Melt and Pour except the Teal Labcolor, which is in Shea Melt and Pour.
The soap is fragranced with Jeweled Citrus (discontinued), Rise and Shine, Mango Mango and just the teensiest touch of Turkish Mocha. It smells great and I can’t wait to cut it!
Watch for the big reveal later today.
Have a question about this blog post? Come join us at Bramble Berry’s Facebook page and we can help you out with any of your soapy questions!
In the spirit of sharing, I offer up one of my less brilliant ideas. One of the Yahoo Groups I belong to was agonizing over slowing herbal bath tea bag sales. Thinking I might have something to add to the conversation, I took a bunch of random supplies home and tried to reinvent Bath Tea for the current market. I made a bath fizzy in a tea bag. Then, for good measure, I added salt. And because that looked bland, black tea went into the mix as well.
Check out the two videos with the um, “results.” And then, don’t try this at home.
FeedBlitz subscribers: you’ll need to visit the site to see the videos. They don’t display in your email. Sorry.