How to Make Dishwasher Soap

Making your own Dishwasher Soap is very easy. I have very hard water and have struggled to find a good dishwasher soap that cleans my dishes without leaving residue. Once I learned how to make dishwasher soap, I was finally a happy women. I use this dishwasher soap and I put vinegar in the rinse area of my dishwasher and my dishes look sparkly. Better yet I do not have to worry about harsh chemicals going down my drain.
Here is how you make your own dishwasher soap:
Mix together 2 cups baking soda and 1 1/2 cups borax. Fill the soap dispenser with this mixture for each wash. Fill the rinse dispenser with vinegar.

How to Package Soap Part 1

The next few posts will share some thoughts on packaging soap. There are many different thoughts to consider:
the time it takes to package your soap
the extra expense involved in packaging your soap
the look you want your finished product to have
how will you label your soap
will your packaging withstand shipping in the mail or handling by customers in a store
will your packaging hold up well with time in storage
There are probably other thoughts to consider as well, but these are the main ideas that I will touch base on in the next few posts.

Time is a major factor for packaging for the small entrepreneur. When I first began making soap to sell, I did not realize that packaging my soap would take almost as long as making the soap itself. I had a specific look I was trying to acheive with clear, gusseted, polyethelene bags and ribbons. By the time I put the bar of soap into the bag, twisted the top of the bag so it looked good, cut a piece of ribbon, tied it in a bow, and attached a label on the back side of the wrapper, it took a good half a minute to wrap each bar of soap. I soon discovered that I didn't have enought hours in a day to do this myself. Time is a factor to consider in putting together an idea for packaging.

I have seen other individuals wrap their bars in fabric and then put a label around that. This also seems to be a very time consuming idea. First cut the fabric, then wrap it around the soap so it looks nice, then attach a label around that and either tape or glue it. Besides the time it takes, I also do not like the fact that my beautiful bar of soap is all covered up and it cannot be seen. Part of the joy in creating soap is creating beautiful bars that contain interesting colors or items in the soap.

I have seen just a paper wrapped around the outside of the soap, but I have also seen that paper turn icky in storage or at a craft show that may be outdoors with high humidity. No one wants to buy a nice bar of soap that has a yucky label on it.

I have a friend who used to package her soap, then changed to selling it without packaging. This was ideal, except that she took the time to trim every sharp edge off the bar of soap. This, again, is time consuming. I tried doing that as well, but I really didn't like the fact that I was shaving weight off my bar of soap and the sharp edges became soft themselves with only one or two uses.

So.....what is a good option? Perhaps, depending on your market....try NO packaging and just bag up the soap your customers purchase in a brown paper lunch bag. The benfits would include:
passing a saving on to your customer, or producing a bigger profit margin for yourself.
saving your self a lot of time
being a better steward of resources by not using needless packaging
minimizing how much you have to label. You can put together one brochure that gets included with every purchase that lists ingredients you use and the benefits of your soaps

If you find you MUST use some packaging on your soap -- for instance because you are selling it retail -- it would be a benefit to PAY someone (like a young teenager who is willing to work for peanuts!) to do this for you! This will free you up to be more productive with your own time.

After all....TIME is the ONE thing we all have the same amount of.
Use yours wisely!

How to Make Confetti Soap

One year I wanted learn...
How to Make Confetti Soap

While I was visiting a friend -- fellow soap maker -- I noticed a pretty soap that she had curing. She told me how she made hers and I went home with the intension of creating something that looked like hers. That is not what happened however. It is funny how many things go into making soap and how, if just one part of the process isn't right, it can change the entire batch!

This is how I made confetti soap.


I took my most basic non-milk soap recipe and made a single batch. Prior to making it, I took melt and pour glycering soap and colored small amounts with candle colorants. I had several colors, like red, blue, green, yellow, purple, pink, etc. I cut the small colored glycerine soap into tiny chunks, like diced potatoes, and had them ready. When I was ready to pour my cold process soap into a large wooden loaf mold, I poured it in and immediately poured the glycerine chunks in. I stirred them with my spoon to incorporate well and let it saponify. You have to be careful not to overflow your mold or have a second mold ready if you think you may need two molds instead of one (because the volume of your soap INCREASES when you add the glycerine chunks).

I expected to get a beautiful white soap with chunks of color in it. But this is what happened. I put a holiday fragrance in the soap, not knowing that there was some vanilla in the fragrance oil. The soap turned TAN!!! with colorful chunks. Now I have to admit that I was disappointed, but the soap really did look beautiful. It was just different than what I was expecting. It sold very well, but I never made it that way again.

Some of my best selling soaps looked different than what I was anticipating, but when I changed them to what I actually WANTED, they didn't sell as well, so I went back to the "mistake" that originally occurred.

A note for those of you who may want to learn how to make a confetti soap. If the soap doesn't get used within the first 6 - 9 months, the colorants begin to bleed into the rest of the soap. So don't make this soap unless you can sell it right after it cures. Also, tell your customers not to display it too long before using.

I think this confetti soap is beautiful! It makes a great Christmas Soap!

If you would like to see how to make soap you can check out my new DVD Basic Soap Making at How to Make Confetti Soap

Benefits of Goat Milk Soap

Why would you choose to use Goat Milk Soap? What are the benefits compared to regular soap? Well, first, there is a huge difference between commercial and handcrafted soap – more on that in a different post. But why would you choose homemade goat milk soap over other homemade soaps? It’s simple really. Milk soaps have the following qualities:

• Milk has historically been used for its moisturizing properties. That is why it is so luxurious to take a milk bath. Cleopatra was known for her exquisite skin and the famous milk baths she took daily.
• Milk contains lactic acids. One of these acids is Alpha Hydroxy which is known to regenerate the skin and make it look younger and fresher.
• Goat milk has a higher fat count in it than other milks. This makes for a very creamy and enriching bar of soap.
• Goat milk has a PH that is closer to our natural skin PH. This is kinder to our skin.
  People who suffer from allergies and skin problems are frequent users of goat milk soap. I cannot claim that goat milk soap heals these problems, but it does not further aggravate them.

So you can see, there are a tremendous number of benefits with goat milk soap.

I put together a soap making tutorial that features how to make goat milk soap with oatmeal . The primary reason I featured Goat Milk Soap with Oatmeal is that it was my Number 1 best-selling soap (and I have been selling soap for over 6 years). Most of my other soaps were vegetable based, but the Goat Milk Soap outsold the others substantially. If you are interested in learning the art of soap making, check out my website.

Supplies to Make Goat Milk Soap

Do you wonder what supplies you need to make goat milk soap? The Supplies to Make Goat Milk Soap are only one of the benefits you will receive when you purchase my new soap making tutorial. I know I had a ton of trials and errors before I figured out exactly what I needed in terms of Supplies to Make Goat Milk Soap. How big did the mold need to be? How much soap would a recipe make? How can I be successful working with milk in soapmaking? These are just a few questions that are answered right in front of your eyes as you watch over my shoulder. I will teach you how to make goat milk soap with oatmeal right in my own kitchen (and backyard). Check out my website at how to make goat milk soap with oatmeal

How to Make Homemade Goat Milk Soap

If you would like to actually see how to make homemade goat milk soap, my new video is a great place to start. I was afraid to make homemade goat milk soap after reading all the books I could find in the library. It took actually watching someone making soap before I had the confidence to try to learn how to make homemade goat milk soap for myself. My video can be that friend for you. Check out my webpage at how to make goat milk soap with oatmeal