[su_divider top=”no” divider_color=”#d0d0d0″]how much interest is there?
At the time of writing this article Goolge trends shows a healthy interest in homemade soap over the last 12 months worldwide 
Having checked places like Amazon, Etsy and even Ebay it’s quite clear that there is a market for this type of product.
So now we know there’s a buying public, how are you going to make it?[su_divider top=”no” divider_color=”#d0d0d0″]
what do you need to make soap?
First off you need to know how to make the soap in the first place and if you don’t there is plenty of information out there to get you started and i’ve included a link to a soap making site in case you need it, click here
The ingredients that you need are going to differ depending on what type of soap you want to make, but as a basic starter soap you are going to need at least
- Olive Oil
- Coconut Oil
- Palm Oil
- Lye
- Distilled Water
Again there are plenty more recipes online.
The equipment you are going to need is pretty much the same for any recipe and what you’d find in any home kitchen, but just remember once you’ve used an item for soap making then that’s it you can’t use it again for anything else, here’s a small list of what they are:
- Kitchen Scales
- soapmaking thermometer
- measuring jug
- simple moulds (margaine tubs?)
- mixing containers
- hand blender
- spoons/spatulas
- not forgetting the all important safety equipment, googles, gloves and an apron :)[su_divider top=”no” divider_color=”#d0d0d0″]
the process
There are three types of soap making process:
- Cold Process Method
- Hot Process Method
- Melt and Pour Method
The Melt and Pour method is probably the easiest of all the methods and the one that most beginners…well begin with, mainly because you’re working with a premade base and it cuts out alot of the waiting that you get with the other ones.
You simply cut off the amount you want to use, melt and add any fragrance that you want and pour into a mould of your choice. Simple.[su_divider top=”no” divider_color=”#d0d0d0″]
where to sell
There are a number of places to sell your lovely handcrafted soap:
- Craft fairs
- Farmers Markets
- Festivals
- icraft gifts
- Made it Myself
- Etsy
- Handmade at Amazon
- Ebay
- Your Own Website/Blog ( i can help you with that 🙂 )
- Local Boutiques
- Social Media
- Spas
- And so on…..[su_divider top=”no” divider_color=”#d0d0d0″]
can you make money?
Absolutely!…how much is going to depend on how much YOU want to make. Let me put it another way, wanting to make money isn’t enough, you have to have the drive and determination to make it work and that holds true for any venture you decide to embark on not just making soap.
With all the examples i gave you above you have no excuse for not having anywhere to sell your product.
You will obviously need to price accordingly, but don’t be afraid of price, if your product is great premium product then that should be reflected in the price. You will get people who don’t want to pay a premium price, but you will also get the people or businesses that will pay that.
It all depends what area of the market you’re looking to get into.[su_divider top=”no” divider_color=”#d0d0d0″]
final thoughts
For the creative people out there this is a great addition to your handmade inventory, as a standalone business i’m not so sure. If you already have a client base to go to they will be familiar with your quality of work and that will make it much easier for them to take on your new venture, for new customers you may want to give them a few samples so they can see for themelves what a great product you have.
If you are going to get into soap making to make money then be prepared for some hard work as this screen shot shows
One thing to remember is it’s not just the making of the soap, it’s the whole show, from making, packaging, marketing, delivering and handling customer service because without good customer service you’re not going to get a lot of repeat custom which in this line of work you really do need.
If that seems like to much work then why not try promoting it instead? Make use of the affiliate programs from the likes of Amazon, Etsy, Ebay to earn commissions.[su_divider top=”no” divider_color=”#d0d0d0″]
Don’t know how? I’ll show you, just click the banner below
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Are you a ‘soaper’ or know someone who is? Thinking of becoming one? Let me know your thoughts below
Wow this is great information for making soap!! I had considered it in the past, but figured it was either too difficult or expensive to even try. I find with my allergies I have a lot of trouble with soaps on the market, so maybe this is the way to go for me. Even if just for personal use. But who doesn’t love to make money lol. Maybe if I make a good enough one, it would sell. Is there a big market for homemade soap? Or with all of the other products available does that drive the appeal down? Great information either way, thanks 🙂
Yeah the soaps on the market today can contain a lot of ingredients that don’t always agree with our skin so if you can make your own you’re going to know exactly what is going into it. Just remember that if you have allergies then you can bet your bottom dollar that there’s many many more who could benefit from a homemade soap, who knows you might even become a household name 🙂 You just have to have a great usp to compete with the others.
I played around with the idea of making soap before. Not even necessarily to sell, but to just make for myself. The resources you provided are great and I learned a lot.
I like your idea of adding this type of product to your current line up of products – maybe not as a stand along business.
Do you think it would be easier to create the soap and sell or promote handmade soaps as an affiliate?
I personally think that working as an affiliate would be the better option simply because you would then have a much bigger choice of what you could promote and of course not having to hold any stock 🙂
Thank you for this interesting post…my wife wants to start a soap-making business herself as she is doing the soap for us since a long time…but just for private use…will show her your article and it should encourage her to get on with it.
She is always the melt and pour method…but we will have a closer look at the cold press method too.
Etsy and Ebay might be a good way to start, also local markets should be great way to start…
Thank you again….was very encouraging!
That’s great, i wish her the best of luck.