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The business of handmade soap is
one that is ideal for the stay at home
mom. In this business, and with a good
recipe and the right ingredients, you
can spend a few hours in the kitchen
and come up with products that are
potentially worth hundreds of dollars.
People love handmade soap for many
reasons. Handmade soap is considered a
luxury when compared to cheap, mass
produced soap. Many people like buying
things that are handmade. Handmade
soap makes an inexpensive gift. Last,
but not least, handmade soap provides
the consumer with an inexpensive
pampering treat.
There are basically two approaches
to making handmade soap. Some crafters
prefer to buy premade soap bases and
customize these by adding fragrances,
colors, herbs, and other special
ingredients. This is the quick way to
start making soap. The disadvantage
with this approach is that premade
bases can be somewhat expensive, and
you are not in control of the
ingredients that are used in the base.
But for some this approach is the best
way because of its ease. Soap made
from a premade base can be ready to
sell in less than 24 hours after it
has been melted down and poured into
molds.
The other approach is to make your
soap from scratch. This is the
approach I prefer because it is more
cost effective than buying premade
bases. It also gives you complete
control over the ingredients that you
use in your products. However, this
approach is a little more time
consuming than making soap from a
premade base. Soap made from scratch
must be cured (allowed to air dry)
before it can be used on the skin.
This takes about four weeks. However,
when it is ready to use you will have
an all natural soap that is very
popular in today's world. More and
more consumers are seeking products
made from natural ingredients. Making
soap from scratch will allow you to
offer them just that.
Whether you make soap from a
premade base or from scratch you will
have to do some homework. If you make
soap from a base you should do some
research to find a base that has
ingredients you are comfortable with
and that produces a bar of soap you
like. If you make soap from scratch
you will need to try out different
recipes or possibly develop your own
after you learn how to make soap. Most
soap makers start out with one or two
recipes they like and refine their
techniques and recipes as time goes
on.
In the United States you need to be
aware of what the government requires
of sellers. As long as you are not
making any claims about your soap
other than saying it cleanses the
body, you do not have to follow the
Food and Drug Administration's
requirements for labeling cosmetics.
However, if you give any cosmetic
claim to your soap, it is defined as a
cosmetic, and has to be labeled as
such. For information about the Food
and Drug Administration visit http://www.FDA.gov.
Copyright 2005, Ololade Franklin.
Ololade Franklin publishes Making
Good Scents(TM), the newsletter of
handcrafted cosmetics, soaps and
perfumes. For information about Making
Good Scents(TM) visit http://www.MakingGoodScents.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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