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-as of [26 JULY 2024]–
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*ELIMINATE THESE ODORS* –>
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*MASKING SCENTS* –>
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*SOAP BRANDS* –>
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*a ‘salt’ of a ‘fatty acid’*
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[consumers mainly use ‘soaps’ as ‘surfactants’ for (‘washing’ / ‘bathing’ / ‘cleaning’), but they are also used in ‘textile spinning’ + are important components of ‘lubricants’]
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(‘soaps’ for cleansing are obtained by treating ‘vegetable’ or ‘animal’ oils + ‘fats’ with a strongly ‘alkaline’ solution)
(‘fats’ + ‘oils’ are composed of ‘triglycerides’)
(3 molecules of ‘fatty acids’ attach to a single molecule of ‘glycerol’)
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(the ‘alkaline’ solution, which is often called ‘lye’ (although the term ‘lye soap’ refers almost exclusively to ‘soaps’ made with ‘sodium hydroxide’), brings about a ‘chemical reaction’ known as ‘saponification’)
(in this reaction, the ‘triglyceride fats’ first ‘hydrolyze into ‘free fatty acids’, and then these combine with the ‘alkali’ to form crude ‘soap’…)
*an ‘amalgam’ of various ‘soap salts’*
*’excess fat’ or ‘alkali’*
*water*
*’liberated glycerol’*
(aka ‘glycerin’)
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(the ‘glycerin’, a useful by-product, can remain in the ‘soap product’ as a ‘softening agent’, or be isolated for other uses)
(‘soaps’ are key components of most ‘lubricating greases’, which are usually ’emulsions’ of ‘calcium soap’ or ‘lithium soap’ and ‘mineral oil’)
(these ‘calcium’- and ‘lithium’-based greases are widely used)
(many other ‘metallic soaps’ are also useful, including those of [‘aluminium’ / ‘sodium’ / ‘their mixtures’])
(such ‘soaps’ are also used as ‘thickeners’ to increase the ‘viscosity’ of ‘oils’)
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(in ‘ancient times’, ‘lubricating greases’ were made by the addition of ‘lime’ to ‘olive oil’)
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*KNOWING REAL COST OF YOUR HANDMADE SOAP*
*LINK*
(“MODERN SOAP-MAKING”)
How much should I sell my house for?
What should a meal cost in a restaurant?
My neighbor is selling her car for $10k, so that’s what I’m going to price mine.
Um…what?!
You’d never let a random stranger on the internet price your house.
How much a meal costs depends on so many factors! And, of course, what your neighbor prices her car for has nothing to do with what your car is worth.
That’s why I do a facepalm when someone asks in our Facebook group, “What should I charge for my 4-ounce bars of handmade soap?” Or says to me, “Well, most people on Etsy charge about $6 for artisan soap, so that’s what I’m going to charge.” That is not the way the owner of a sustainable business goes about pricing handmade soap!
What really matters when pricing your soap
Here’s what does matter:
How much your soap costs to make
If your business can pay you fair wages
That you can afford advertising, education, outsourcing, and other overhead
Pricing your soap to be profitable for the long haul
If your pricing is target market tested and approved
(Want guidance on pricing handmade soap that is super specific to your products, your niche, and your goals? Join Next Level Society and snag our pricing workbook and make your business dreams a reality…with the profit to match.)
We often hear business owners say they can’t afford to do xyz to grow their business because they are only making enough to cover restocking supplies. What a dreadful cycle to be trapped in! A little sleuthing reveals that they have only considered the cost of their supplies (if that) when pricing their handmade soap.
You have to know the real cost of your handmade soap before you even think about setting a price. And that means calculating your cost of materials, your labor costs, and your overhead expenses.
Adding up the cost of your soap supplies
Let’s say we make soap in roughly 50-pound blocks. We’ll utilize Brambleberry’s Lots of Lather Quick Mix (for the sake of easy math). And, for this little guide to the true cost of your handmade soap, we’re going to work with our Soothing Lavender Soap product (which is completely and totally a figment of my imagination).
35 pounds of Lots of Lather Quick Mix is now listed at $106.50. Shipping costs an additional $32.08. So our total cost for base oils is $138.58. According to Brambleberry’s website, you need 80.6 ounces of lye and 185 ounces of water to turn that 35 lbs. of Lots of Lather Quick Mix into soap.
If we ordered the lye from Brambleberry, it would cost $30 + $12.73 shipping for six pounds. We only need a little more than five pounds, so lye ends up costing us $35.61.
If we ordered lavender 40/42 essential oil from Brambleberry in five-pound quantities, the current cost is $280.00. However, the shipping is an extra $12.50. Bringing the total cost of five pounds of lavender 40/42 to $292.50. With a usage rate of 3%, we’d need 24 oz. for a 50 lb batch of soap. So our essential oil cost rings in at $87.84.
Onwards, to our distilled water! We need 185 oz. of distilled water. (And there are 128 oz. in a gallon). It’s $1.79 per gallon at a local grocer, bringing our water cost to $2.59.
So, our materials cost for 50 lbs. of Soothing Lavender Soap, scented with Lavender 40/42 with no color added is $264.62. We’ll say 50 lbs. of soap yields us 150 bars of 4.5 oz soap after curing and trimming. That makes our raw materials bar cost $1.76 each.
Don’t eat unexpected costs
Did you notice that I calculated shipping for each ingredient individually? That’s not a mistake on my part. If you run out of lavender essential oil and need to order it alone, I want you to be prepared for that extra shipping cost. It will happen, I promise you. It’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to figuring your cost of goods sold (COGS).
If you are making special trips to pick up supplies, make sure you factor in your time and mileage. Although shipping costs seem high, for most supplies, having them delivered to your door is the least expensive choice. To keep things simple for this example we will say I grab distilled water on my weekly grocery run.
Don’t forget packaging costs!
For packaging costs, let’s do a custom printed soap box. My most recent order from Your Box Solution totaled out to $0.52 per box after shipping. So we’ll go with that, bringing our total material + packaging cost to $2.28 per bar.
Surprisingly, many soapers stop here (if they even get this far) in the costing process. They will tell you their profit is anything they make beyond reimbursing themselves for their cost of materials. But, that’s just not true!
Now, it’s time to hit labor in the face
Would you support a business that routinely refused to pay its employees? No. Then why would you put up with anything less from your own company? A sustainable business pays its workers a fair wage. Period.
Let’s say it takes an hour to weigh ingredients, melt the oils, and make the soap from start to finish. In addition, we’ll need another hour to cut the soap and package it into boxes. In my opinion, production should never be calculated at less than $20/hour. I would never want a minimum wage worker making my products, and I would never want to pay myself minimum wage. So that makes the labor cost of your handmade soap on a batch $40, right?
Wrong.
Labor costs more than just the amount of money the employee takes home. There are benefits, the cost of doing payroll, and taxes. Depending on the situation, this can add 10 to 20% to the hourly wage. We’ll go with the middle road and use 15%, bringing our hourly wage cost for production to $23 per hour. Two hours of labor means $46 to produce 150 bars. That makes our labor cost $0.31 per bar.
(Even if you don’t have employees now, you want to make room in your pricing in case you want to hire them later.)
Let’s add that to our current costs: $2.28 + $0.31 = $2.59 per bar.
But that’s not all, y’all!
And then there is overhead cost of your handmade soap…
You have to spend money to make money. Overhead is the money you spend running your business. A lot of factors go into that number – from rent and utilities to advertising and education. And so much more.
Students tell us all the time that they make soap in their homes, so they don’t have rent or utilities. No, no, no, no! You do have rent and utility expenses. Your biz just isn’t paying for them. Figure out how much of your personal costs are being utilized by your biz. The hold your biz accountable. (And, if your biz needs its own space in the future, the cash for that is already figured into your pricing.)
Also, we see so many soapmakers skimping on the overhead expenses that make the biggest difference in boosting their bottom line, especially marketing and education. That is a false economy. Did you know that you should be spending roughly 20% of your operating expenses on marketing when your biz is in a growth phase? Our students are well aware of that because they invested in education. You have to plan for those expenses if you want to expand your business!
Trade organization dues, product liability insurance, market fees, travel costs, website maintenance, advertising, and donations also all fall under overhead expenses.
What if you are in start-up mode?
Ideally, you will have a solid budget and have your overhead costs down pat. But, especially when you are starting out, that’s a challenge. Even if you don’t have a handle on specifics, don’t neglect to figure in overhead costs when pricing your soap. Start with 15% of your product costs and keep detailed records so that you can make adjustments when you run the numbers for next year.
So, that brings the per bar cost of your handmade soap to $2.98 for amazingly luscious best ever Soothing Lavender Soap. Surprised?
A note about COGS
Keep in mind that figuring out your cost of goods sold for pricing is going to look different than your COGS for accounting and tax purposes. Figuring your cost of goods sold for pricing is about estimating, planning, and padding for situations like being on the hook for extra shipping charges. But, figuring your COGS for accounting means recording what you actually spend. (And you are bound by tax laws on whether or not you can account for your own labor, how to figure business use of space in your home, etc. So, enlist a pro, like a CPA, to give you a hand if you need it.)
Bringing costs down
Once you know the real cost of your handmade soap, you might realize that making soap is costing you way more than you thought! Our example above could certainly have some costs trimmed to make it more economical to produce.
Save cash on supplies
Soapmakers who have done their due diligence have their raw material cost of handmade soap per bar down to $1 or less, especially if they are making 50-pound blocks of soap. If you aren’t there yet, here are some tips.
Order in bulk in the largest sizes you can afford, store, and utilize in a reasonable time.
Order as much as possible in a single supply order to limit shipping costs.
Shop around to find the best price for the best quality.
Have backup suppliers for each ingredient.
Only buy supplies for products that you currently manufacture or are in active research and development (R&D).
Switch to true wholesale suppliers rather than companies that serve hobbyists.
Reduce your labor costs
Time is money. Get more done in less time.
Produce the largest batches that make sense for your business. You only have to expend a bit more effort to make 50 pounds of soap rather than 5 pounds.
Don’t waste time on intricate soap designs. That’s thinking like a hobbyist rather than an entrepreneur.
Create Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) so that you aren’t reinventing the wheel every time you step up to the soap pot.
Organize your space efficiently so that your production is streamlined and you don’t misplace (and rebuy) supplies.
Outsource tasks that can be done better/cheaper/quicker by someone else. (If you currently print your own labels, that’s a great place to start.)
Audit your overhead
Look at all of your overhead expenses during your year-end review and planning session. There is no need to retain that software license or renew that trade organization membership if you are not benefiting from the cash outlay.
Handmade soap pricing basics
With a cost of $2.98 per bar, if we set the retail price for our Soothing Lavendar Soap at $5 per bar, and wholesale keystone at $2.50, we aren’t making money – we are losing money. Even at $6 per bar retail ($3 per bar wholesale), that’s a $0.02 per bar profit.
Um, that’s nuts!
Personally, I figure out my total COGS and multiply that times two to hit an idea of the bare minimum price I want to sell for. My bare minimum price is the furthest discount I ever want to give. It’s less than my wholesale price so I can offer incentives like opening order discounts and temporary price reductions to new wholesale accounts.
Don’t want to wholesale your soap?
Maybe you aren’t interested in wholesaling. So, you don’t really care if keystone wholesale pricing is profitable. Well, okay, but what happens if you decide you want to get into wholesale later? Or you grow large enough that you decide you want to open a storefront? You won’t be able to afford to take those steps to improve your business, because you didn’t leave any space in your pricing.
In order to wholesale successfully… Scratch that. In order to run a biz successfully, it is essential to know your costs so you can price your products properly. That’s square one. If you are guessing at your expenses, it’s time to pick up the calculator and work out the true cost of your handmade soap. (Or, even better, finally get your inventory and costing software up and running.)
(Looking for more information on wholesaling successfully? Read up on why anyone should wholesale their soap, the bare bones basics of what they need to wholesale, and the words they need to know in building their wholesale program.)
A real life example
To illustrate pricing once you have scaled up to bulk buying from wholesale suppliers a bit better, I picked a 4.5-ounce soap out of my contract manufacturing history. Here’s the math:
Raw material cost = $0.73
Custom box = $.52
Labor = $.31
Overhead = $.23
Cost = $1.79 per bar
Bar minimum price = $3.58
Wholesale price = $4.25
Retail price = $8.50
And you know what? That bar actually ended up retailing for $12. Because pricing handmade soap is not just about the cost of your handmade soap. There’s so much more to the equation!
Personally, I’d rather offer a stable price and not have to hit my customers with an unexpected escalation in situations where crops do poorly (olive oil, anyone?), so I subscribe to the APP mantra: always pad pricing. Round the heck up. Tally 20% overhead. Give yourself $30 an hour. Multiply by 3 to reach wholesale. Do whatever you need to do to make sure you have a cushion before you need it.
Soap has killer tight profit margins. It really does. If olive oil jumps in price by 30%, what will your bottom line look like?
What if the market won’t bear what I price my handmade soap?
If you only knew how much of a hot button question that is for me!
Recently, I surveyed a happy chunk of soap makers. I asked them to divulge their retail pricing per ounce of soap. And I was completely blown away by the results. 21% surveyed said they charge less than $1.25 per ounce. Another 64% said they charge $1.25 to $1.50 an ounce. That’s 85% of the 300 soapers surveyed.
I haven’t charged less than $1.75 per ounce retail in years. And to add a little fuel to the fire: all the soapmakers I know who have employees and count soap as their bread and butter (not a supplemental product)? They charge at least $1.50 per ounce retail for their artisan soap. Why is that? They know their cost of goods sold down to the penny, my friend. And they know that to big part of being a successful entrepreneur is being profitable!
Advice from the trenches
I shared this tidbit of soap pricing advice with a soapmaker (Hi, Melissa!) who was worried about pricing herself out of the market:
If your market won’t bear what you price your handmade soap, find a new target market, superstar. It’s out there. Otherwise, this soap wouldn’t exist. Neither would this one. The same goes for hundreds of other soaps on the market! (Plus, when you sell a product with a higher profit margin at lower quantities, you make more money for less work!)
And yanno what? If you aren’t interested making a living by soap slingin’, that’s completely your prerogative. Being an entrepreneur is not for everyone. It’s fine to just enjoy your hobby. But, if you want to make a go at building a soap business, for the love of YOU and the amazingly talented soapmaker you are, pretty please, don’t sell yourself short when pricing your handmade soap.
Want to build your own soapy success story, but aren’t sure where to start?
One of the most common mistakes that soapmakers make when starting a soap business is diving in before taking stock of the details.
Owning a soap business isn’t easy, and there’s no cakewalk to be seen!
This free workbook will give you a strong foundation to build your soap biz on so it can withstand tornado-strength challenges rather than crumbling under a light breeze.
By signing up for this free workbook, you’ll also snag weekly advice on building a successful soap biz directly in your inbox.
www.modernsoapmaking.com /blog/knowing-real-cost-products/
Know the True Cost of Your Handmade Soap
14-18 minutes
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*RISKS OF USING HAND SANITIZER*
*LINK*
(“LIFEHACK”)
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This was a bit of an interesting article for me to write, because in the past, I was an avid user of hand sanitizer.
In fact, you could almost say that I was addicted to it.
So much so that I had one of those half-gallon canisters of the stuff sitting on my desk drawers, just in case I happened to need it at any particular moment.
I cut down on my use of hand sanitizer after some friends told me that I might have been going a bit overboard. They didn’t; however, give me any specific reasons. Luckily, after doing some research, I can share with you the exact reasons why overuse of hand sanitizer might not be such a good thing. If you are iffy about using hand sanitizer, or just want to know a little bit more about this mysterious clear-colored panacea, read on.
It Adversely Affects Your Skin.
If you are using a traditional alcohol-based hand sanitizer, then it’s likely the skin on your hands is a bit more worn than the rest of your body.
This is because alcohol is a skin irritant, which disrupts your natural oil production causing both dry and flaky skin.
Over time, use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers can cause the skin on your hands to age more rapidly than it would naturally, as dry skin is prone to developing wrinkles and other blemishes.
If you do need to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, make sure to use some kind of hand lotion soon afterwords.
- It Can Lead to the Development of Superbugs.
If your hand sanitizer doesn’t contain alcohol, then it likely contains “triclosan,” which is a powerful antibacterial agent. The problem is overuse of antibiotics like triclosan can lead to the development of superbugs – which are essentially diseases that have developed a resistance to traditional antibiotics
Indeed, one study[1] has shown that prolonged used of germicides like triclosan can lead to outbreaks of tough-to-kill bacteria that are potentially extremely dangerous to society. Just in 2013 alone, the CDC reported that superbugs were responsible for “at least” 23,000 deaths.
Not only that, but another study[2] found that using triclosan might negatively affect your immune system, leaving you more vulnerable to more traditional illnesses (like the common cold).
That’s not to say that using a triclosan-based hand sanitizer once or twice a day will necessarily lead to the rise of a superbug. Using it excessively; however, might lead to some complications further down the line.
- It Contains Unknown and Possibly Dangerous Chemicals.
The main ingredient in hand sanitizer is usually either alcohol or triclosan — both of which are designed to kill germs. Those aren’t; however, the only things present in your hand sanitizer – far from it actually. This is especially true if your hand sanitizer is scented, as synthetic fragrances normally consist of phthalates,[3] which at their worst, can cause abnormalities in hormone production.
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You also need to look out for parabens,[4] which are essentially preservatives meant to prolong the shelf-life of your trusty bottle of Purell. What makes these dangerous is how they are absorbed into your skin each time you use your hand sanitizer.
Perhaps worst of all is that the companies who make these products are not required to tell us the exact ingredients used in the scents of their hand sanitizers. Thus, they can be made up of several undisclosed chemicals.
To minimize your risk, stick to the stuff that doesn’t have any added fragrance.
- It Can Increase Your Skin’s Absorption of BPA.
Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a name you should be fairly familiar with by now. Just recently, there was a massive movement to get the chemical out of our plastic products (a transition that is still going on to this day). For those who don’t know, BPA is dangerous because it can do some pretty nasty things to your endocrine system, which in turn can cause numerous hormone disorders, cancer, and a litany of other bodily issues.
So, how does BPA relate to hand sanitizer? Well, one study out of the University of Missouri found that using hand sanitizer right before touching anything containing a high amount of BPA (like thermal receipt paper) can increase the amount of BPA absorbed through your skin by “up to a hundred-fold.”[5]
Perhaps even worse, a thin layer of BPA will remain on your skin even after it has been absorbed. Meaning that, if you first use hand sanitizer, get BPA on your hands, and then eat something, you’re essentially consuming a bit of that dangerous chemical with every bite. That isn’t good, which is why the University of Missouri’s researchers strongly suggest not using hand sanitizer right before touching something that contains BPA.
- It Isn’t Even That Effective.
So, after reading all of this, you might be telling yourself, “well, at least hand sanitizer kills all the germs on my hands right? That at least makes it worth it.” Well, unfortunately, it’s not as clear cut as you’d think.
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While certain hand sanitizers (specifically, those that contain at least 60% alcohol) are great at killing off microbial life, they can also remove naturally produced oils and beneficial bacteria present on your skin, which, ironically, reduces your body’s defenses against disease.
Not only that, but studies have also shown that traditional soap and water is more effective at washing away certain kinds of dangerous bacteria.[6] Therefore, unless you have no access to soap and running water, stick to the standard hand-washing method. If you have no other option, then alcohol-based hand sanitizers with no added fragrance are your best bet — just be sure to have some sort of lotion on hand so that you don’t dry your skin out.
Alternatives
So, you’re convinced that you shouldn’t be using hand sanitizer all of the time, but also want to know if there are other ways to cleanse your hands when you don’t have access to soap and a sink.
Well, there are a few things you can do. One of which is to create a homemade hand sanitizer, which keeps your hands clean without all of the negatives I listed above. Here’s how to create one for yourself:
You can also wear thin gloves if you happen to be somewhere with a lot of germs, like an airport or a public bus. Just be sure not to rub your face with your gloves or anything like that.
Lastly, you can try and buy one of the more natural/organic hand sanitizers, though those are rare. What you will want to look at is their ingredient list. Try and find one that doesn’t contain alcohol or triclosan, or any other kind of questionable ingredient. They’ll probably be more expensive, but your health is worth the investment.
What’s your personal verdict on hand sanitizer? Are you going to stop using it for good now? Will you seek alternatives? Or do you remain unconvinced?
Whatever your takeaway, I’d like to hear your perspective in the comment section below!
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Featured photo credit: Kelly Sikkema via unsplash.com
Reference
www.lifehack.org /288545/5-reasons-you-shouldnt-use-hand-sanitizer-anymore
5 Reasons Why Overusing Hand Sanitizer Isn’t Good For You
Nicholas Garcia8-9 minutes 6/30/2015
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*👨🔬🕵️♀️🙇♀️*SKETCHES*🙇♂️👩🔬🕵️♂️*
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💕💝💖💓🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤❤️💚💛🧡❣️💞💔💘❣️🧡💛💚❤️🖤💜🖤💙🖤💙🖤💗💖💝💘
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*🌈✨ *TABLE OF CONTENTS* ✨🌷*
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🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥*we won the war* 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥