Introduction to Soap Making: Sourcing Materials
So you’re interested in starting to make soap? By now I imagine you’ve researched all of the big soap makers and tutorials e.g; Brambleberry’s Soap Queen TV. This is an amazing resource, but if you’re Australian sourcing ingredients is a nightmare for one reason or another, such as postage costing more than you can afford or products just straight up not being available.Â
These suppliers are the best for us Aussies;
https://www.aussiesoapsupplies.com.au/ These guys are based in WA, shipping is a little higher but they are the only supplier of Brambleberry within Australia. They also have great sale items regularly.
http://www.heirloombodycare.com.au/ This company is based in NSW, so the shipping isn’t too bad. They have great and cheap packaging items and they post up updates on products to their facebook page (which I recommend following as they encourage you to respond)
http://www.newdirections.com.au/content.php?p=home-home-campaigns
New Directions is also a great resource to obtain those specific resources like particular essential oils, clays or harder to find items. Although they aren’t as cheap in some products there is a lot more options. I have another soapmaking friend and she loves using this site.
Now, for things that can’t be shipped, such as lye, or items that are massive and you don’t want to pay shipping for: Bunnings & Costco
Lye can be obtained at Bunnings Warehouse, our country is riddled with these giant green, sausage sizzling fortresses of DIY. The one I use is Glitz Caustic Soda. You cannot ship lye because of its highly caustic nature (Incredibly basic, will burn the skin if contact is made). They come in a child proof(and sometimes Adult proof) lid and container. Do not leave this product open to the air.
For large food ingredients or dry ingredients, go to Costco, either use your own membership or get a friend to smuggle you some of the ingredients you require, such as Baking Soda (for Bath bombs), Epsom salts, Buttermilk or Goats milk. Always good to check it out and see what they have, you may have some ideas brewing by the time you leave with the 4kg of limes you bought.Â
Ebay can be a great resource for things like colourants, moulds and tools, but for the trickier ingredients like fragrance oils, essential oils and base ingredients I would suggest either being incredibly cautious or looking elsewhere. Often times eBay sellers will advertise something as 100% Pure essential oil, but it might not be, also some fragrance oils of lower quality (like the ones you can get from dollar stores) can actually make you sick when coming into contact with the skin, these are intended to be put in potpourri and not heated. Australia’s regulations are very tough for these sorts of products, but use this to your advantage.
If you have a higher budget, then Sydney Essential Oil Company is another option for resources, their stuff is super high quality and a lot of health practitioners and masseuses use their oils and packaging. They have an extensive list of products.Â
Good resources for getting tutorials, ideas and inspiration are:
---> Pinterest ---> Youtube (Soap Queen TV, Royalty Soaps, Yellow Cottage Soapery, Missouri River Soap) ---> Individual blogs (like moi)
Next week I will be going through the list of products, tools and equipment you will need to begin. I will provide a basic description of the ingredients and reasons, I will also give you a free recipe to use and teach you how to formulate your own.