Links essential to your soap business. Vital soap business links from the Soapmaking Studio in San Diego County, CA.
Links
Accept Payments
https://squareup.com/i/SELLMYSOAP Square POS
lets your customers pay and sign on your mobile phone or tablet.
Square allows you to sell your soap and process payments made with credit cards, gift cards, and cash.
After the payments are accepted through Square, the money is deposited into your bank account.
The free version of Square is free to setup, automatically charges a fee of about 3% of each sale, and offers many free business tools,
including charging sales tax, calculating your gross sales, presenting a database of your customers, tracking sales trends,
enabling sales on Instagram, and creating a free website for selling your products.
This I Sell My Soap link was created especially to help soapmakers sell their soap.
Affordable Advertising
http://www.Natural-Soap-Directory.com How will potential customers find your business? For the equivalent of $6 per month,
a listing subscription with the Natural Soap Directory™ will get you listed on 3 pages in 5 directories for a year.
Having the address of your soap business listed in this directory meets the FDA requirement for publication,
so having your full address on your soap labels is not mandatory if you have a listing.
Plus, the annual listing fee is a tax-deductible business expense.
Calendar for Soapmakers
Google Calendar View or synch a device to the Soapmaking Studio Google Calendar to receive notifications on classes, events, and seasonal tips for soapmakers.
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration
https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/ Conduct a tax exempt organization search across the entire USA by using the IRS database. The IRS declares, "Users may rely on this list in determining deductibility of their contributions."
Certified Lye
http://www.Certified-Lye.com
Food-grade sodium hydroxide for making bars of soap or for curing olives, potassium hydroxide for making liquid soap,
protective equipment for safe handling of chemicals, and fast shipping.
Donate Soap
https://SoapDonation.org
The mission of Soap Donation Center, Inc. is to collect homemade soap and distribute it throughout the United States to tax-exempt charities and those in need, so they may benefit from improved hygiene and quality of life. Donors who give funds or homemade soap receive a tax-deductible donation receipt letter.
D-U-N-S Number from Dun & Bradstreet
https://www.dnb.com/duns.html
The D-U-N-S number for your soap business may be used by financial institutions and by the FDA.
Visit the Dun & Bradstreet website to look up your soap business' D-U-N-S number, request a D-U-N-S number,
or update the profile information for your soap business.
HSCG
HSCG Membership
Information about handcrafter membership options and product liability insurance with the Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetic Guild. Receive $20 off an HSCG purchase with referral code from Kerri Mixon: MIXON20TP.
HSCG Certification Program PDF
PDF of the Facebook discussion notes and information about becoming a certified soapmaker through the Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetic Guild. The Soapmaking Studio is a certification exam proctor location for HSCG members who are able to come to San Diego, California. The Soapmaking Studio does NOT charge for this member service. Receive $20 off an HSCG purchase with referral code from Kerri Mixon: MIXON20TP.
Ingredient Databases
https://CIR-Safety.org
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) studies individual chemical compounds as they are used in cosmetic products. Established in 1976 by the Personal Care Products Council with the support of the US Food and Drug Administration, the Cosmetic Ingredient Review in Washington, DC, tests and reports ingredient safety. They also establish maximum levels for use for ingredients.
https://www.FDA.gov/industry
The US Food and Drug Administration's list of Color Additives Approved for Use in Cosmetics specifies approved herbal and non-herbal (mineral) colorants for use in cosmetic products, the year the ingredient was approved, and the specific approved uses. Color in cosmetics, whether intentional or not, must come from an FDA-approved colorant.
https://www.EPA.gov/SaferChoice/safer-ingredients
This free, online Safer Choice "Safer Chemical Ingredients List" database is managed by the Environmental Protection Agency and may give insight to the nature, purpose, and social acceptance of chemical ingredients.
https://www.P65Warnings.ca.gov
This free, online database of Proposition 65 warnings and listed chemicals is managed by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and may give insight to the nature, purpose, and social acceptance of chemical ingredients and includes chemicals naturally found in plants and essential oils known to be carcinogenic.
https://www.ewg.org/SkinDeep
This free, online Skin Deep database of cosmetic ingredients is managed by the Environmental Working Group and may give insight to the nature, purpose, and social acceptance of cosmetic ingredients.
Guidance for the Use of IFRA Standards—May 4, 2020
1. First, check the IFRA category and subcategory of the product you intend to create by looking up the product in Table 13 (on page 52).
2. Second, verify the IFRA standards, permissions, and regulations of the category and subcategory in Table 12 (on page 44). For example, "bar soap" is in Category 9.
QRA Informational Booklet V7.1—July 9, 2015
3. Third, check the "Maximum Pragmatic Level" for the IFRA category in Table 1 (on page 11).
This level may never be exceeded. For example, the maximum fragrance level for Category 9 (bar soap) is 5%.
4. Fourth, check the "Max use level for Methyleugenol and Estragole" for the IFRA category and product type in Table 4 (on page 24).
These levels may never be exceeded. For example, "Bar Soap" has a max use level for methyleugenol of 10 ppm and
a max use level for estragole of 0.01%.
Use a trusted reference (such as Plants and Essential Oils Known to Be Carcinogenic) to determine
whether or not a chosen essential oil contains methyleugenol and/or estragole.
https://ifrafragrance.org/safe-use/library
5. Fifth, check each individual fragrance component for its "Quantitative Risk Assessment" (QRA2)
by looking up the ingredient in the IFRA Standards Library database by title or CAS number.
Each essential oil has a different QRA2 level that may never be exceeded.
For example, the maximum for ylang ylang extract is 1.4%, the maximum for Peru balsam is 0.8%,
and the maximum for grapefruit oil expressed is unrestricted.
Therefore, a batch of soap could be delightfully—and legally—scented with a fragrance blend of 1.4% ylang ylang, 0.8% Peru balsam,
and 2.8% grapefruit (for a total of 5%).
https://ifrafragrance.org/docs/default-source/ifra-code-of-practice-and-standards/ifra-standards---50th-amendment/standards-compiled.pdf
5. An option to searching the database in step 5, above, is to look up the ingredient in "The Complete IFRA Standards Up to and Including the 50th Amendment," PDF published 2022. This PDF is the most-recent, comprehensive guide to International Fragrance Association standards. The standards guide includes an index of essential oils and chemical components and a directory of quantity limits for different products. It does not include product categories, which may be referenced above in step 1.
Lye Calculator & Recipe Formulator
Calculates the amount of lye needed to make a specific batch of soap.
Allows the user to add oils and their exact saponification values.
It also provides options for instructions, lye discount, superfat, and water portions.
http://www.NationalSoapmakingDay.org
National Soapmaking Day is the last Sunday in September and celebrates the art, science, history, hobby, and profession of soapmaking!
Natural Oils International
www.NaturalOils.com
Exotic base oils, solid butters, and fats for making soap.
Natural Soap Directory
www.Natural-Soap-Directory.com
An online directory of international soapmakers that uses subscribers' listing fees to promote the benefits of handmade soap.
http://www.PubMed.gov
PubMed Central® (PMC) is a free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM).
Reiki Sessions
Black Cat Reiki
offers traditional Jikiden Reiki sessions of holistic energy for wellness of body, mind, and spirit.
Soapmakers' Luncheons
https://www.PallasAtheneSoap.com/luncheon.html
Free luncheons for all types of soapmakers held the second Sunday of April and October at Marie Callender's restaurant, 6950 Alvarado Road, San Diego, CA 92120.
Soapmaking Supplies
Pre-mixed base oil blends, colorants, essential oils, hydrosols, chemicals, soap molds, and soap tools for making soap.
Items may be picked up or shipped from the Soapmaking Studio in San Diego County, California.
USPS Postage Rates
USPS Notice 123
US Postal Service mailing and shipping rates change frequently. The most current rates are published in Notice 123.
Classes are held at a private home occupied by a pet cat.
If you are allergic to cats, please contact info@soapmakingstudio.com prior to enrolling in a class.
