Some of my product world heroes. In case they can inspire you, too.

These are people who have inspired me during my soaping and product journey and I cannot recommend their books/YouTube channels/shops/minds enough. I know they have also inspired many others and I just really wanted to give them a shout out and make sure anyone new to product making knows about them.

Enjoy the creativity:

1. Debbie Chialtis from SoapyLove. Hers was the only book on melt and pour that I bought in hard copy, but I have three copies of it. For students, but I'm being extra supportive on the publishing front. Debbie pretty much taught me that the only thing limiting you in making glycerin soap is your creativity.

2. Celine, The Soaperstar. No longer soaping (cries), but her YouTube channel was my evening ritual for months. Listening to her and Ger laughing away was not only soapily inspiring but also just a good time. I still use and teach the 'Celine Swirl' and so she will live on in the soaping halls of fame.

3. Mary Knaggs from Roseberry Bay Soaps. Mary ran the first soap group I joined and was one of a special little group who encouraged me to try cold process (soap bullying is real). She is so incredibly creative, I can't even tell you. Photography, products, SEWING. Mary Does It All should really be her page name. It'd definitely get a lot of Likes.

4. Peta Jackson from Squeaky Clean Soap UK. Another special soap encourager (SSE) with Mary, Peta makes such simple yet stunning soap and I just love the way she dresses up for festivals with her handsome assistant. She has passion, that woman. And orangutans love her, as they should.

5. The Soap Queen, Anne-Marie from Bramble Berry. When I first started making cold process soap, I watched every word this woman spoke. In some ways, she slowed me down from throwing myself in to it. And I'm very grateful for that.

6. Katie from Royalty Soaps. Oh, I love this woman and her beautiful family. She not only inspires you, she makes you feel all warm inside. And her soap is ahhhhmazing. She taught me that it's ok not to master everything and she can keep her always perfect piping, I don't want it.

7. Susan from Swifty Crafty Monkey. She brings together all the chemicals. Just brings them together, and ta-da, it's another amazing product. After telling you alllll about the chemicals. And then trying other chemicals. I possibly love her, too.

8. Marie Rayma from Humblebee and Me.Someone who just nudges the edges of your mind, so next time you're ordering supplies you find yourself adding new and exciting ingredients. Which leads who knows where. It led to cocoa body scrubs at least twice.

9. Dean Wilson, who created Soap Inventory, a FREE hosted web solution to track Inventory, Stock, Sales, Recipes and more. That's right, free. Support him on Patreon if you want to give back.

10. And finally, not related to body products, but she cooks up a creative storm. Katie, from Clean Eats from a Filthy mouth. I love her so much, I bought her tea towel.

Some helpful links:

Debbie https://www.facebook.com/soapylove

Celine https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsp1GTh4qCLv8lHkasxBFTg

Mary https://www.facebook.com/RoseBerryBaySoaps

Peta https://www.facebook.com/SqueakyCleanSoap

Bramble Berry https://www.facebook.com/BrambleBerry

Katie https://www.facebook.com/RoyaltySoapsOfficial

Susan https://www.facebook.com/swiftcraftymonkey

Marie https://www.facebook.com/HumblebeeAndMe

Dean https://www.soapinventory.com

Katie https://www.facebook.com/cleaneatsfromafilthymouth (warning: very strong, yet fabulous language)

Product Development Process

I use a gradual progression, so at each stage both my client and I know what we have created so far, what needs to be done to improve or change it, and how much is being spent on the process.

Initial Meeting

Typically, anywhere from ½ hour to 2 hours+, depending on how much you want to discuss. You may arrive with a basic idea or a fully formed concept. First half hour no charge. Can be done in person or by skype/phone.

Research Session 1

Time-frame is product and client-dependent. Generally, 1 – 2 hours+.

Development Session 1

Anticipate from 2 hours to 4 hours+, depending on what we are creating; whether the client wants multiple varieties of a product and how many etc.

Review Meeting 1

Either at studio, or I can courier out and we can discuss by phone/skype/email. First invoice provided, so you can keep track of what you are spending on the development process.

Research/Development Session 2

Anticipate from 1 hour to 4 hours+.

Review Meeting 2

Either at studio, or I can courier out and we discuss by phone/skype/email. Second invoice provided.

Research/Development Session 3 and additional Sessions

Anticipate from 2 hours to 4 hours+ each, depending on stage in development process.

Hours increase, if we are still working on previous corrections.

Final Approval Meeting

Training, if required

Either at studio, or I provide written instruction and we discuss by phone/skype/email.

Product Development Costs

Hourly rate for product development work is $20/quarter hour increments or $65/full hour. Plus, GST.

Additional costs to the client are the purchase cost of ingredients and any courier costs.

Following completion and client approval, each recipe is provided at a cost of $300 for the main recipe for a product range and $50 for any variants.

e.g. body wax range $300, 6 varieties in total (original + 5 extra varieties x $50) $250 = $550

This includes full training in how to make your products, complete ownership of all recipes, information regarding suppliers of ingredients and basic back-up support as you begin your own production.

Excessive hours charged out at rate above.

Product Endorsements available

If you would like to state that your product has been clinical aromatherapist/herbalist-endorsed in your marketing, I offer that service.

This involves me pulling apart your recipe and ensuring every ingredient is considered safe and appropriate for your target market. Hourly rate of $65/hour above applies.

GST-registered. Invoice supplied at each stage of development.

All prices above exclude GST.

I do my same spiel at the first meeting with a client, so I decided to write it down. And, if I had to sum it all up in one article, this would be it.

1. Start out simple. While some of us think up a concept and are instantly flooded with combinations and colours and proprietary blend ideas, I highly recommend starting out with ONE product, ONE variant, ONE idea, in general. Once that is perfected, begin to slowly expand.

2. If you do decide to go full creation crazy and begin with a range in mind, remember that it’s going to be in your best interests to buy ingredients in bulk. So, rather than having a range where every variant has a different combination of oils, stick with a standard recipe for all and just alter one thing. It keeps your costs down and keeps the product consistent, both of which your customers will appreciate.

3. Don’t forget, it’s not about the number of ingredients in your product, it’s about how they work together and what their combined powers can create. It may take you a lot of trial work to find that magic recipe for your needs. My favourite product recipe contains four main ingredients.

4. Future-proof your product. Rather than printing a label range with specific scents and colours, consider terms like ‘fragrance’ and ‘soap colourant’. That way should your main fragrance be discontinued, and you need to change the scent; or you decide to move from a lake colour to a pigment, you don’t need to spend money reprinting your labels.

5. Don’t get caught on the new ingredient bandwagon. So, Aloicious Oil is the new ‘big thing’ on the market (I made that name up, don’t Google it for hours), there is no need to be adamant in your desire to use it. Just because every magazine is talking about it, it’s not necessarily the best option for your product. Because I can guarantee you, after 20 years in developing products, the next ‘big thing’ will be along any time now.

6. Check your proposed company name, product name, product range names, product type name etc. aren’t already in use by someone else and trademarked. Sit down and google every combination you can think of. And then try another search engine, just in case.

7. Be particularly cautious of potential patents. Companies like that big beautiful four-lettered one from the UK (big fan, here) WILL prosecute if they find you are using the term ‘bubble bar’ for example. It’s only a matter of time. They don’t care how big your business is, they paid for that patent. Join online groups which discuss legal matters in the product development world, stay on top of these things.

8. Never make medical claims on your labels, unless you’ve had them proven. Don’t even say ‘may help with’ or ‘contains lavender which is known to…’ as these are not acceptable phrases in NZ.

9. NEVER make and sell products like sunscreens unless you’ve had them lab tested. If you’re not sure why, Google homemade sunscreen and clumping, for a start. The potential for harm is not worth taking a risk when it comes to certain product types.

10. When it comes to labelling, do your homework and then do it again. And then get it checked. If you don’t get an A+ then start over, it’s that important. In NZ, we must comply with EPA requirements. And don’t forget, if you plan to put it on a shop shelf, it will need a barcode.

Consider using a Product Development Consultant:

We have made all the mistakes, learned everything the hard way, we know a lot about what goes with what and what definitely doesn’t.We’ve trained specifically for this industry and stay current with ingredient and recipe developments, the science side, the legal side, labelling, quality assurance and health and safety, so we can create the best product possible with you.We can point you towards the best places to purchase ingredients, packaging, labelling, barcodes etc.We can train you in how to make them or direct you to a suitable sized manufacturer.And we bring a lot of passion to the process, because we love what we do, and we want a happy client with beautiful products.

Karen Malone, Product Development Consultant and Trainer

BSc. Zoo., Dip. OHS., Dip. Herb., Dip. Aroma., Mstr. Cert. Cann., Nat. Cert. Massage

Regional Representative for NZROHA

Astra Studio, INTL

Bay of Plenty, NZ

027 388 3260

www.intl.co.nz

Today, I finished a year's study in a very specialised area.

Almost a year ago, the Labour party was running for NZ's government. One of our new Prime Minister's discussion points was the legalisation of medical marijuana in New Zealand. As a herbalist and a member of a family with epilepsy, I was elated and on the day Jacinda Ardern was announced as our new PM, I signed up for the Cannabis Training University's Master Certificate in Medical Marijuana.

I decided it was very important to learn more about this particular herb, so I can have that knowledge available to me. As someone with a laboratory, QC, QA, herbal, aromatherapy, H&S background, it made sense to know more at this early stage.

Today, I passed the final exam and graduated. I'm so very positive about the potential of this new industry, I can't even tell you. Let's just say, avoid me for the next 40 years if you don't want your ear talked off.

I say cleansing. The pressure on me right now is immense. This blog is purely procrastination.

You see, I joined a New Zealand De-stash group on Facebook and posted that I had a lot of stuff to get rid of. That turned out to be an understatement and it turns out I have a LOT of stuff to get rid of. And I'll still have full shelves, so I'm not actually sure where it all was. It was like The Lion, The Witch and The Studio Shelves in there.

And now I've lost the floor in the stock room.

And the floor in the production room.

And I've still got 6 boxes of molds, that blue bag up there in that photo which is full of molds to re-home and I haven't touched the back room yet which I KNOW is terrifyingly full of containers of glass and plastic packaging, largely untouched for a very long time.

So yes, cleansing can be a result of decluttering. You just have to go through the pain to get there. So. Much. Pain.

Bright side is, there will be a whole lot of happy soapers out there in Facebook land.

And I'll have more room. Somewhere in Narnia.

I will also predictably go into why you can’t make either ‘glycerin’ or ‘real soap’ without starting with lye. That may reach rant proportions, but I’ll try to keep it low level.

Glycerin Soap – Soap Crafting

I call it glycerin soap because it’s something people understand, and I really like the word ‘Glycerin’.

The real term for this is actually melt and pour (MP) soap, because you buy a block of base, chop it up, melt it and use it for craft soap projects by adding an endless number of additives – colour, fragrance, glitter, exfoliants, mica, jojoba beads, herbs, spices, essential oils, ground coffee, plastic fish, the list goes on. And on and on. It’s AWEsome. I’m a huge melt and pour fan.

There are so many kinds of melt and pour – transparent (clear, think jelly), opaque (white, think panna cotta*), goat’s milk, olive oil, shea butter, hemp, aloe vera, honey, shaving, organic, low sweat… keep in mind that the companies who make these bases available to crafters use LYE in their recipe. The resulting product has no lye in it, as the saponification process brings the lye water and oils/butters together into a chemical romance, magically creating SOAP.

So, you don’t have to handle lye when using melt and pour, it’s pre-saponified for you. You can use it in amazing molds, you can make a rainbow of different pyrex jugs full of stunning colours of melted MP and layer it, or double pour it from opposite ends with different colours or make look-a-like cake slices, or a million other clever things.

Head here for some examples www.intl.co.nz/shop or Google melt and pour soap for some inspiration. There are some seriously talented MP artists out there.

Traditional Cold Process Soap – Soap Making

This is the stuff that makes me go weak at the knees, when I consider how different the lather feels to your average soap. Cold Process soaping is often called CP.

It’s truly luxurious, all the goodness is left in while store-bought soap has likely had the glycerin removed. Glycerin being a humectant and giving that lovely moisturising effect, these can be drying to the skin. But, of course, it can be sold as a separate product and so there are more profits to be made in removing and selling it.

So, when you try the real stuff for the first time and realise what you’ve been missing out on? You’ll be surprised.

Yes, lye (sodium hydroxide or caustic soda) is an ingredient in cold process soap, as it was in the base above. But again, it is saponified until no trace is left in the finished product.

You cannot make soap without lye. CAN NOT. Don’t argue with the woman with the science degree, she can argue this stuff for hours. With demonstrations and flow charts. And yet, some people on the internet will still argue. And I will sigh and gently inhale lavender or something.

OILS/BUTTERS (Triglycerides) + LYE WATER (Alkali) = SOAP + WATER + GLYCERINE

Simple chemistry and used for centuries.

This soap is cured for 4+ weeks following removal from mold/tray, to allow for the removal of water. If this process doesn’t occur, you have a soft bar of soap which will be used up in about 6 showers. The longer the soap sits on the curing shelf, the more spectacular it becomes.

Google cold process soap for some inspiration. Again, there are some amazingly talented traditional soap artisans out there.

Beauty Bars – Not actually soap

Beauty bars are another version I won’t go into now. But, be aware that they are likely to be a synthetic detergent product, despite the marketing. Not a soap.

*NOTE: there is a distinct connection between soaping and food. Half the tools we use we ‘borrowed’ from the kitchen at some stage and a good percentage of the soaps some of us make end up looking like cake. And, when looking at a kitchen shop catalogue, all we’re thinking about is how useful that would be for making soap.

18 years ago, I registered my business. It was Herbal Creations Limited back then. And I considered that would be my future, with no idea of the two children who would change everything! 18 years later, I have a 13-year-old boy, a 16-year-old girl and now an 18-year-old business whose name has changed to Astra.

Miss 16 and I have been in and out of the ICU ward at Tauranga Hospital over the past few months due to her having seizures and have spent an awful lot of time together. We’ve seen a lot of Doctor Who and Harry Potter and needed something new to focus on, during long waits to be discharged. She managed to be admitted on a 50th birthday party day, Christmas Eve and three days before her very first overseas trip (great timing, Amy!), so I’ve really wanted to make it all up to her. As you do.

As she is currently doing her NCEA 2 year in Business Studies, Economics and Photography, she needed a business project for her assessments. At the same time, another family member commented on why I don’t sell ‘that magic stuff’ which is a balm I’ve made in one form or another for over twenty years now. It even gets sent to France, for family members. Everyone asks for it.

And so, on the 18th April 2018, on Astra’s 18th birthday, we would like to introduce you to It’s Magic. A family project which we’ve had a lot of fun working on. From Amy, who mentioned a project. To Rod, who mentioned selling it. To my brother Shaun and his ability to turn what we were trying to tell him about into an actual label. (No easy feat).

Amy and I decided during this past week’s hospital stay that we would like to donate a percentage of the profits to Epilepsy Foundation New Zealand, as part of this project. And we’d also like to give away a gift with every purchase from the website. I’ll get that set up while the labels are being printed. We should have everything set up and ready to go in the next week or so, presuming she continues to improve.

I think she will. I’ve decided I’m going to believe in Magic.

When you’re new to making products and everything is all sparkly (and expensive), you tend to make a few mistakes along the way, learning which suppliers you want to stick with, as you go.

This is a list of some of the suppliers I use, a few on a fairly regular basis:

New Zealand

Zen Designs - www.zendesigns.co.nz

PureNature - www.purenature.co.nz

Candle Creations - www.candlecreations.co.nz

Lotus Oils - www.lotusoils.co.nz

Arthur Holmes - www.arthurholmes.co.nz

Go Native - www.gonative.co.nz

Rest of the World

Bramble Berry - www.brambleberry.com

Mad Micas - www.madmicas.com

Aussie Soap Supplies - www.aussiesoapsupplies.com.au

Companies I’ve Been Told Are Great, I Just Haven’t Used Them

Nature’s Garden - www.naturesgardencandles.com

Nurture Soap - www.nurturesoap.com

I hope that guides you to some beautiful ingredients.

In the world of product development, the range of ingredients is just mind-boggling. And, every week, something new has been discovered. With magical powers (to match mystical price tag). Remember when Argan Oil became a thing? Or even further back, Rosehip? What did we all do with our hair and skin before those hit the market?

It's never-ending. The other day, Bramble Berry asked me if I'd tried Moringa Seed Oil yet. No, Bramble Berry, but I appreciate the research you put into your products. I've definitely read up on it now, because I can't resist a link to a thing. And thank you very much for the additional link to Lemongrass Mojito FO, you evil enablers.

While I would LOVE to be a purchaser of all the new things (caffeine powder is currently calling my name), I probably wouldn't still be in business if I did. I've spent my 'play money' on Mad Micas recently (insert heart emote), but usually that goes on things I actually need to play with. I was weak, they were sparkly. A truly purchase-affecting combo.

So, with all of that in mind, I'm never going to be first on a bandwagon in this industry. I wait until the demand has risen and the price has dropped. One of the rare times in my life when I'm actually patient about something. And, even when it becomes affordable, I might not bother. Kokum Butter was something I wanted to try, and I've fallen quite hard for that (and probably mispronounce it on purpose) but Kiwifruit Seed Oil and Sea Buckthorn etc.? I haven't even gone there, despite having been given samples.

There is absolutely nothing wrong (especially if you’re new to product development and don't want to throw cash at a new project) in having a few carefully selected oils as your base, and watching everyone else go crazy for Nimrod Oil (I made that up, don’t Google it), and then maybe trying it a few years later, when it’s not a brazillion dollars a bottle. Nothing at all.

You know those projects you have ticking along in the background. The ones which are ALWAYS on the white board, because we all know they're year plus things and even though we hope and wish for that moment when you can wipe it off the board, it's just always there. Those ones?

This week, we wiped. We wiped three letters off our board and those letters had been there forEVER. 'APP'

I almost say it in a reverent whisper... App... *spooky wind sounds* ^

Over in my world of Health and Safety, we have finally (FINALLY) launched in both the Apple and Google stores and this is such a significant moment in my little life that I could cry. Tears of pixels. Happy tears of green and blue, to match our logo.

So, head on over to the eSafety website and be amazed at how you never need to actually write anything down with a pen which is health and safety-related. Ever again. You can even voice record and time things on there. And take photos and write clever notes on them, like 'Shane did this dumb thing' with an arrow pointing to the dumb thing.

Be free with your expressiveness in the world of Health and Safetyness. As Free as the App. Which is very much Free and makes the life of your average Health and Safety Consultant much simpler and right there in their phone or tablet.

^ Note that spooky wind sounds can be made using a bottle of Sambuca and making certain poses with your mouth, but that's another post for another day.

That always leads on to me singing this - Dammit Janet and I'm hoping that from this moment on, you do the same. The world would be a better place with random humming of Rocky Horror Picture Show songs.

Note: The following contains acronyms that you probably know, but just in case:

FO - Fragrance Oil (as in "I'm a FO Ho")

CP - Cold Process soap (made with oils, butters, lye, love, chemistry and witchcraft)

MP - Melt and Pour soap, or Glycerin soap (a pre-made soap base for creativity purposes and for tricking people into thinking soap is food. Please send pics of faces after they realise their terrible mistake)

In the world of products and all of the wonderful ingredients that we get to use, there are some issues in pleasing all of the people all of the time. When we consider some of the implications involving some of these ingredients (think deforestation, for starters) we get into an area where some people are just unwilling to use things like Palm oil. The trouble for people like me, is that those people are often the same people unwilling to use 'chemicals' (don't get me started on the use of that word in a negative way, just don't) and so the SLS-free soap base suits the 'natural' side of them but it contains Palm Oil, and the Palm-free version has SLS in it.

My regretful answer to those people is not to use my glycerin soap, because I don't have any plans to make my own bases at this stage and I've recently found a truly fantastic base which is low-sweat and is really lovely to use as soap, yet has an ingredients list full of things with only three syllables. I haven't got the time to come up with and make my own Palm-free, SLS-free base, unfortunately. Particularly when I take into account how many kilos I go through in class sessions.

That's why I make cold process as well. Because I also enjoy using the stuff that truly is all natural and made from scratch with my chandler hands.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandlery just in case you're thinking about Matthew Perry at this stage.

The reason I am writing this is that I have recently decided to focus the business on Glycerin Soap. Because, quite frankly, I love it. I love everything about it. I love working with it, cleaning up after it, FO blending in it, teaching it, adding glitter to it, everything. I also love CP, but I have a loyal customer base which seems to cover about the number of loaves I make each year. I don't need to do any more of that, but I WANT to work with MP.

Teaching an MP class is more fun than a fridge full of wine. Everyone enjoys the process and if the occasional student wants to learn CP, then we can go from there. But shining, colourful, scented soap being popped out of a mold by someone who has never done it before? Magic.

For clarity (which MP soap can definitely have!):

Ingredients: Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Safflower Oil, Glycerine (kosher, of vegetable origin), Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent), Sorbitol (moisturizer), Sorbitan oleate (emulsifier), Oat protein (conditioner)

Notes: Hypo-Allergenic, Non-Comedogenic, Biodegradable, No Animal Testing, No Animal Products, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free, Non-GMO

TL;DR - Should you be a person who has an issue with Palm Oil, let me know and I will use the Palm-free version for you.

I recently finally got around to casting a mold of a new soap a friend had found me, and I was telling someone how much like having a baby it is.

You're told there's THE perfect crystal for soap (a very rare thing, for many reasons), you wait patiently to purchase it and then realise you'll need a good $100 worth of silicone to cast it. You finally allow for that in the budget, after ensuring your mica and FO addictions are being catered for, and then it sits on the bench for the next six months because you know if you mess it up you've just wasted $100.

And then, one day, you woman up and get your lab coat and goggles and mask on, and you just do it. And pushing out the original crystal can only be compared to the birthing process; painful, lengthy and nerve-wracking. With the possibility of stretch marks.

I thought I'd better put up a pic of the other side of the shelf room. And not even slightly admit to myself that these were taken a few years ago, and I've probably doubled the number of things now. If I don't admit it to me, then you don't need to worry about it either. What's worse, if that my favourite mica ever was being discontinued and so I had to buy quite a lot of it and have it sent from overseas. Budget for soap cutter blown, but then hand cut is so much more rustic, isn't it? (No, it's not).

On the day you find yourself writing out an SOP and obtaining an SDS for using sodium hydroxide, you realise your Health & Safety life has collided with your Science life and all blended together with your Product Development life. You're a Health & Safety Sciencey Product Developer, that's what you are. Who is currently in her ugg boots and thinking less about SOPs and more about what to make for dinner. Which is a whole post on its own. When, no matter what you cook, someone says 'I don't like that' how do you deal with it? Gagging them isn't legal, I don't think. If it's a marginal thing, can someone please let me know.

Someone called me a FO Ho, recently. Not that I mind, in my line of work it's actually an advantage.

Maybe not for the shelf space issue, but definitely for the students. Who wants a choice of 30 fragrances when we can have 80? No one, that's who. In case you are wondering, FO stands for Fragrance Oil. The rest is hopefully self-explanatory, because I'm not explaining it. Welcome to our new website.