[heidih]

Well, willow is producing fantastic amts of milk daily.
we making cheese and ice cream and now starting with goats milk soap....
some nice packaging and labels on the ready .. loving this smallholding life ..
All free of charge as the red tape doesnt allow selling 

[plumseverywhere]

Wonderful isn't it? 

Shame about the red tape, I guess its there to protect us and the public. I've had to pay out a lot in order to be able to sell soap but it means my recipe is covered etc so it has its plusses

[happygolucky]

Heidih, that's a brilliant use of your milk but unless the product complies to health and safety regulations set out by the cosmetic industry, I would not give it to anyone but use it for yourself......you would still be liable if you something went wrong and with no protection, "red tape" insurance, you could loose a lot.
As a  hobby to supply yourself its great but if you go big time, you will need to do things properly, that's for your sake and others.......after all, I love making cakes but I would never sell them just in case they make some one as fat as me and I get the  blame
My daughter is a cosmetic consultant and has vigorous training all around the world as things change almost daily in the industry as to what you can and cannot use, she looks at cosmetic recipes all the time to check that the ingrediants and quantities comply and are harmless and stable.
Oh,

[heidih]

yeah happy go luky i wudnt give it people, it a hobby , me and carl and kids use wat we make and use,
loving having these nanny goats.! ..

[plumseverywhere]

Its a great hobby - enjoy     love concocting new fragrance blends etc. would recommend it to anyone with surplus milk   

[heidih]

who knows where it will lead? i might want to market it . cost is nothing , money can be earnt to pay,
we'll see .

[plumseverywhere]

Absolutely - I can give you the name and number of a good cosmetic assessor. I think its around £500 this year due to EU regs but depends on how many products you want to have assessed. Then you just need to think of names for your individual soaps and brand name - that's one of the fun bits. Oh and IW wallace insurance is very good for soap makers.  Trading standards will tell you what else you need to have in place if you do sell.

[katie]

It all sounds a bureaucratic nightmare! I looked into making cosmetics once - but decided against it when i saw the regulations - and the cost of getting it all set up. There's no half-measures - if you're producing something people are going to put on their skin, you've got to have all the permits, insurances etc.
I know if I buy soap from Plums, it ticks all the boxes and I can trust it. There's a lot of unscrupulous people out there who don't bother to do it properly.

[happygolucky]

My daughter came over to see me but also had to nip into London and Paris for the latest updates on cosmetic regulations, she recons the poos going to hit the fan now that nano particles have to be on the label of stuff, so many manufacturers are trying to get around as they are scary particles that can get anywhere so to speak...she is also off to China soon too and was in Indonesia, all updates for her industry.......I could not be doing with all the "red tape".

[Lesley Silvester]

Don't think I could be bothered with all the hassle to sell soap. There must be other things that can be made to sell that don't cause so much trouble.

[heidih]

thing is i said i was making it . not mainly too sell?
im not daft when it comes to legalities and would neva do things half measures,
it all a bit of fun and craft time ....

[ballingall]

The trouble is you can't even give it away for friends to use just in case something goes wrong. Of course using your own products yourself is great, and it's lovely to be able to use your own milk. My yogurt maker arrived (at last) so I need to practice making that!


Beth

[lokismum]

at the risk of sounding thick
and having never made soap
why is it such a problem to sell it 
we can sell our eggs to pepole to eat but not soap hell you can sell them the goat that made the soap to eat and that's fine
  is it the perfumes that are added

[happygolucky]

the chemicals that go into soap can strip the skin off your face.......and cause bad reactions......

[plumseverywhere]

Basically what Sandy says we have strict guidelines in the cosmetic industry to protect the public, in order to sell we have to prove that our soap recipe is safe and not going to harm a customer. A lye rich soap could blind someone ! The red tape could be seen as annoying but to be honest, I'm glad its there as it protects the soapmaking reputation and doesn't allow every tom, Dick and Harry chance to sell potentially substandard goods