Soap Making - Wichita,KS

Coconut oil is $18 for 30 ounces on amazon-- a two pack of 15 ounce tubs (for organic, if you dig deeper you can probably find it cheaper http://www.amazon.com/Nutiva-Organic-Virgin-Coconut-15-Ou...) , the olive oil you can get at the grocercy store or Sam's or Costco, and the palm oil is also on amazon by the quart for under $10 http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Depot-PALM-QUART-Palm-Oil...

But I don't think it's about cheap, but about pampering yourself with things you made yourself....

I don't do this myself, but I do have a friend that really likes this stuff. From what I can see, this is really not about saving any money...obviously the raw materials are pretty pricey. This is a hobby...I understand that it can be pretty fun to do, but probably not something that you will ever save money by doing.

I'm a soapmaker...there is a lot of research going in finding suppliers.
I use coconut,olive,palm,castor oil and shea butter in all my soaps, and sometimes goatsmilk.
I pay from 15 to 17 Dollars for 112 oz which is 7# of oil, per bottle from soaper's choice in Illinlois.Most soapmakers buy from them.I get my olive oil from sam's club,walmart has coconut oil...
I make 5# batches and they would cost me about 10 bucks to make.
Lard soap is wonderful and very mild to your skin so is goatsmilk soap.

Have fun, it is very addicting.
Here is a look at my soaps, if you'd like to check it out
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Desperate-Soapwife/23447...

Soapmaking is becoming a way of life. I too am like Pippi and make my soap. I do include the animal tallows in my soaps and they are readily available and have formulated several recipes for the soap. Knowing where to get the required ingredients in sizes that are cost saving is another step.

I make my soap because I do not want the detergents that are made by the big soap companies and the snythetics or the petro-chemical based end product. I use castor oil, coconut oil, olive oil, vegetable shortening and a percentage of beef tallow and lard depending on the type of soap I am making (body or face).

There are sites on the web that will help you formulate a good bar that does not break the bank.

I usually make about 20 to 25 pounds at a time and break that down into smaller types of soaps - oatmeal, vanilla/lavender, citrus surprise and others as well as the basic "plain jane" soap bar.

Happy soap bubbles.

The other S.

PS You might want to start with a bar of soap that has more of the basics on a smaller scale. Try www.soapcalculator.com and Magestic Mountain Sage at www.thesage.com for ideas on making smaller sized batches.