mms_soap Working environment

Hi,

My girlfriend and I have been making soap for about a year and a half
now, and like Vicki, we would like to start selling soap, as opposed
to just giving it away. However, we are finding that we have a bit of
a problem with shelf-life. This has forced me to put a hold on our
plans, as I don't want spoiled soap to bite us in the proverbial ...

SO...Are there any tips that people can share regarding improving the
shelf-life of hand cast soaps? We use the cold-process to make a
variety of soaps using essential oils for fragrance, generally
coconut and palm oil as bulk of oil (with added specialty oils in
certain recipes) and use lye crystals for making our own lye
solutions. Particular problems are experienced when using essentials
like orange and wintergreen, (loss of fragrance and minor problem
with ?rancidity?) and really bad problems with shelf-life when making
Castile soaps or when adding things like oats after the soap has
suponofied, as they often seem to go rancid after only about a 1-1/2
months after the soap is cured. (Originally started making soap as a
hobby and giving it away but made more than we could gift to friends
and family just experimenting with various ideas and recipes...)

I have heard a lot of conflicting information on using additives like
grape seed oil as a preservative. Some say use it, some say
don't....so the same story with other additives.

Finally, are there any special considerations that you use in your
preparation areas to maintain cleanliness? We usually perform the
cold process in my kitchen, and while we endeavor to make the area
and utensils as clean as possible prior to making soap, I'm beginning
to wonder if we're doing something wrong in making it there
(proximity to food ingredients, etc.) that results in its going
rancid prematurely. Do any of you have a special soap making
"kitchen" that you work in?

thanks,

Andrew

PS> Regarding Vicki's question about pricing, one thing to consider
when setting price for the soap is your competition. Commercial soap
is dirt cheap (~$1/bar), and from the perspective of many people who
might otherwise consider purchasing "specialty" soap, boutique soap
is really overpriced (~$5-7/bar). Also, Think about what your
intentions are in selling your soap. Are you in it as a true business
venture, trying to cover the cost of making your own personal supply
(and gift), or perhaps trying to cover costs and allow for a little
profit? In our case, we've considered pricing our 4-1/2 oz bars at
3-4 dollars ea (depending on soap type) in single quantities but
would probably lower that for bulk purchases (should we ever get so lucky!)