Welcome to our series, Common Scents! Common Scents is a series of articles exploring the history of commonly used essential oils, and how they became popular in modern day soap and cosmetic crafting. Like just about every other scent, anise is one of those smells that you either love or desperately hate. If you’re not familiar with anise, think … Read More
All About Melt & Pour: What it is and How it Works
When we talk about soap, there are a few different types that we could be talking about. There is cold process, which is a method that involves melting and combing oils and lye water and allowing the soap to go through the saponification process over a certain time period. There is hot process, which is when a soapmaker combines melted … Read More
How-To: Foot Scrubs
While we all dream of having magic slippers that we can click together to bring us to our favorite beach destination, walking the beach in bare feet to exfoliate them is just not always an option! Luckily, making your own foot and hand scrub is simple, and there are many options for customization. Different Types of Exfoliants Before you begin … Read More
Honesty in Marketing: Why Transparency is Important
Imagine walking into a store; let’s say it’s a grocery store. You’re doing your weekly grocery shopping, ready to pick up your weekly supplies. As you meander down the vitamin aisle, you stop; a bottle on the shelf reads “Drop 25 pounds in one week AND grow 4 inches taller!”. Now, most people will pass by this very confident weight … Read More
Common Scents: Patchouli
Welcome back to our series, Common Scents! Common Scents is a collection of articles exploring the history of commonly used essential oils, and how they became so popular in modern day soap and cosmetic crafting. This week, we’ll talk about patchouli! Scent is an incredible sense. A certain smell can make you remember a person or place, or can be … Read More
The HSCG Annual Conference: 2017 Wrap Up
Time flies when you’re having fun, and here at HSCG Headquarters, time also flies when you are knee-deep in planning a sold-out conference for 614 registered attendees! A Conference is Born Planning for the 2017 Annual Conference actually began several years ago, when Executive Director and conference planning extraordinaire Leigh O’Donnell visited several sites in Las Vegas. She was on … Read More
6 Ways to Secure Your Business and Peace of Mind
Everything is becoming digital. Many things are becoming more simple because of this electronic revolution; payments are becoming easier and more secure, advertising opportunities using platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are limitless and mostly free. Your customer base isn’t limited to who comes to your brick and mortar location or your market booth; anyone can buy from you, … Read More
Getting Creative With Molds: 5 Do’s and Don’ts
When Handcrafters first start out, one of the most difficult expenses can be the cost of a good mold. Any seasoned soapmaker can tell you that a good mold is worth its weight in gold; but if you are just starting out and aren’t quite sure if you even like the process yet, we have a few guidelines you can … Read More
Advocacy Day 2017
As you most likely saw on our social media pages, the Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetic Guild hosted our very first Advocacy Day on April 5th, 2017. Dozens of Handcrafters including HSCG Board Members and two HSCG staff members participated in this incredible effort to educate members and staff of both Congress and the Senate on the businesses of handcrafted soap … Read More
Common Scents: Ylang Ylang
Welcome back to our series, Common Scents! Common Scents is a collection of articles exploring the history of commonly used essential oils, and how they became so popular in modern day soap and cosmetic crafting. This week, we’ll talk about ylang ylang! This month we are going to talk about everyone’s least favorite essential oil to pronounce: ylang ylang! Pronounced … Read More