Once you've gotten your soap made, and decided what your labels are going to be like, you'll need some sort of packaging to apply the labels to the soap. There are many different ways to package your soap, and it can be a huge distinction from what other soap makers use for their soaps. The packaging and labels together are important to give your soap the kind of feel that you want your business to have.

Do you want the soaps to look like they came straight from a farm kitchen that produced a homey kind of bar soap? Do you want your soap to declare that it is upbeat and ecclectic like a piece of art? Maybe you want it to look super natural to direct the hippies toward your products. Or maybe your idea is reminicent of what Grandma used to make.

Whatever the message is that you want your soap to bring to your customers, your labels and packaging will reflect your interests and intents for your soap making business. Here are a few ideas to help you determine what is right for your product:

Strips of fabric with a label tied onto it:
This is very simple packaging that usually lets the soap be open to the air at least partially, so that your customers can easily smell the soap's scent.

Soap wrapped in cellophane:
This is helpful if the soap is going to be sold in a clothing or food store. Some stores require packaging of soaps, so that the fragrance doesn't permeate other items around it.
 

Fabric wrapped soap:
Some people like the look of a bar of soap wrapped completely in a fabric casing. The fabric can make the soap look sweet and delicate, or it can be bright and fun.

Felted soap:
Felted soap is a bar encased by wool that has been felted. You take a bar of soap that is cured and ready to use, wrap it in wool roving, and gently massage under warm water until the wool shrinks to interlock the fibers, then leave it out to dry. Its purpose is to be a nice way of displaying the soap, and can serve to help prolong the life of the bar of soap, as well as be a gentle way to exfoliate your skin instead of using a washcloth. There are many views about selling felted soap, so do your research to see if it is something that is best for your product.

Paper wrapped soap:
Brown or white paper, tissue paper, wax paper, printed paper, whatever paper you want. Paper provides a good way to attach labels, and you can give your soaps a wide variety of looks by using different patterns and textures.

Soap boxes:
You can buy boxes to display your soaps in. These come in many shapes and sizes. The boxes can completely encase the soap, or it might have a small disply window. 

Don't limit yourself by these suggestions. As with every other step of making your soaps unique, use your own creative talent to decide what is best for your soap business. Search the Internet for more ideas, and remember that a picture is worth a thousand words, so take a look at what other people have done.

To read the previous Soap Saturdays posts:

-The Beginning of a Soap Maker: Soap Saturdays
-Processes to Make Soap: Soap Saturdays
-Equipment (On Sunday): Soap Saturdays
-Ingredients: Soap Saturdays
-Fun Ingredients: Soap Saturdays
-Molds (On Sunday, Again…): Soap Saturdays
-Choosing a Recipe: Soap Saturdays
-Mixing Instructions: Soap Saturdays
-Record Keeping: Soap Saturdays
-The Soap is Made, Now What?: Soap Saturdays
-Steps to Starting Your Business: Soap Saturdays
-Paying Taxes For Your Business: Soap Saturdays 
-Labeling Your Soap: Soap Saturdays