Captain Ethel's

          Soap Making Links

                          Last updated  April 2008

All links are UK-based unless otherwise noted. Many US and Australian suppliers will ship to the UK, and it can be cost effective for some items. There may be  restrictions on posting plant materials.  EU regulations for certification are under "Reference".

***** The Real Soapmakers' Guide Ebook can no longer be sold through Ebay BUT is still available. Until we find another home
            for it, please send Captain Ethel (address at bottom of page)  an email  to buy it.

The Indispensable 

 

MMS                Majestic Mountain Sage Lye Calculator  

Lye&Fra          This one will also do fragrance amounts

Cranberry         Basic but useful.

Sooz                  Very detailed. Will do KOH calcs as well.     

 

One-stop shops for soap making and toiletries supplies

 

Sodium hydroxide/Caustic soda – While it can be bought by mail order,  it's easier to get from your local Boots, B&Q, Wilkinsons,  or hardware store.

 

SoapmakersStore                     Large catalogue  - aromatherapy, soap and cosmetics.  Was formerly Cosmetic Ingredients.

The Soap Tub                          M&P heaven. Online ordering, big range of kits. Sells pre-certified M&P. Certification help.  

IdAromaticsLeeds                   An old favourite gets a web site. £35  min. 

Aromantic                                 Online. Wide range of cosmetic supplies.  

SheaButterCottage                  Suppliers of exotic butters,  fairly traded and organic ingredients for making natural skincare products.

Soap Kitchen                            Good variety and growing. Online ordering.  

JustaSoap                                 SLSA powder, Milky Way moulds, kilner jars, asessment packages and lots more.  

BathBombBiz                            Ingredients, moulds and kits for bath bombs and bath products.

SoapBasics                               Everything you need, and LOTS of moulds.  £20 minimum.

Baldwins                                    Supplies include empty capsules and removable divider moulds. 

Gilde                                           Dutch, with English. Supplies include cutters, shrink sealers and a milling machine.   Fixed!

NewDirections                          Soap and toiletry-making supplies.  

Brambleberry                            USA. Very large range.  

Sweetcakes                               USA. Good for unusual FOs.  $25 minimum.

Chemistry Store                       USA. Big range of synthetics, especially sulfolaurelacetate powder for bubble bath slices.  

KangarooBlue                           USA. Some items are economic to have shipped, and great customer service.  

SunFeather                                USA. Lots of wax colour chips under "Colorants".

BayHouse                                  Oils, Eo's, butters, jars and other cosmetics and aromatherapy supplies

AussieSoapSupplies                Australia. Raw materials, workshops , moulds stamps and tools for soapmaking.

 

There are LOTS more USA suppliers on page 2

 

Oils and Bases  

Palm oil can  be bought from catering suppliers, or try fish and chip shops.  Pura shortening is half palm oil.

 

ScentsofNature                           Bulk oils and bases. Organics, butters,  packaging and a contract filling service.

Stephensons                               Soap bases in noodles. Range includes a transparent organic.

JohnDrury                                    Bedforth's milling base and flakes. Three grades, 25kg sacks.  

Lefktro                                           Pomace olive oil in trade quantities. There is a retail side, too.  

Sandralex                                      In French, but straightforward. They do a range of liquid castile bases without EDTA. 

                                                       (Note: their solid bases are for milling, not M&P.)

Phoenix                                        Oils, including some of the more unusual ones. No online prices.

Fresholi                                         Butters, waxes and bases plus forums for soap and lotion makers.

CornwallSoapBox                        Wholesalers for Agbanga Karite unrefined, fair trade shea butter.     

NorthStarLipids                          All plant derived oils, and some specialty sunflower oils.

Statfold                                        Base oils from 25 kg and essentials from 1 kg up. Includes organics. Nice people. 

WmHodgson                                Base products, oils and additives in small to bulk sizes. 

Anglia                                          Anglia Oils.  Food, pharmaceutical and organics.  

Codina                                          France. Oils in large or small quantities. There is an order form in English. 

Aromatrading                              Good quality EOs.  Does organic palm and coconut.

Balestrini                                       Italy, but with pages in English. Wide variety of oils.    

Richardsons                                 Palm oil in Scotland - delivered! A catering supplier and now online.                                              

LaMotte                                         Germany. Includes a large range of organic base oils.

Emu                                                A source for emu oil. 

Liberty                                          USA. Virgin unrefined coconut oil in all sizes, but there is a minimum order. 

Enchanted Valley                        USA.  Ostrich oil and info. 

Biochemica                                   USA. Exotic butters.

FNWL                                           USA. From Nature with Love. Oils like arnica, turkey red, rice bran, meadowfoam.

Voigt                                              USA. The only source I’ve found for cottonseed oil. Other unusual ones.  


Eo/Fo (Mainly)

 

If you're looking for an unusual FO, try here for a long list of scents and suppliers (mainly US):        FragranceFinder

For advice on blending smells, try this nifty gizmo:       RMScentBlender    

 


Gracefruit                                       Specialises in hard-to-get FOs - and has all the revelant paperwork.   

AncientWisdom                           Eo/Fo and other supplies. Good for baskets!

NewMoonOccultShop                Lots of unusual oils.  

NorfolkEoils                                 Norfolk Essential oils. Small cooperative company with some interesting oils.

Materia                                          Materia Aromatica. Organic, aromatherapy-grade Eos. 

EoOnline                                        Oils, carriers, creams and floral waters.

JCBuck                                          Different kinds of lavender, rose, peppermint and  others 

IncenseMagic                              Eo/Fo for incense.  

EoCo                                              Essential oils with lots of good information about them. 

SensoryPerfection                       FOs from US sources and now a rangle of soap moulds

Butterbur & Sage.                       Reliable old firm. Oils and now a range of cosmetic ingredients.  Fixed!

Amphora                                      Amphora Aromatics. £50 min.

Mother Earth.                               I’ve used their headlice blend.

Norfolk Lavender                         The famous one. Soap, toiletries, oils, plants.

Shop4EssentialOils                       EOs and a nice range of carriers and bases. Now stocking Monoi de Tahiti.          

EssentiallyOils                              Includes a list of rare oils and attars.

Caravansons                                 Commercial fragrance supplier. Contact them for prices.

Roeper                                            Germany. (In English). Resins, waxes, gums, attars.

Augustus                                       Augustus Oils. 1 Kg minimum on most. Email for prices.

Scentworks                                    USA. Long list of FO's and excellent, speedy customer service.  

EssentialWholesale                      USA. All kinds of 5 fold citrus oils.

SaveonScents                                USA. Big range of EO and FO and bottles. 

Meadows, Newss, Elix, Kobashi, EChamomile     Not seen enough Eo companies yet? Ok, here are a few more.         

Moulds  and Molds

Most of  the “one stop shops” mentioned above sell moulds

Nizzy                                   Australia. The famous “Nizzy” soap mould with removable dividers. 

Keylink                                          Chocolate moulds.

MilkyWay                            Milky way home. 

AscottSmallholding                     Look under cheesmaking for moulds, and look at the Goat Coats for fun.

DennyCrafts                                   Soap and  candle moulds. 

Soapcraft                                       Wooden box moulds and soap cutters.

PlanetEarth                                    Vertical tube molds and nifty novelty moulds.  Fixed!

LePrevo                                          Custom embossing plates which can be used successfully as soap stamps 

                                                             from a leathercraft supplier.

FrederickFollows                           Custom hand stamps. Big company, but happy to do one-offs. 

Silicone                                           USA. Gazillions of molds. Everything you can think of.   

ChaseHoldings                             USA. Moulds and custom mould-making.

SoapImpressions                          USA. Custom soap stamps. Very good service.

NaturesBouquet                           USA. Different, and very nice floral moulds.

Pourette                                           USA. Customs soap moulds and good prices.  

MoldMarket                                    USA.  Huge range of novelty molds plus  they take Paypal and ship by regular post. 

Upland                                            USA. Professional-size bar moulds and mixers.

ForCraftsSake                               USA. Soap log splitter.

 

 

Other Supplies and Cosmetic Chemicals

 

Ellens                                                 USA. Peacock dyes for soap and bath bombs. BRIGHT colours. 

TubOSoap                                         Canada. For LabColors.  

ArtemisHerbs                                   Bulk herbs in manageable 500 gram bags  

Altec                                                  PH meters.

FischerScientific                              More PH Meters.

GeorgeWeil                                       Look under “Textiles” for a long list of natural plant dyes.  

SelectShades                                    USA. Over 800 colour shades for CP, M&P and other toiletries.  

Jet                                                        Baskets wholesale. (Actually a floristry supplier.)

SanFranciscoBathSaltCo                 Salt and Mud products from San Francisco. Worth a look!  

Maplins                                              Electronics. Oodles of thermometers.

OfASimpleNature                              Stocks some hard to find toiletries additives. 

FunatBathTime                                 UK/USA. Trade suppliers of all kinds of bath goodies. 

IchabodConk                                    USA. Wet shaving  products including mugs and bowls.  

Kremer                                                Germany/USA. Huge pigments company - need to know what you are looking for

                                                                                         as most of the products are not for cosmetics.

Emporium,Pierce,Decofleur               Dried citrus slices and potpourri  supplies. Three suppliers. Also try KCPackaging  listed below.

Moorlands                                         Cheesemaking supplies, but look under Misc for colourings and thermometers.

Oriental                                               Oriental trading. Small toys, including plastic goldfish. Price is per GROSS.

PressedFlowers                                 Devon Pressed Flowers. No online ordering, but very helpful by phone. 

JosephMills                                        Ethanol from 1 Liter upwards. 

WeeFolkOutfitters                             Nothing to do with soaping - I just really like them!  

BritishWax                                          Family-run company with waxes for candles and cosmetics. 

PeacockSalt                                        Salt, and lots of it.

QD,  Cottonpatch, Rio                      Freezer paper - three different suppliers of .

RoseChemicals                                  Cosmetic chemicals. They say they will do smaller amounts. 

Romil                                                   High purity lye.  

AlbanMuller                                      French company with a wide range of cosmetic ingredients 

 

Suppliers for Bigger Boys and Girls

These companies have everything you could ever want, but it all starts with a 25 kg minimum. Begging doesn't help.

Biachem                                     Chemical distributors. Nice people -   will redirect you to another supplier if they're too big. 

Connocks                                   Oils and cosmetic additives. Good links for industry organisations.     

SBlack                                          Known for Eo's and cosmetic chemicals.

Kanegrade                                   Food-grade additives like honey powder and ROE.

Inovia                                           Part of Stanchem, UK. Some bulk cosmetics chemicals available in smaller quantities. Prices by phone.

Adina, Blagden, Paroxite           Three more  cosmetic chemical distributors, if you're really determined. Ask Adina about smaller quantities.


 

Soap Makers

ShetlandSoapCompany                  Two shops and mail order from our most northerly islands
SallyPointer                                       Historic soaps: washballs, castile and soft soap in tubs. 

Soapbops                                           Specialises in goth and pagan-themed soaps.  

KettlersCottage         &