Guest size soaps are great for different situations including travel, guest bathrooms, hotels/bed and breakfasts and are great for allowing your customers to purchase mini sizes of different soaps to try. There are many ways to create guest size soaps; here is what I like to do.
Creating Handcrafted Guest Size Soaps
- I create my soaps in either 8″ or 10″ silicone loaf molds.
- I have a multi-wire cutter that I use to cut them into 1″ bars.
- I then use the cutter to cut each bar of soap into three slices. Below, the soap is cut into three slices.
Then I cut the stack of 3 slices into halves; creating 6 guest size soaps out of 1 bar of soap.
I just LOVE these tiny bars of soap! They are adorable!
Below, are three bars of soap cut into 6 guest size soaps each. Each weighs about 18 grams.
You can even create labels for them! If you need help designing labels, we can help!
To give you an idea of the size, here is a bar in my hand.
You can sell them in sets to your customers or maybe even offer them wholesale to local boutique hotels and bed & breakfasts.
When pricing them, be sure to keep in mind the extra packaging (if you package) and labor involved (cutting).
Did you see this travel soap set we used to sell at Prairie Soap Company?
Do you create guest size soaps? How do you do it? Where do you sell them? Post a comment to be entered to win a $15 gift certificate to LovinSoap.com!
(Post your comment by July 7, 6 PM CST.)
Happy Soaping!
-Amanda Gail
I have a silly question or two…: Do you use your multi-wire cutter to cut your 1″ bars into 3, thinner bars? If so, wouldn’t it be easier to cut your loaf of soap as the thinner bars the first time?
and…
Can your multi-wire cutter be adjusted for width, or do you use a single-wire cutter to cut your 1″ bars into the thinner bars?
I’m just trying to visualize how to do this. I don’t think I’ve seen a multi-wire cutter that had adjustable widths before, and cutting a 1″ bar of soap into 3, even slices is not as easy as it seems.
Thanks for sharing all these great recipes.
Love your ideas! Do you have videos on YouTube? If u do please send me a links
although I am not selling yet, I make 1″ cubes and package 6 to a box for travel soaps as gifts. then take the same 1″ cube and cut in half for samples…for people that I work with… they are my lab rats!! 🙂
Not actually guest soaps but I do something similar…I usually make 1 lb tester batches and they are not enough to sell, so I cut the bars into 1/2 inch slices then cut those in half. I package them in glassine bags and give them as samples to people who purchase from me. Sometimes they become part of my line and sometimes not….but everyone loves getting a little something with their purchase.
hola me llamo Rosario soy de Uruguay,quiero aprender a hacer jabones,tema traducción hay cosas que no entiendo.Ayuda! muy linda la pag.saludos
Hola Rosario…
Hacemos jabones en Mexico y te podemos ayudar con mucho gusto.
Precisamente este foro se trata de compartir y ayudarnos en comunidad.
Cualquier cosa aqui estamos.
Saludos,
Susan
Ive always made the extra small ones to give to a buyer at my booth or someone in a store or just whoever I start a conversation w, at my booth I allow 2 sometimes 3 bars so someone who’s never used CP Soap can try it without the worry of wasting money if they don’t like it, they always come back the next trade day. Then I have a section on my table where there normal size bars that I’ve cut in half and are had price of a normal bar for the person who wants multiple bars of different fragrances but simply can’t afford that many full size bars of soap, then there’s the full size bar that the only difference in them and the halved bars is if I decorate the tops w a high top and added pretties the halved bars won’t have the raised top. But it’s the best way to sell soap in the area where I live as people have to hang on to their money fairly tight and they can’t afford to buy something that they won’t like or use. It’s what works
Great idea, Amanda! Thanks for sharing!
Those are so cute! I tried getting into local B&Bs when we first moved down here, but many of them have their own soapmakers in house. I did eventually make small bars that I called “Traveling Soaps,” geared towards people who want real soap when they’re on the road. Eventually, the most of them I sold went to people who just wanted to try a particular scent or type. Most recently, they’re complementary with orders. I have a 12-bar silicone soap mould. I quartered my usual recipe for that mould, which gave me bars about 3/8″ thick. Then I halved those; my resulting bars were about an ounce. I tied hemp twine around them with a tag that had the scent and my website. (That alone was more work than it was worth.)
My bars are a very wide cut! I then re cut them from the ends. It is just the right size for my conservative buyers. I sell to all local bed & breakfast, and guest houses; especially during summer season.
Hey Amanda!!
So I’m still stuck in the stone age with my blade soap cutter! So if I’m going to make guest bars, I will do 2 different options.
My first: is to use one of the first wooden molds I ever bought off of a FB group. The mold holds about 2-3lbs of soap if you build the tops of the bars. But it’s only about 2-1/2 inches deep by 3in wide 10inches approximately. Since the bars are quite small I like to add some great swirls! Or intriguing designs.
Once my soap is poured, done setting up, I cut each bar by hand. (Stone age I tell you!!) Now since I’m stuck in the stone age I use a ruler (again stone age) to find the exact size I like. Since these bars are already small I like to keep these cut a
1/2inch thick. I trim all the edges until they look straight. And that’s my guest bar!
My second option is to use my silicone molds: Silicone muffin mold for tiny little circular soap or they same way you cut yours!
I love how you cut them. Thanks for the post.
i love this! So cute! When I do my B& B bars I only cut each bar in 4ths to twice on the wire cutter and in half by hand. I’ve discovered that its much better to cut the soap fresh instead of cutting it up after it cured. A *duh* moment for sure!
I’ve been making “mini” soaps for many years. I use my regular soap cutter on a large bar and cut it in half lengthwise.. I let the soap sit a day or two and then use a little guide cutter that I bought at For Crafts Sake stacking two at a time and cutting them horizontally with a knife. I get four 1 ounce bars. I then punch four holes in a 3×3 crystal clear ziplock with a matte clear label on it. My customers buy them in stacks. They give them as gifts and favors and they like the plastic bag that still breathes that they can travel with. There’s always room for improvement and I keep looking at the guest soap set up at For Crafts Sake but can’t justify the costs unless I went into really wholesaling to B&B’s and such!
I love the setup from FCS – For those interested, http://forcraftssake.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=29&zenid=897f6cc908a8e02ff0e0303a1ac2db8d
Hi Amanda,
what kind of paper are you using to wrap the soap? Also can the bar be cut horizontally instead of vertically or maybe do 1/2 the amount you would pour per batch so you get a whole bar but smaller in height? Or is it better to do it vertical Thanks
This is just cardstock that I printed using a laser printer. Yes, you could cut that way for sure. I would try a couple of different cuts and see what you prefer.
I do stl bar soaps but need to design labels. Onus I feel mine are a bit small so I will have to try this method. Thanks!
Thanks for giving me the push I need to get this done!
What a great idea! Thanks Amanda for sharing so much great info and ideas with us!
Thanks so much for this explanation. I always wondered how people made their guest soaps.
This is what I do with the end of my loaf of every batch I do. I like to give them as tips to the baristas at out local coffee shop, I also give them out to other people like the gal at checkout who seemed to be having a rough day, the nurse who was so helpful and sometimes I add a bar or two along with a cash tip at restaurants! I do make sure to have my contacts info on them so they can get ahold of me for full bars! I have yet to add the small bars for sale, but do plan to do it soon. I must say the baristas fight over who will help me when they see me coming!
I love it! You are the soap fairy! <3
I do this for travelers with sensitive skin. They like a plain soap, one bar cut into quarters. I started doing this for my baby brother who is an executive for an international chemical company. Her travelled A LOT. Word spread. Love the clam shell.
Such great ideas!! I love all the colors you used too.
I love guest size soaps. I usually use leftover bars that don’t sell fast enough for me to make these. Then I sell them as samples. Great idea!
Amanda, those are really cute and a great idea. I have to try it! Thanks for sharing!
I love these! What a great idea for samples and gifts for those who travel
These are smaller than I originally thought – I love them! I like the idea of using them as samples
When you put multiple soaps together in one package (like your travel soap set), how do you list the ingredients if there are 4 or 5 different recipes?
Hi Rosemary, when selling soap in a multiple set, I don’t list ingredients. If you wanted, you could make a card or insert with all possible ingredients, but that would make it a bit complicated. In the U.S., if you are selling soap as simply soap, you don’t have to label the ingredients.
This is great info! I often have a hard time listing every ingredient on my labels…especially when I use complicated recipes with lots of oils butters and additives. I wondered how I’d get all the info on an extra small label lol!
Making guest sized soaps is on my “To Do” List! Thanks for the great info!
I’m cutting challenged, so I’d like to see a photo too ?
As soon as I get back home, I’ll take a pic of the cuts. 🙂
Thank you so much for posting this Amanda!! I’ve been thinking about adding guest bars but wasn’t sure just how big they should be. This would be a nice size to do sampler packs for gift baskets too.
i’m word challenged! can you show a pic of your process of cutting? so you cut 1 inch bars…then cut them into three, which side? lol…
As soon as I get back home, I’ll take a pic of the cuts. 🙂