[whitecrow]

Originally Posted by Northboy

If you're going to do soap, check out candles as well. From a production point of view, they fit together nicely.

You're right, they do. Back in the days when both soap and candles were made of tallow, the makers were called chandlers and they nearly always did both.

I don't use tallow or lard at all, and I don't especially like working with beeswax although I use a little of it in some of my soaps. Certain oils like neem tend to make the soap soft, and a tiny bit of beeswax makes it harder. Unlike paraffin, beeswax is high in saponifiables, which means it actually becomes part of the soap itself, and is not just added to it. I do make a beeswax furniture polish, and I also use it in lip balms and tattoo balms.

I'm afraid I don't find candlemaking very interesting. Soapmaking is a fairly challenging blend of art and science. Good money in candles though, and I should look into it from a business standpoint. If the power goes out, folks won't be able to get enough of 'em!