Welcome to our second Spotlight Feature, your chance to meet some enterprising folk who've successfully turned a hobby/passion into a business.

This month we're saying hello to Chloe... founder of Cheeky Suds

Tell us a bit about you and your business

Hi, I am Chloe and I am the owner of Cheeky Suds which is a handmade novelty soaps, bath and beauty products company based in London. Although I live in London I am originally from Manchester – Northern lass! 

All of my products are handmade by me and currently include novelty soaps, body scrubs, body butters, bath salts, foot soaks, bath creamers, bath melts, bath soufflés, and solid lotion/massage bars.

 Lollipop Soaps!

Most of my products are vegan friendly or can be made vegan upon request and nothing has been tested on animals. My soap products are made using a Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) - free soap base. SLS is known to irritate skin if used in large quantities. As Cheeky Suds products do not contain SLS, they are considered to be suitable for people with sensitive skin.

Novelty Transfer Soaps

How long have you been running your business?

I started the business in April 2011, purely as an online business, but I now also sell at Camden Lock Market in Camden, London and also offer children’s parties either in your home or at your chosen venue.  Children enjoy being able to make natural lip balms, soaps and body treats for themselves.

Bath Bomb Cup Cakes

What inspired you to start creating your own Bath & Body Products?

I have three years’ experience working in sales and as a Recruitment Consultant and nearly eleven years’ experience working within Criminal Justice. My previous work experience was quite stressful and I decided that I wanted a total career change and also that I wanted to do something creative. This alongside my love of cosmetics led me to set up Cheeky Suds.

Chocolate Body Scrubs

What are the best bits about your business?

I get bored easily if I am not mentally stimulated or trying new challenges so I love the fact that there are so many different beauty products I can make and I can experiment with design, scents, textures and ingredients. It's also a great feeling when people say that my products both look good and work well for them. It's like baking a cake or cooking a good meal (I also love food so couldn't resist mentioning it) that people enjoy! It's good to know that my efforts are appreciated and it motivates me to keep doing more.

Selling at Camden Market allows me to meet lots of different people from all over the world and the other stall holders are nice too – it’s important to meet new people now that I am no longer in an office environment. I like having my own business as it enables me to be my own boss and that means I have full control over what I do and make all of my own decisions.

Lip Balms & Butters

What are your plans for the future?

I would like to continue to expand my product lines and reach even more people. I want Cheeky Suds to become a place where you can purchase products to suit all of your beauty needs. I also plan to do more craft fairs and deliver some workshops. In the future I would like to open a Cheeky Suds abroad, somewhere with sun, sea, sand, cocktails and maybe a few (hunky) masseurs to demonstrate how to use my products would be nice!

Whipped Shea Body Butter

What advice would you give to anyone considering starting up?

A couple of wise (and maybe a tad cheesy) quotes are 'You've got to be in to win it,' and 'You only get out what you put in.' I would say that you have to be prepared to work hard and never give up.

The first time I made a sale I was ecstatic and the feeling only gets better from there onwards. There will be times when you feel that it is difficult or you want to give up but you have to keep pushing through these barriers and keep going.

I think that if it is something you are passionate about and really want to do it you should go for it. There is no harm in trying and you never know how well you might do.

Watermelon Soap Lolly (Soapsicle!)

What’s been the most valuable resource for you and your business?

The most valuable resource for me has been the internet. I get the majority of my supplies online and a vast amount of my ideas, inspiration and tips come from there. Online soap making/beauty forums are excellent as I get to communicate with people from all over the world who do the same things as me. I have also received good advice from suppliers such as Bathbomb.biz and from various books.

Doughnut Soaps

Finally, can you tell us about Social Networking and your business?

I am involved in Social Networking on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and blogging but I have to admit that since being busier I have not had as much time to keep up to date with it all (naughty naughty).  But it is definitely worth working at as you get to meet great people whilst driving more traffic to your website. I think it is an essential tool for anyone that is serious about starting up their own business.

Thanks Chloe, it's been lovely to hear more about you and your business. 

If you'd like to contact Chloe you will find her on

Facebook www.facebook.com/cheekysuds 

And over on her website www.cheekysuds.co.uk

For general (and free!) advice on Cosmetic Regulations, selling your products and sourcing ingredients why not pop over to www.bathbomb.biz









Bubble Bar Recipes

Over on our Facebook page we've long been having discussions about how to make the best bubble bars.  Opinions and experiences vary as with most crafting adventures.
However we've been luck enough to have one of our members contribute a successful recipe and she's kindly agreed to share it with everyone.

Nicola from the Soap And Card Shack - Brackley - has recently opened a bricks and mortar shop where these gorgeous bars are selling really well.  If you can't wait and would like to try some for yourself, you can contact Nicola through her website http://www.soapandcardshack.co.uk/ or via her Facebook page Soapandcardshack-brackley

Nicola's Recipe for Bubble Bars

250g Bicarbonate of Soda


100g Citric Acid

50g SLS Noodles <<< please read this before proceeding

8ml Fragrance or Essential Oil of your choice

Colour - any cosmetic/toiletry grade colour (if using ultramarine blue please choose acid resistant)
 
Combine all dry ingredients thoroughly.  Add colour if desired, fragrance and mix well.   Bind with a few spritzes of water.
 
You will find that the noodles do not take up the colour therefore you will have a mottled effect to your bars.  Press into a suitable mould or form into shapes by hand.  Allow to dry before wrapping.
 
Thanks Nicola for sharing.  We'd love to hear your comments and recipe ideas - please do post below.
 
 

What is Cosmetic Safety Assessment?

So you want to sell your hand made (Bath/Body) products? Then it's likely that you've come across the terms "Safety Assessment" "Certification" and "Cosmetic Safety Assessment". 

Sound complicated? What does it mean? Well, within the EU, the law states that before any cosmetic/toiletry product can be sold, it must be "tested" for safety by a suitably qualified individual or body (lab, company, etc) and it is this process that is referred to as Cosmetic Certification, Cosmetic Safety Assessment, Certification, Cosmetic Testing, or similar.

For the small scale producer it is not necessarily the case that the actual items you make will have to be physically tested.  If you are making Bath Bombs, M&P Soap, Lip Balms, Body Butters and similar low risk well recognised products, you are unlikely to be asked to send a sample for testing. (If you make Cold Process Soap, or Lotions with a water phase for example, then your assessment will differ)


Assessment for Cosmetics & Toiletries involves a suitably qualified cosmetic chemist or laboratory analysing your recipes, ingredients/ratios and methods.  Even if you are making relatively simple alterations to toiletry "base" products, the resulting "new" products will still need an assessment; you've altered the formulation therefore the product is now something new and requires assessment in its' own right. 

A number of conditions and rules must be satisfied before it is deemed safe to sell a cosmetic or toiletry product in the EU.  These conditions are contained  within the EC Cosmetics Directive (76/768/EEC) put in place in order to protect the public from harm.  Guidance from the Department of Business Inovation and Skills on the Cosmetics Regulations can be found here - and is very useful! Within that document are further links to helpful sites and we recommend that you save it for future reference. 

So how do you go about obtaining Assessment for your products?

1) Contact an individual assessor and advise them of the products you make, the ingredients and method that you use. The CTPA (Cosmetics Toiletry & Perfumery Association) will provide a list of independant assessors.

2) Purchase an assessment package to cover the type of products you wish to sell.  Packages are available that are either stand alone (ours are) - you are free to source your ingredients wherever you wish provided they conform to EU law or that tie you to buying a particular retailer's ingredients.

Manufacturing experience is needed for both options; that is to say you should already know how to make products safely, be confident with the regulations surrounding ingredient use and be able to keep accurate records whilst adhering to good manufacturing practice. 

MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) and Allergen data must be available for your ingredients and those ingredients must of course be approved for use in the EU (US regulations differ, therefore ingredients sourced from the US may not comply with EU regulations and vice versa).  You will also need to familiarise yourself with EU law regarding labelling and weighing your products for sale, batch numbering and record keeping.

The consolidated EU cosmetics directive can be viewed here

Safety assessment packages can be viewed here


We hope that we've answered some of your questions but welcome your comments & questions.

Comment below or email us.