How to Make Lotion and Body Scrubs

With Filipinos becoming more and more image conscious, the domestic market for body scrub and lotion makers has been steadily growing. There is still a large untapped market for these products particularly in the provinces, where the players in the personalized lotion and body scrub business are few. Moreover, personal care products are good gift items, and lotion is the second fastest moving products in this particular market segment.

Start-up capital is P4,000 for three 300-ml packs of body scrub and ten 100-ml bottles of lotion. Time to finish is 30 minutes.

Materials:

• Spatula, P29.25
• Plastic beaker, P85
• Graduated cylinder, P135
• Bowls (stainless steel or glass)
• Plastic or pastry bag, P30
• Packaging materials such as PET bottles and labeling utensils.
  • For body scrub, you need 300-ml PET jars (P16.80/pc)
  • For lotion, 100-ml PET bottles with a gel pump cap (188.60/dozen)
  • Depending on your preference or target market, you can use larger containers instead.
• Lotion base, P1,120 per 10kg
• Body scrub base, P1,680 per 10kg
• Fragrance, P560 per 120 ml
• Diluted or liquid food color, P69.75 per package

The lotion base and body scrub base can be purchased at a minimum of 10 kg. You can use the same fragrance for both your lotion and body scrub base, or use a different scent for each. However, you will use the food dye only for making lotion.

Procedure

1. Measure the raw materials: one kg of each of the bases and 10 ml of fragrance. Do the same for lotion and body scrub. You can measure the bases using a beaker or, for more precise measurements, a weighing scale.
2. Pour the base into the beaker and, using a spatula, press the material slightly; this is to fill in the air gap inside the container until a volume of 1,000 ml for the mixture is attained (1,000 ml or one liter is equivalent to one kilogram). Be very careful not to compact the base; otherwise, the mixture will become heavier than needed
3. Next, measure the fragrance by using a graduated cylinder or a measuring spoon. There are over 500 fragrances to choose from, and you can also mix and match several of them to create your own scent. Since fragrances are aromatic by nature, there’s no combination that will stink.
4. Once you’ve measured ail of the raw materials, pour the fragrance onto the base and mix them using a spatula. Mix well until the fragrance is Thoroughly blended with the base.
5. Then, put one drop of diluted or liquid food color into your mixture (the amount of dye to use depends on your preference). For this project, only the lotion needs coloring, but if you wish, you can also put coloring to your body scrub. Just be sure to match the color and the fragrance.
6. The last step is packaging your finished products. Use the PET jars for the scented body scrub, and the bottles with gel pump cap for the lotion. By using only the spatula, you can fill the jar with the scented body scrub. To transfer the lotion into its bottle containers, however, you will need to use a pastry bag or plastic sheet.

How Much Will You Make

The production setup described above yields about three 300-ml packs of body scrub and ten 100-ml bottles of lotion. To determine your selling price, divide your production cost by the yield (in terms of the number of packages of finished products) and then multiply the quotient by two to get a 100 percent markup. Typically, the prices would be P176.71 for the body scrub pack and P63.57 for the body lotion bottle. You may need to adjust your prices depending on the me you want to target and taking into account such other expenses as store rentals and product delivery costs.

Tips: You can join bazaars, sell them in schools, or consign them at malls, spa centers, and health and beauty stores. If you opt to supply malls and health beauty stores, you need to get a certification from BFAD. This is aside from the usual business permits you need to get from the appropriate government agencies.

Chemical suppliers:

• Basic Chemical Solutions, 667-3352
• CCT Chemicals, Inc., 850-4858
• Newchem Company, Inc., 254-9424
• Purechem Corp., 251-5302

source: Mishell Malabaguio, www.entrepreneur.com.ph, photos by Jun Pinzon