To Shrink Wrap or Not Shrink Wrap Hand Crafted Soap

After spending time making, cutting and curing our hand crafted soaps, I'd wrap them with a cigar-band style label and place them on a shelf or in a box. However, the soaps would continue to shrink as they cured, and the cigar band would slip off. Sometimes the soap would fall off the shelf and become dented. I needed a better way to label soaps and protect them from damage. I bought some 4" x 6" shrink wrap bags and some labels... pulled out the hair dryer and began sealing soap!

Pros:

• shrink wrap bags are inexpensive (less than 3 cents each)
• can shrink 40% of the bag's size (fit many sizes of soaps)
• can be cut for even smaller soaps or a tighter fit
• heat can be applied with a hair dryer or craft heat gun
• protects soap from dents and damage
• protects soap from germs (craft show fingers and noses)
• fragrances do not spread from one soap to another (different soaps can be stored in the same box or shelf)
• soaps can be stored on metal shelving (soaps placed on metal are more likely to develop DOS - dreaded orange spots)
• labels stick to shrink wrap
• shrink wrapped soap looks "professional"
• shrink wrapping is fun

Cons:

• soaps continue to shrink after wrapping and may need to be "tightened up" with more heat prior to selling/shipping
• it's difficult to smell soap through the shrink wrap
• wrappers can rip if overheated or the soap has a sharp edge
• corners of the wrapper can be sharp if not properly pushed down
• not as environmentally friendly as other wrapping methods
• your cat may try to eat shrink wrap wrappers (mine does)
• customers may have difficulty unwrapping the soap

If you need a better way to protect your soaps for gift giving or resale, you might want to consider shrink wrapping them. Here's a quick tutorial:

Do you shrink wrap your soaps? Do you shrink wrap any other items? Let me know in the comments below!