Asking friends/family for opinions

MorpheusPA said:

With the qualification that, if you ask my husband, he'll say "not spicy enough" to any dish. My response will be, "Too spicy."

I'm definitely at the far end of the bell curve, so I wouldn't expect a special recipe. Just give me the least spicy one you have. So to speak.

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We've got a friend like that. His standard response to 'how spicy is okay?' is 'ketchup.' He's also not picky about things like soap. Does it get him clean? That is literally the only criteria he has for soap. For clothes, it's 'is this legal to wear in public?' along with 'can it move on its own?' If the answers are 'yes' and 'no' respectively, he's good to go.

I have a good group of family that offer constructive feedback. I gifted to some friends and got no real responses except from 1. After that, I decided I would make them respond. I will give samples with a survey targeting specific responses. If they return the survey completed as requested, they get a free full sized bar. I don't do a whole lot of testing anymore, so this works out well for me.

I will second avocado oil. I had the same results as navigator when I tested it.

Wicked Kris ~ A few years ago I administered a blind test of two soaps with 20 people where I varied only one ingredient. I gave them a form to complete and enough time to use the soaps awhile before reporting back. I engraved the soaps with numbers so they could always report accurately which soap they were using. I thought it was interesting and I'm glad I did it.

The first link below is to the thread where I introduced the survey concept; note the PDF of my survey form is in post #11.
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=41411

The thread with the results and my interpretations of the results is here:
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=44167

I tried to keep the survey simple, and not read too much into the results. But even so, I found it enlightening. If I did it again, I'd make bigger batches and employ more testers so I could get a bigger sample size. I'd also pick an ingredient that doesn't change the appearance as much as milk does. I couldn't completely control for that.

If you decide to go forward with a test, have fun with it, and be sure to report back!

WickedKris said:

Did you do this when you started CP soap? If so, did you create a form to send with the soap? If so, what kind of questions did you ask?

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Hiya Kris, and welcome! I did have a few willing testers when I first started making stuff (not just soap) and I did create a form to get feedback. I was lucky that all my testers were soapers in the Denver area so they didn't fudge on their replies and told me what I needed to know.

Zany_in_CO said:

Hiya Kris, and welcome! I did have a few willing testers when I first started making stuff (not just soap) and I did create a form to get feedback. I was lucky that all my testers were soapers in the Denver area so they didn't fudge on their replies and told me what I needed to know.

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Oh my ty! I'm pretty sure I have some good testers willing to be honest so I think it'll work. Ty for the form view! That helps, too!

CaraBou said:

Wicked Kris ~ A few years ago I administered a blind test of two soaps with 20 people where I varied only one ingredient. I gave them a form to complete and enough time to use the soaps awhile before reporting back. I engraved the soaps with numbers so they could always report accurately which soap they were using. I thought it was interesting and I'm glad I did it.

The first link below is to the thread where I introduced the survey concept; note the PDF of my survey form is in post #11.

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Thanks Carabou,
I also blind tested GM and water soap with only that ingredient different in the soaps on my family and friends - about 12 people I think. Just about everyone preferred the water soap (from memory only 1 preferred GM).

My niece who only uses goats milk soap definitely preferred the water soap but still uses goatsmilk because she thinks it has magical properties!

penelopejane said:

Thanks Carabou,
I also blind tested GM and water soap with only that ingredient different in the soaps on my family and friends - about 12 people I think. Just about everyone preferred the water soap (from memory only 1 preferred GM).

My niece who only uses goats milk soap definitely preferred the water soap but still uses goatsmilk because she thinks it has magical properties!

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Funny how that works, eh? I've only made a few GM's since then, and seldom use additives besides sugar, a chelator, colorants and fragrance. But that tune may change if selling.