FAQs for customers

I am designing a flier (pamphlet, sign?) of FAQ's from customers.
I have yet to sell at market, gearing up to do that this fall.

So, I am offering castile, bastile, as well as other luxury soaps.
I want to explain the difference between the basics i.e. the
differences to expect (lather, etc.)

I also want to allay fears about lye, point out the need for a
well-draining soap dish, etc.

Also, if we can't make any claims on labels, then do you have an
information sheet on the benefits of, say, evening primrose oil-
or do you tell them verbally, or suggest that they look it up online?

Or do you put on your label that such-and-such an oil is "reputed"
to have the following benefits?- can I list these on my FAQ pamphlet?

Any other FAQ's that you can think of?

be careful with the claims stuff - I personally don't recommend putting out literature because that can be construed as making claims about your products.

Also, do you really believe that the "benefits" of EPO and the like survive the high pH environment and the lye and heat of the soaping?

and personally I don't call attention to the lye. sure I list it on my labels and am happy to disucss it, but I don't put out literature saying "my soap has something in it that you might think is really bad but don't worry about it cuz it's all ok". KWIM?

Bombus do you belong to the Handmade Soap Makers Guild ? They have a "all about soap " pamphlet that you can download or order printed . You can also get your insurance through them if you live in the US of A .


HTH
Kitn

This labeling thing has me so befuddled. Well, I guess it's not so much the labeling as it is the marketing.
I have not sold any soap yet, and have actually just entered the "giving it away stage", thanks to my husband who took some to work for his secretaries. But my aim is to try and sell some eventually so I will have to deal with this issue.
I certainly do not want some agent of the government showing up at my door to inspect my kitchen because I made some claim that classified my soaps as a cosmetic or drug. But, we buy these pricey ingredients specifically for the skin care properties that they impart to our soap and then we can't mention those things in our marketing? How do you describe your soap acurately and let the customer know what pains and expense you have gone to to make it wonderful for their skin and still not enter the "regulation zone"?

it's a challenge.

I don't have much difficulty because I personally don't think they impart anything to my soaps - so don't use specialty oils and the like. In lotions, maybe - serums yea, balms perhaps. Soaps - nah.

You really can only list the ingredients though. Beyond that, you are making a drug claim.

carebear said:

I personally don't think they impart anything to my soaps - so don't use specialty oils and the like.

Click to expand...

Carebear, what about butters? Do you use any of the specialty butters like Shea, Mango or Cocoa Butter? Do you think they make a difference?

zeo

Sure I soap with butters sometimes. Because I like the skin feel and lather. Not because I think they are healing or anything like that.

This is just MY take on things - I know there are people who feel differently.

Oh yeah, I wasn't thinking along the lines of being healing. I just wondered if you considered the butters to be worth it or a waste of time. I know some people consider them to be for label appeal only. I'm still learning. And when I saw the opportunity to ask this question to an experienced soaper, I took advantage of it.

I don't think butters are just for label appeal , in my experience with the recipes I use , the butters impart a great deal to the soap I make.

Kitn

I can't say that I can tell when I use specialty oils, but I can with butters.
For a while I was going over board with oils and butters...thinking more is better...not necessarily. I find now that I use my base recipe almost exclusively and then I occasionally add an oil or butter. But I don't add 3 butters 3 luxury oils ect. anymore LOL, It's just not necessary, I can get just as good a bar with one specialty oil or butter as a dozen.

..

Kitn said:

I don't think butters are just for label appeal , in my experience with the recipes I use , the butters impart a great deal to the soap I make.

Kitn

Click to expand...

I agree. The butters do contribute to a great soap.

Most of my forumlas are very simple - 2-3 oils/butters. So I can see the imact of each oil/butter I change. I love cocoa butter and shea. Mango is nice too, but I personally like the others better. The contribute a richness to the soap and lather that I don't get from just oils alone.

Exactly and like Dixie said less is more in most cases .

I started out with only basic oils. As the excitement built I got some of every imaginable oil and soaped them all! Oh what a joy it was! Seriously I had some fun!!! But over the years I've actually weeded out most of those entertaining oils and have found a deep and abiding satisfaction with my more basic selection.

There is a joy in simplicity - a bit of zen, if you will.

oldragbagger said:

This labeling thing has me so befuddled. Well, I guess it's not so much the labeling as it is the marketing.
I have not sold any soap yet, and have actually just entered the "giving it away stage", thanks to my husband who took some to work for his secretaries. But my aim is to try and sell some eventually so I will have to deal with this issue.
I certainly do not want some agent of the government showing up at my door to inspect my kitchen because I made some claim that classified my soaps as a cosmetic or drug. But, we buy these pricey ingredients specifically for the skin care properties that they impart to our soap and then we can't mention those things in our marketing? How do you describe your soap accurately and let the customer know what pains and expense you have gone to to make it wonderful for their skin and still not enter the "regulation zone"?

Click to expand...

Yes, and the food supplement people get away with making all kinds of claims!
I need to review the rules & regs again, but I believe that you can say that a
soap is "moisturizing" (which makes it a cosmetic) for instance, as long as your label includes all
ingredients (using INCI names) in order of descending quantity, & you include your contact info.

Well, Carebear, I am definitely in the excitement building stage. I love basic stuff, like all OO with GM, and 4-5 oils is my standard, with small variations and then scents and additives. But I also love experimenting. Sometimes I take a whole day and go on oil scouting expeditions. I'll drive to every healthfood, oriental and specialty market I can find just to see what they have on the shelves that I can try. I know it's expensive that way, but I would rather do that than pay postage and buy large amounts of something I may only want to use once or twice.

As far as the cosmetics classification.... According to what I read in the regs, there's a little more to it than just listing the ingredients. The aspect of it that I would find most troubling is the potential for inspection. It is my understanding that if your products are classified as a cosmetic you could be subject to inspection, and if your kitchen, or garage or basement or whatever facility you use to make your product would not pass all the rigorous inspections that would be applied to any plant where cosmetics are produced (think Maybelline) then you could be subject to huge fines. (Why do you think they require you have your complete name and STREET ADDRESS on your labels!!) Do you always wear a hairnet and booties on your shoes? I sure don't. And if you use your kitchen, any area that is also used for food preparation would surely not pass muster. Ever have a raw chicken on that kitchen counter? All of your ingredients have to have been approved for use in cosmetics as well. I have no idea which things I pull out of my kitchen cabinet actually have this approval and which ones don't. I don't know how often, or even if it ever, happens to the small soap handcrafter but it's not a risk, however minute, I am not willing to take.

I am determined to find a strategy that will keep me completely out of that cosmetic and drug realm and still attract buyers to the benefits of using a natural soap. Anyone with me on this?

Excuse my tone........

oldragbagger said:

As far as the cosmetics classification.... According to what I read in the regs, there's a little more to it than just listing the ingredients. The aspect of it that I would find most troubling is the potential for inspection. It is my understanding that if your products are classified as a cosmetic you could be subject to inspection, and if your kitchen, or garage or basement or whatever facility you use to make your product would not pass all the rigorous inspections that would be applied to any plant where cosmetics are produced (think Maybelline) then you could be subject to huge fines. (Why do you think they require you have your complete name and STREET ADDRESS on your labels!!) Do you always wear a hairnet and booties on your shoes? I sure don't. And if you use your kitchen, any area that is also used for food preparation would surely not pass muster. Ever have a raw chicken on that kitchen counter? All of your ingredients have to have been approved for use in cosmetics as well. I have no idea which things I pull out of my kitchen cabinet actually have this approval and which ones don't. I don't know how often, or even if it ever, happens to the small soap handcrafter but it's not a risk, however minute, I am not willing to take.

Click to expand...

I was just re-reading my post here and it may have come across like I had some kind of "tone" or attitude. If it did, I just want to apologize and say that was not my intention. It's more an attitude of fear than anything else. These regulatory agencies scare the beejeezus out of me and the more I learn about all the ways they can "get" you, the more determined I become to stay out of their cross-hairs. Maybe it's an overreaction. Maybe they don't even bother with small-timers like me. But I'm a-scared anyway.

Any other scaredy cats out there?

*raises hand* ME!

as my kids would say "I'S ASCARED OF THEM"

I've noticed some people will list their ingredients and beside each ingredient describe their 'supposed' known qualities. And then at the bottom of their page or brochure they will say something like, they make no claim to the actually healing or conditioning properties of the ingredients of their soaps.

I wonder if this keeps them out of the "cosmetic" realm with the government?

Dixie said:

I wonder if this keeps them out of the "cosmetic" realm with the government?

Click to expand...

That's a good question, Dixie, and one that I have considered myself. Anyone out there know?