Why won't people actually use my soap!

[JustBeachy]

Do any of you have the same problem with friends not using them? Or is it just family. The friend who called before Christmas, says the wife gave away some of the soaps to her friends, now they want more. An ex girlfriend of mine, who I use as a "tester", due to her being the epitome of "high maintenance", want's more.

Maybe it has more to do with I tell everyone that I'm trying to get feedback on the soaps. Use them and let me know what they do. Seems to work with family and my friends.

 

[DeeAnna]

I'd say friends are less inclined toward sentiment, compared with family, and much more inclined toward enlightened self interest.

FREE SOAP -- yeee hawwww!!!! Where do we get more??? ;-)

 

[LBussy]

Okay, I confess ... I like to put a bar with a favorite fragrance into a cabinet I keep bath towels in. But when the scent from the bar becomes faint -- off with its head!!! ... oh, wrong story -- into the shower it goes! There's still enough fragrance to smell nice when bathing.

We had an early batch that was ... well let's just say not perfect. She keeps a bar in her car as a fragrance.

 

[Lbrown123]

I made pretty looking soap to give as gifts to my relatives this year. Just gave two bars to my aunty who was delighted. However she said 'I won't actually use them, just put them on the side to look pretty in my bathroom'. I wanted to grab my poor unloved soap bars back from her. What's the point of soap if you aren't going to even try to wash with it?!?! Maybe next year I will make really plain bars, they would probably just go straight in the bin though, without sitting uselessly on the side for a couple of months. How do I get people to actually give them a go? Sigh. Sorry rant over now.

I looked in my Moms towel closet and found ALL of the soaps I had given her including some that a friend of mine made for me 10 years ago! I did not want to look in her shower ti see what she actually bathes with because it has to be store bought. I did not look because I did not want to cry for Christmas! Lol!

 

[Mellifera]

My original soaps were pretty rustic looking, so I didn't have that problem. Now I'm trying to make them more attractive, but definitely not too much. I would really be bugged if people just stuck them by the sink to look at. I remember my mother's "powder room" with the neatly folded, embroidered towels and molded soap (looked like little shells) that never moved or were disturbed or used from year to year. To me, that's sad.

 

[srblatt17]

Yes the consensus I get it is that my soap is too pretty to use. My mother was very much guilty until I told her it hurt my feelings for it just to set there because I worked hard to create it. If she honestly likes it I can make more and that's the best compliment I can get....reorders.
Here are a few I made for the holidays.

 

[IrishLass]

Only one of my friends is still hesitant to use my soap because "it's too pretty to use", but she loves receiving it because it smells so good and looks pretty in her bathroom. Last time we met, I gave her a good, stern lecture about it, and in a few weeks time I'll get to see if it 'took'. I basically told her that if she doesn't at least try my soap to see if she likes it, then I'm not giving her anymore, because I make it to be used.

I also told her that I can't help the fact that I like to make them pretty. I'm an artist at heart who finds joy in fashioning lovely-looking things, whether it be a loaf of bread to be eaten, or a loaf of soap to be washed with. And then I got real tough with her. I told her that every time she takes a soap from me and does not use it for what I made it for, she takes away my joy. A little bit harsh coming from me, but it's so true and it needed to be said. Hopefully it did the trick.

She's the only one I have this problem with. All the others I gift my soap to are only too happy to use it and clamor for more no matter how pretty, because they've found that it doesn't dry them out or make them itchy like commercial brands. I won't feel bad if she doesn't like my soap, but please- at least try it!


IrishLass

 

[DeeAnna]

What's the name for this kind of art .... ephemeral art? Like sand castles on the beach or ice sculptures....

 

[Mellifera]

What's the name for this kind of art .... ephemeral art? Like sand castles on the beach or ice sculptures....

Or like this?

 

[dixiedragon]

I find it has less to do with the relationship and more to do with a) how pretty the bar is and b) how much I give them. I make gift baggies for my co-workers for Christmas, and they usually including 2 "perfect" bars of soap and 2 rough looking ones.

 

[LBussy]

Sometimes overly fancy soap simply looks unwieldy. I'm honestly not sure how I'd use a bar of soap that looks like a cupcake. Maybe give one fancy, then a few plain looking bars of the same type?

 

[JustBeachy]

I have to agree with Lee. Some of those last soaps pictured, even the ones that weren't cupcakes, looked more like works of art than soaps. That's some artistry.

I love using home made soap, but I can't say if I received one of those really great looking soaps, I could bring myself to use it. Maybe that's why people are using mine, they're more on the plain side.

 

[srblatt17]

Thank you! I do make some plain CP bars and HP bars without all the frills. Same ingredients mostly just different techniques. For me it's a creative outlet and fun to see what I can come up with. Mine are bigger than most others I have seen as well and I believe that has been a good selling point.

 

[DeeAnna]

Oh, yes, Lesli -- your example is beautiful!

 

[Jstar]

Maybe it's just me, but as pretty as those are {they are beautiful}, I'd look at it a couple days and then in the shower it goes with me

 

[LBussy]

Please don't get me wrong, they are gorgeous. They just seem impractical. Let's say I don;t know enough to know the difference between an artisanal soap's contents/benefits, and that of Dove, Dial, whatever. If I see something that's got points, swirls, flowers and glitter sitting next to one that's a square bar that feels familiar in my hand, I'm likely to grab the bar.

Now that I "know", I agree it is a shame - so let me change the question somewhat: How can we make soap that's practical as well as beautiful?

ETA: Here's an example of a soap that seems very unwieldy yet pretty:

Image from: http://nizzymoulds.com/Planer.htm

 

[srblatt17]

If I set my plain bars out and my cake soap out people are immediately drawn to the cake soap and buy it. I give them the "my soap is better speech" while they are looking. I make some plain soap bars normally for men and some people who like no frills but 9/10 like the frills. I had one lady buy 6 and then the next day call me and ordered 12 more.

I guess I like the artsy soap and I like to make something different so I won't change that part. I tell people to cut it in half because they can get twice the use out of it and that seems to help with sales too. If I'm honest I'm a terrible salesperson so I have to rely on my soap to make the sale lol. Right now it's just a hobby business as I work full time as a lab tech and can only soap on the weekends.

I like the uniqueness of other soapmakers as well and just looking at what they have created inspires me even more.

 

[LBussy]

Thanks for the great point of view on your sales. Of those, how many are repeat (month over month) sales? I'd be interested to see if a person who used artisanal soap every day preferred a cake or a "cake".

 

[srblatt17]

Well I just started selling this fall. I've been making soap for 6 years or so. I am my own worst critic so I never thought to sell to be honest. I was making soap for Christmas gifts this year. My SIL suggested that I may be nuts if I didn't sell so....lol. Here I am!

I do have some repeat ladies who come back and have found me at the shows I have done so I guess more time will be needed to see how many are repeat buyers. I just go by initial response to what I have. My plain bars get smelled but usually overlooked first unless it's a scent that is strong. People seem to want the cake type soap....so far. That may change at some point but for now they are getting their cake haha. . It's really not anymore difficult to use than a regular bar...and as far as the cupcakes I use them just like a regular bar. It's just becomes cylindrical with use.

 

[Shoshi]

This is all very interesting! I agree that some of the soaps people make are absolutely beautiful, and this could deter people from using them. Personally, I don't like using a soap that doesn't stay still in my hand and allow itself to be "used" in a normal sort of way - there was a fashion years ago for those lemon-shaped soaps which smelt of lemon, and until they'd got worn down into a slightly flattened shape, they were a perfect pain to use because they turned in your hand rather than remaining still and allowing you to actually rub some of the soap off! The classic bar of soap shape is designed for ease of use, and it has worked well for generations. It doesn't have to be boring in appearance, and many are stunningly beautiful.

I've got mixed feelings about soaps that look like food - slices of cake, cupcakes, fruit, etc. Soaps in the shape of a flower or a snowflake are OK, but I don't really like the confused message, which could also be a danger for small children or people with little understanding, who might be tempted to eat them and get a shock! Also I'm not that keen on soaps that smell of food either, like fruit (unless it's citrus, which is different somehow). I don't like those fruit shampoos you can buy. I like my food to be food, to look like food and smell like food, and my soaps etc. to look and smell like soaps lol!

Call me old fashioned if you like! Lol!

Shoshi