Customer reaction to LAAARD !!

[neeners]

can't ship animal products in. plus, it would probably melt in this heat.

 

[Miz Jenny]

Now I'm inspired to make a batch of lard soap! Didn't know it's non-comedogenic; that's a great selling point! Perhaps I will call it: Miz Jennys Old-Fashioned Northern Ontario Bush Soap.

 

[neeners]

Miz Jenny, that's a great idea!

btw, my bf and i have been looking for land in Northern Ontario. I was curious to see where you were. and yikes! that is WAY UP NORTH!

 

[Miz Jenny]

Miz Jenny, that's a great idea!

btw, my bf and i have been looking for land in Northern Ontario. I was curious to see where you were. and yikes! that is WAY UP NORTH!

We are about 8 hrs from Toronto, 1 hr west of Quebec and 10 hrs from the border. We refer to it as "the real Northern Ontario." :-D It's a safe place to live but there's not much to do if you're accustomed to that lifestyle. One really good thing is agriculture is making a good comeback locally.

 

[Lin]

As long as humans remain carnivores

Humans are omnivores.

I agree, the whole animal should be used and hate to see things wasted. I'm not sure if that applies to purchasing lard or not though, because of the way agriculture works today. I'll have to look into it.

 

[Dennis]

Humans are omnivores.

I agree, the whole animal should be used and hate to see things wasted. I'm not sure if that applies to purchasing lard or not though, because of the way agriculture works today. I'll have to look into it.

Everything but the squeal is used and they're probably working on that.

 

[Obsidian]

I made soap 2 days ago, 25% lard that smelled a bit piggy when the oils were heating up but the unscented bar just smells soapy now.

 

[dixiedragon]

"lard" is such a gross sounding word. "Tallow" sounds better. I've been tempted to call it "pig tallow" on the label, but I've never bothered.

I am not a regular seller - I do a craft show maybe once a year. But I haven't run into anybody who said, "Lard, GROSS!" I have run into people who were vegetarians or were buying for vegetarians, so I always have some all-vegetable soaps.

I always say, "Lard is such a great soap making ingredient! It is very gentle and conditioning, and also makes the bar hard."

For me, the vast majority of people just smell the soap and look at the colors. Most don't care about the ingredients. If course, I'm in the southeastern US. Not a lot of vegetarians/vegans here!

 

[Dennis]

For me, the vast majority of people just smell the soap and look at the colors. Most don't care about the ingredients. If course, I'm in the southeastern US. Not a lot of vegetarians/vegans here!

Bless your little heart. I don't know where you live in the southeastern US, but I've been here many years and can tell you that there are many many in the southeast. Many I'm acquainted with are quite militant about their chosen lifestyle. It's not California but there are plenty.

 

[Nevada]

Bucket says "Manteca" that's what my label says.

 

[Dennis]

Bucket says "Manteca" that's what my label says.

Yep, same thing. Manteca is Spanish for lard. The times they are a changin'.

 

[new12soap]

Bucket says "Manteca" that's what my label says.

Mine does, too, and the other side of the bucket says "Lard". If you do label your ingredients, in the US it needs to be in English. It can also be in Spanish, or French, depending on the native language of your clientele, but the list would have to be complete in both/all languages. And the INCI for lard is "Lard".

Yes, "pig tallow" does seem to have less squick factor than the word "lard" but despite it being labeled that way on soapcalc it is not technically correct.

Most people IME love the soap without questioning what is in it, but if they do ask and I say "lard" they get this horrified look, but then I tell them how it makes great soap and you aren't really rubbing lard on your body etc and they give a nervous laugh and say "oh, okay..." but they keep using the soap!

 

[VanessaP]

Manteca is Spanish for lard. If you list ingredients in the US, your ingredients must be in English. Yes, you can also list them in other languages, but English ingredients are a requirement. As lard is the proper English INCI term for lard, lard should be on the labels. Pig tallow is unacceptable as well. Lard is lard, no way around that according to labeling laws.

I haven't had anyone complain about the use of lard in my soaps. I disclose all the ingredients in my listings. If they don't wish to use it, then they don't buy it. I make what I like and what my friends & family like. There are only two people that I would make an all veggie soap for, one of whom is my mother, the other is another member on this forum. I'm not saying that I won't make all veggie soaps in the future, I have a formula that I really really love that is all veggie. What I'm saying is that no one person can please everyone. I don't have the time nor the space to accommodate everyone, either. There has to be a happy medium of what you're willing/able to make and what people are looking for. I seem to have found mine.

 

[cmzaha]

Olive and coconut oils are both poor sources of stearic acid. Stearic acid is the fatty acid responsible for the 'creamy' lather in soapcalc. Tallow and lard are good sources, cocoa and shea butter even better. Play around in soapcalc, ideally numbers in midrange for all the soap qualities. This is an oversimplification since some people like their soap more conditioning, so lower cleansing. However, you can play around with different percentages of olive, coconut and cocoa butter to get the soap to your liking. If you add a little castor you can be in vegan soap heaven.

As far as shea being draggy, I have not noticed but I let my soaps cure a long time. Shea gets requested a lot from my customers, but I prefer cocoa butter myself. Shea tends to ash more too.

I suppose another solution to the pricing issue would be to leave the vegetable soaps with fancier ingredients unscented, so the cost could even out. This way you could sell them same size same price.

I find 100% palm shortening makes a bar similiar to using lard

 

[cmzaha]

can't ship animal products in. plus, it would probably melt in this heat.

I can guarantee lard would melt where you live!

 

[CaraBou]

I am very happy I found lard. I didn't start there (soaped almost 2 years without it) but quickly adopted it after I went palm free. Makes total sense to me to use a byproduct of something with high demand than to create a primary demand that can be so destructive. And oh how wonderful on the wallet!

 

[Miz Jenny]

This year, I'm going to make two lard soaps.... scented and without added scent and both with greek yogurt.

 

[Nevada]

Bacon is the Gateway Meat for Vegetarians

 

[dixiedragon]

I will say that soaping with lard I miss that wonderful sweet smell the raw soap batter has. I can't smell a difference in the finished soap, but the raw soap batter doesn't smell the same.

 

[dixiedragon]

Bless your little heart. I don't know where you live in the southeastern US, but I've been here many years and can tell you that there are many many in the southeast. Many I'm acquainted with are quite militant about their chosen lifestyle. It's not California but there are plenty.

I'm in Alabama. I know some vegetarians (no vegans, though). But I know of no restaurants that specialize in vegetarian or vegan food. Even the local healthfood stores, if they sell food, have food with meat and/or cheese. Though for all I know, there could be a huge vegan community and they're all just eating at home!