Had an interesting experience at Lush today...

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OK - for the lushies.

Nneither SLS nor SLSa are "natural" as far as I am willing to use that word. Neither grows in the ground nor can be plucked from a plant.

SLS (and then SLSa) can be "derived from nature" because they are made from coconut oil. Course they've been clearly impacted by humans to convert them, so that term is bull cookies too.

BTW: petroleum is natural (it's the remains of decayed dinos, right?) so IMO using that term tells no one anything...
 
carebear said:
OK - for the lushies.

Nneither SLS nor SLSa are "natural" as far as I am willing to use that word. Neither grows in the ground nor can be plucked from a plant.

SLS (and then SLSa) can be "derived from nature" because they are made from coconut oil. Course they've been clearly impacted by humans to convert them, so that term is bull cookies too.

BTW: petroleum is natural (it's the remains of decayed dinos, right?) so IMO using that term tells no one anything...

Well said, Carebear! I agree wholeheartedly :)

To me, the whole idea of labeling an ingredient as 'natural' just because it was 'derived from nature' is very misleading. When one follows that kind of logic through to the end, then everything and anything can be termed as 'natural' because all of our ingredients are 'derived from nature' (where esle but nature do base ingredients come from anyway?).

Using 'Natural' on my label is a road that I just choose not to go down because everything we use in soap has been processed to some extent before we even get our hands on it. And then we process it even further by using either the Cold Process or Hot Process methods of soapmaking.

I think the most honest I could probably ever be with the use of the word 'Natural' on my label would be to first figure out how many degrees of processing away from its natural state my product had go through before its final result, and then label it something like this: "30% Away From Being Totally Natural!' :wink:

That's way too much work for me to even begin to try to figure out, and it sounds silly to my ears anyway so I'm not even going to bother. Plus, it would take up too much room on my labels. :)

IrishLass
 
artisan soaps said:
One day Lush will come to NZ and I will get to see/smell all these things I keep reading about - doubt I'd buy anything though, I don't even buy from The Body Shop any more!

Ditto but in South Africa - have only been to Lush once while I was living in Japan, smelled divine but I was too broke to buy anything - the closest Body Shop to me is 2 hours away - so I started making my own soap, body butter etc - have to admit though, I do love their (Body Shop) Tobacco Flower and White Musk FO (or Home Oil - whatever they call it), that is worth the trip.

Since you can find out about how to make just about anything here - anyone know how to dupe those scents?
 
BTW: petroleum is natural (it's the remains of decayed dinos, right?) so IMO using that term tells no one anything...

LOL, you sound like me. Someone will say "but XXXX is a natural ingredient" to which I reply "so is cat poop but I don't want it in my lotion :roll: ."
 
Tabitha said:
BTW: petroleum is natural (it's the remains of decayed dinos, right?) so IMO using that term tells no one anything...

LOL, you sound like me. Someone will say "but XXXX is a natural ingredient" to which I reply "so is cat poop but I don't want it in my lotion :roll: ."

LOL! That reminded me of something my husband said when he was questioning some homeopathic remedies I found online, "So? I could just go online and type up a thing saying that you can get rid of toenail fungus by rubbing a mixture of cat [poo]* and lemon juice on your toes!" To which I said, "well, people rate if it works for them or not... but I'm sure at least one person would try it!"

*he used another word for "poo" ;)
 
carebear said:
OK - for the lushies.

Nneither SLS nor SLSa are "natural" as far as I am willing to use that word. Neither grows in the ground nor can be plucked from a plant.

Very well put.

Well, I'm a big fat fibber. My market poster says 'Natural Handmade Soaps'.

Oh I guess thats true because I only use SLSa in my bubble bars :)

I still prefere SLSa. There is such a backlash against SLS I don't think any homemade B & B maker will be able to use it.
 
for some reason people do think that Lush is all natural, but it's not.

It is a kind of M&P HP soap. (in the uk - in the US it is just normal M&P). The noodles are made like a HP soap off site and then Lush melts them to make soap. This is what I gathered from their UK Youtube channel.

But they do increasingly use SLS, especially since they use the palm free base. And their fragrance oils are a mix of FOs and EOs, though with a large amount of EOs.

I have no idea how they manage to make their soaps smell so strong, but the smell fades quite quickly. I am assuming part of the reson their soaps are so expensive is because of the vast amount of fragrance they use.

They also use quite a lot of botanicals, so soap going moldy is not really a surprise, especially as it is not CP soap, but essentially M&P.

Lush was my inspiration when I started making soap. As I also thought they were all natural, I started with CP soap. Now I know better and although I am proud of my soaps, I am still trying to reproduce some of theirs. They are just cool, no matter what they are.
 
I've got a Lush store, right "on the corner of the street" ;)

I've allways loved the Body Shop since they managed to get foot on Dutch soil.
Not only because of their environmental concern, but surely because they had the most awesome fragrances in their MP soap! My children - then little - loved those animal shapes and fruity scents a lot.
Could not walk by their shop without taking a sniff. :D
They cut down on that and since I didn't frequent them as much as before.

Then Lush arrived - and they had everything we've been missing and even more! I loved their fair-hair shampoo and "Honey I washed the kids" was one of my favorite scents.
Of course I payed attention to the ingredients (my mother being a farmacist) - had my doubts here en there about it being all natural.
Since they don't use Palm oil anymore their soaps become more and more MP based and surely less in quality.

They are really expensive!
I don't sell (yet), but I think what they do could be inspiring.
BUT: anything they can do, we can do better :D
 
eucalypta said:
Since they don't use Palm oil anymore their soaps become more and more MP based and surely less in quality.
yea, that's one of the "trade-off" conundrums...
 
carebear said:
eucalypta said:
Since they don't use Palm oil anymore their soaps become more and more MP based and surely less in quality.
yea, that's one of the "trade-off" conundrums...

I agree, Palm oil makes great soap but who wants to be part of the Orangutan problem. And you have to make your customers happy even if they don't know what makes a good soap (no Palm oil but buckets of sls!!!). At my first CP soap market I had a few people asking for Palm free and being annoyed with me because some of my soaps had Palm oil.

Aparently I was personally murdering the Orangutans by using Palm oil. But not one single person has asked about sls or questioned the use of TD.

I swing all over the place...from agreeing we shouldn't use Palm oil to wondering what the fuss is about (considering I eat fried food and chocolate which contain Palm oil...am I just a big hypocrite anyway).

:? :? :? :?

*Off to have a lie down...not thinking clearly*
 
Hey DelightSociety.....I share your dilemma, or should I say, I used to. I decided, before I even made CP, to avoid palm & palm kernal oils. I have now sourced an Australian grown sustainable palm oil from Aussie Soap Supplies and use that because my soap is so much firmer to unmould with palm in. I can use any hard butters too I know, but that pushes the cost of my soap up, up, up.....

Almost any processed & packaged supermarket food contains palm oil from Malaysia. To avoid it you would have to source your own raw ingredients and make every single thing you eat from scratch. I do that as much as I can and it is very time consuming. Handmade soap, even with Malaysian Palm oil, is such a teeny, tiny drop in the ocean compared to food uses.

I also do my bit for the Orangutans - I sponsor a baby orphaned orangutan each year with the AOP adoption project. Helps me to feel that I am contributing in some small way. I also plan, like Lomondsoap, to donate a % of my soap sales to the orangutans once I have made back my start up costs.

So off topic I know, sorry....Lush make a lot of soap so the fact that they are not using palm now and promoting the plight of the Orangutans is a huge step in the right direction for a high profile retailer.

Tanya :)
 
Thanks for all the information..who else sells that is there anyone in America? ^^
 
I can't spend more than 5 minutes in a Lush store before needing to leave because I've become totally overwhelmed by the scents. YUCK! They have excellent marketing, but that's about it.
 
oh ladies ladies - yea the stores are overwhelming, but one on one (I do mail order) I absolutely ADORE many Lush products.

OMG Karma. Just OMG. The scent of soap is a true delight (a bit drying but smells oooooooooohhh!!) and the solid shampoo is TDF
Alkmaar - ummm i you like jasmine hang onto your hats
Sex Bomb bath bombs - everyone should buy them by the dozens
Silky Underwear dusting powder makes me smell yummy from tip to tail

If your only experience with Lush is walking into the store I feel truly sorry for you.
 
Cloak and dagger

I have no idea how they manage to make their soaps smell so strong, but the smell fades quite quickly.

I love their scents and I always go in if I am near a store. Their marketing is brilliant and presentation top drawer. But their product not so much. Cant' touch cp. But...I am very well behaved and if I go in I always buy at least 3 bars to offset my guilt for spying. If they have a scent that I really like I am going to break it down and copy it or at least get as close as I can. They dont' bring out new fragrances all that often but I still buy 3 bars if I'm in, always the same ones: Demon in the Dark, Figs, one that I think has Porridge stamped on it....yummy. I stick them in my towel shelves and the scent actually stays a long time. Does anyone here use a fragrance anchor?

Sygrid
 
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