How strong is too strong? How fancy is too fancy?

[Obsidian]

I do like colors and swirls but not too much. 2-3 colors that aren't overly bright or saturated look best, I really prefer a white or uncolored base with just a simple wispy swirl.

I'm ok with a strongly scented bar as long as the scent doesn't stay on my skin all for hours. I want my skin to smell clean, not like I've dumped FO on my clothes. I don't care for foodie scents, I don't want to bath in snicker doodles or cinnamon rolls.

As much as I can appreciate highly decorated soaps, I don't like using any that have toppings like flowers, cinnamon sticks or other things that will scratch the skin. I also don't care for ones that have mounded or tall piped tops. I see no practical use for cupcakes or other food shaped soap.

 

[JuneP]

My personal preference is good lather, some bubbles, lovely scent, and creamy. I've tweeked my recipe to give me the balance that works for me and family and friends really like it.

I only gift my soaps so I can't relate to what sells; but a few days ago I gave some simple Nag Champa soaps to my daughter-in-laws parents; and I asked them how they like the Feathered Mantra swirl I gave them last fall, I think. They told me they hadn't used it because it's too pretty!

So maybe the thing to do is offer same scents both in a simple, no frills bar, and offer the same scent in a more decorative bar and charge a dollar more for that one. If you're selling soap the important thing I would think, is to get customers who will be regularly purchasing your soaps to use, and not just as decorations for their bathrooms.

Like some other posters, I'm not partial to bars with big balls and other quite large embeds sticking out, or the big bars of soap that look like a slice of cake, which seems ungainly to use. But, those cakes sure look like fun to make and are pretty to look at. If I ever make one of them as an exercise, I would use a smaller cake pan so the cut bar wouldn't be so big.

I haven't used food FO's yet and only have one on hand to try for an oatmeal soap. Other than that, I'm not sure I would like food scents in my personal soap; but maybe once I can smell some of them in soap, I may just change my mind. That's what I love about soap making - we have so many choices in color, scent, design, etc. to choose from.

 

[TeresaT]

Gigi, you nailed it in your original post. My personal favorites are the simple soaps that I've made, just mixing some oils and lard with lye and throwing it in a mold. No color or fragrance. Roughly cut with little pockets of air bubbles from the SB are perfect for me. I like that rustic home made look. I do like my salt bars, too. I'm making fragranced, colored and swirled soaps for the fun of it, to learn how, to eventually be able to sell. But I don't really think I'll be making too many foodie soaps. They are cute, but completely impractical to me. I am definitely a minimalist; but I'm also an artist. I've discovered that making soap is allowing me to be more creative than my knitting is (although that will always be my first love). It's the instant gratification I get from soaping that I can't get from knitting that makes me want to do more intricate and harder techniques. I was looking up how to make soap frosting. I thought I might try some piped soaps. However, waiting around for 30 minutes for the soap to mix in the blender is not my idea of a good time. I don't anticipate piped soaps ever being in my repertoire.

 

[snappyllama]

I'm a more-is-more kind of person. I do make and appreciate naked soaps, but I get most excited about playing with design and colors... and trying to match everything to the scent. Those are the bars I cannot wait to cut and use. I mean, my pine tar bar is nice and challenging in its own way (getting it to pour perfectly smoothly requires a bit of skill). But it's a little boring...

Mainly, I love it when something turns out just how I wanted. Right now, I have a batch of Vanilla Oak soap that I adore. It's a dark brown discoloring FO so I separated out a small portion to color white. Then I did a clyde slide into a slab mold and spun it until it resembled petrified wood. Getting to watch the FO discoloring over the week and intensifying the contrast was so much fun. I love the shape, scent, and overall effect of it. Just what I wanted...

As far as performance, I want a highly scented, hard bar that lathers easily into thick, rich bubbles. I want my skin to feel refreshed after using it. I'm a huge fan of lard and goat milk soaps. I like the feel of ungelled soaps. I prefer the shape of bars from my slab mold or T&S mold.

 

[SplendorSoaps]

Gigi, your criteria is right on! I've been selling my soaps for just over a year now, and I've found that scent is what seems to really draw the customers in. But there's so much more to it than that! We (I'm including myself in with customers, because I love to buy other soapers' soaps, too!) want a bar that's not so big that it doesn't fit into your hand, but not so small as to feel like a guest soap. (Side note, I think I designed bars on both ends of that spectrum before I hit my own sweet spot!)

We want the soap to look inviting to use. I like to use color swirls and a lot of textured tops, but I'm not into heavily embellished designs. While I really admire the people that can make those cupcake soaps looks just like edible masterpieces, I'll be darned if I could figure out how to wash with those without having to cut it in half or awkwardly juggle it in the shower. I never want a customer to feel like my soaps are "too pretty to use"! (And for the ones who have said that, I always promise them that I'll make more!)

As for scent, we want to smell it, but not be overwhelmed by it. I tend to have a pretty light hand on fragrance, and I did once have a customer tell me that she wanted the scent to be a little heavier. I've never had a customer tell me that my scents were overwhelming, though.

As for the soap composition itself, I'm all about the bubbles! In my usual recipe, I use 20-22% coconut and a healthy dose of castor to make sure that I get those big, fluffy bubbles. I make sure to superfat liberally and complement the recipes with sweet almond, avocado, or rice bran oils to make sure that the high CO won't be drying, but I'm really all about those bubbles!

 

[mymy]

When I wasn't into soapmaking I loved to use soap that has fresh smells. Florals and herbals really turned me on during shower. I wasn't really care regarding the shape or colors of the soap, just smell. Years after, I felt that my skin started to behave badly, I still no longer could use soap that has harsh chemicals. So I optioned out to use natural soap, as in something that has less chemicals and colorants. I found Simple skincare, the cleansing bar was very nice. It had no scent and color. It became my favourite for quite a while until I read negative comments on the net. Well, now I'm hooked with my own creation, I prefer a low profile soap. No fancy color, no scent would be great too.

 

[paillo]

In the past I made mostly rectangular tiger swirls with fancy tops and glitter, really pretty, many combinations of EOs and a fair amount of FOs. What I wound up using though, were reject uncolored hockey pucks that were too hard to make into felted soaps. The fancy soaps felt an awkward size for my hand, I hated the high tops and mountains and valleys, they didn't wear evenly, and I just wasn't crazy about them although they sold really well.

Then life got crazy and I didn't make soap for six months.

When I returned to it I just wanted simpler. Simpler means still pretty for me. So doing simple in-the-pot, one-color swirls in silicone molds, soleseife or salt bars. I like squares or bullion bars, both Brambleberry molds. And my signature stamp in matching mica.

I use mostly EO blends, and typically use OO, CO, PO, Avocado, Shea Butter, castor. Always coconut or goat milk.

I'm not vegan nor vegetarian, but just can't seem to bring myself to use lard or tallow, can't get through my personal 'ick factor', though may have to buy another soaper's soap just to try it. Will be moving to Colorado next year, and in the interest of not wasting any of my hunter friends' kill, may try to make and use deer or elk tallow. Anyone have experience making/using these?

I'm in love with my soap again, and hope buyers will be too

 

[Obsidian]

You really should try a bar of lard/tallow soap, I'm betting you would love it. I've used deer and bear tallow before. Deer makes extremely hard soap with decent creamy lather. Bear is better though, not as hard but much creamier. If hubby get a deer this season, I will be using it again.

 

[commoncenz]

Hmmm ... When I think about it, I like a bar that is not drying, feels nice and silky when used and after it has cured, has that "waxy" feel described earlier. I prefer a thick lather to start; that bubbles well as you are washing with your wash cloth/sponge, etc.

I prefer a strong scent, but not too strong. So, I've been setting the soapcalc to .7 oz/lb. As I've noted before, I absolutely LOVE fragrances and trying them out in my soap.

When it comes to color, I prefer to have a white background with some swirling. However, I don't like an overly colored bar. That said, I really enjoy the process of learning new techniques. I've also been known to have a plan for what technique I want to use when coloring/swirling a batch of soap and then at the very last second, scrapping the original plan, grabbing another tool, and going in a totally different direction.

I think what I enjoy most about soaping is the "process" of making the soap. I enjoy looking at the final product as a reflection of that process and I love cutting the soap and revealing the mystery contained inside. It's like Christmas every time! lol ...

Finally, I like to hear from family and friends how much they enjoy the soap that I have made. And I really get a perverse kick out of watching their eyes glaze over as I describe the process of making that particular batch ... the process that I enjoyed so much.

 

[gigisiguenza]

I love reading about what each person likes in their soap and how they define their ideal bar

 

[Judiraz]

Interesting thread. I just started selling and was surprised to find that what I like isn't what customers loved. What sold were my swirled, floral or perfumed scented soaps. And I sold out of my coffee/ cocoa bars???? All my big, fat bars sold.

What I like is interesting designs or something linear. I love color, but not super saturated or dark. I prefer citrus, herbal, or "fresh" scents. I like to soap up with the bar in my hand, directly on my skin, so I like a small, tall, skinny bar. Hardly sold a one, even tho I priced them $1 less.

I've come to love lard & goat milk or salt bars.

 

[luebella]

I love elegant beautiful soaps and the over the top fancy ones. The over the top fun ones just make me feel good. Everything about them makes me smile. I need a non dying bar though no matter what it looks like.

 

[dixiedragon]

I tend to heavily scent my soaps. I have enough soap waiting that my soaps are usually a year old before I use them. Unless I try something new that I really want to try in the bathtub. Generally, if I use the max FO, there is still plenty of scent a year later.

 

[crispysoap]

I really like a plain colour (infused oil) soap with a nice creamy lather ☺ and a nice simple smell.

 

[shunt2011]

I like pretty swirled soaps with great smell. I dislike soap with anything botanicals on top or really high top soaps with imbeds. They are beautiful but I don't like stuff in my tub. What sells are my swirly soaps that are well scented. What doesn't sell is my poor plain unscented soap. I tried something at my last show. I had OMH that was just plain beige with a bit of really finely ground oats on top and then my cocoa poweder swirled OMH with a bit bigger grind of oats on top and the swirled did way better than the plain one. Go figure.

 

[gigisiguenza]

I am so loving this thread

 

[Arimara]

I'm becoming convinced of the following:

1. I must start adding Koalin Clay to my soaps.

2. I must soap with either coffee, coconut milk or scented buttermilk. Sometimes, I will use beer and the like.

3. Avocado oil is a must in my soaps.

4. I will NEVER use red palm oil in ANY of my soaps again, even if I need palm oil. Palm Kernal flakes is also on the never list though it is not bad.

5. As much as I love to cook with them, the next crockpot I buy is for making liquid soap. Food can wait.

6. Beef tallow(from Essential Depot at least) smells kinda yummy and creamy and would so well with scents and milks that accentuates that creaminess.

7. I my attempt at a pumpkin soap left me disappointed at how soft it still is (it's as malleable as clay) , it the defining reason for my newfound hate for red palm oil in soap, and is the second best feeling soap I have, besides my first beef tallow soap.

What else am I going to find out? Hopefully, it will be if I like lard soap. It'll be easier to get lard, I won't have to render it and I would be able to start next year.

 

[penelopejane]

This is a strange soap, to me. Are there really choc chips on the top? Or would they be soap and the choc chips in the front just for decoration? It says there is choc in the soap ingredients.

Otherwise you would be smearing yourself with chocolate while you try and wash yourself! I don't get it!

mint chip soap Materials: olive oil, coconut oil, rice bran oil, shea butter, peppermint essential oil, kaolin clay, cream, castor oil, cocoa powder, raw cacao, chocolate, mint, sea salt

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/197...-handmade-soap-natural?ref=unav_listing-other

 

[Saponista]

I've seen the lady who makes these in a face group group. It is piped soap.

 

[shunt2011]

They looked piped to me but the chocolate chip used for the photo around the soap look like the real thing. I've used chocolate and cocoa powder in my soap but I wouldn't dream of putting it top for decoration. That soap look cool though. Wish I had better luck with foodie scented soaps. They just don't sell for me.