I keep giving soaps to my friends BUT

[dubnica]

People seem to be totally clueless about how it feels. Even when I ask direct questions about the feel of the soap and the lather, the answers are very vague. I have a couple good guinea pigs that I can rely on. Everyone else, meh.

Exactly...some people are clueless. They still want DOVE. UGH...
Since I make my own soap I can't stand store bought soap. They all smell like detergent to me...yuck

 

[SideDoorSoaps]

Before we made soap, we loved Dove soap. Now whenever I use commercial soaps, my skin feels so DRY!

The hardest time for us to get feed back was when some of our friends wanted to use up their old store bought soaps! I kept telling them stop, just try mine! lol But I'm also understanding in how they don't want to waste money. I've had almost all converts though when they finally get to use it. Best comment was that they were surprised how well it lathered and bubbled up. LOVE castor oil, that's all i can say!

 

[xyxoxy]

Maybe we should set up a "Soap Exchange" program like they do in drug neighborhoods for needles.

Give us your nasty old store bought soaps and for every one we will give you a wonderful new home made soap and donate the commercial stuff to Clean The World.

Or we could just donate OUR soaps since we KNOW they will be appreciated by people who have none.

 

[itsjustsoap]

I'm making soaps unscented now for testers.

 

[Fyrja]

I am so glad to know that I'm not the only one! My mother also likes to put bars into dresser drawers to freshen the clothes. When I was a little girl I always smelled like lavender, because she loved putting Yardley's lavender soap in the drawers. The scent still makes me smile to this day.

I have converted her though. She's gone from deathly terrified of me working with lye, to asking what the next batch is. All it took was my goats milk and honey soap to do it. Every winter, her skin gets so dry that it actually splits in some places. I asked her to try the soap and Voila, no dryness, no skin cracking. Now she's hooked, and was actually bragging to our mail lady the other day about how nice the soap is.

Still trying to get my co workers to use it though. My mother in law hid the bars I made her because she didn't want to share them, and then forgot she had them! Funny thing is she commented that she couldn't figure out what was making her bathroom smell so nice, and then she realized it was the hidden soap.

 

[SudsyKat]

I've actually had someone (my best, dearest friend) admit that she's nervous about using the soap - she complimented the scent and the look and said she loves to display it in the bathroom, but has been afraid to try it. I can't imagine why that would be. Anyone have any insight on how soap could be scary??

 

[AmyW]

They (often) think the lye is still active. Maybe if you explain how soap is made - maybe have them over while you make a small batch just for them - why can see how it works. If you did it HP, they could even test out the batch "fresh from the pot" (or watch you wash your hands with it) to really drive the point home.

 

[samicamp]

I am so glad that most of my soaps are so lightly scented that there is no point in using them for air fresheners.

My MOM, however, never uses the soap I gave her because she "doesn't want to waste it."

 

[photoshadows]

My dad always tells me about the scary lye soap his grandmother made in a vat in the backyard. Apparantly she confused it with the coleslaw vat once He always seems a bit apprehensive about using my soaps and makes many comments about the dangers of lye. Never-the-less I think he's proud of me and finds it fascinating how much science is involved in soap-making. And how creative one can be within that science!