I've received my first complaint

[MeadowHillFarmCT]

I have been giving my soap out to family and friends as testers.

So far everyone has loved them. The complaint came from my SIL and she requested a vanilla. I made a HP vanilla pearls and Lace from NG. Love the fragrance.... She said the bar doesn't last very long. The size was about 4oz and 2x3.5x1.. from a log mold.

I calculated that I gave her that soap (actually 2 bars) about 5 weeks ago.

How long should hand made CP or HP soap last?

 

[MrsFusion]

My family of 4 goes through about a bar a month(same size as yours).

 

[Chay]

How long a bar lasts will be different for each household. It depends on how many people are using the bar, if they are using their hands to soap up with or a sponge or rough textured puff, how well their soap dish drains and even if they have hard or soft water. My family of four goes through a 4 oz bar a week.

 

[opalgirl]

She complained about free soap? Hmmm...

Yeah, I would remind her to keep it out of a direct stream of water and allow to dry between uses. Bath poufs are great for making a bar last longer. Get the pouf lathered up and put the bar up. The lather just keeps growing.

 

[xyxoxy]

Also... bars that have cured longer generally last longer.
So if this was relatively new soap then it will disappear quicker.

 

[Lynnz]

4oz about a week or just over in this house and I find the men seem to use it quicker for some reason maybe more heavy handed or the hairy bodies maybe?

 

[cp chick]

My 3.5 oz bars last for roughly 10 to 12 showers with both my husband and I using them. We don't use a pouf, and have very hard water. And he's hairy Lyn, so that supports your theory.

 

[trishwosere]

Sorry but if she was my SIL she wouldn't get any more free soap off me!

 

[MeadowHillFarmCT]

lol - thanks everyone. I figured our Handmade soap wouldn't last as long as commercial detergent soap because you can pronounce our ingredients

The soap was made on June 6th and was a HP so it cured for a couple of weeks at least. It was my first (and only) HP and to me it was crumbly but smelled great and lathered awesome.

I have made the vanilla again in CP and will at the 4 week cure mark on August 7th. maybe, i'll give her a sample of that one to try - but then again maybe not....lol

 

[carebear]

Sorry but if she was my SIL she wouldn't get any more free soap off me!

why? feedback is important. if everyone just patted us on the head we'd learn nothing.

 

[carebear]

The hardness, and therefore how long it lasts, can depend on your formula, your processing, and your timeline.

Even HP I would let cure at least a month for hardness. It's still got water in it. And some oils result in harder soaps. If it's still not where you need it to be you can try adding a touch of beeswax, tho I find this a pain to do.

 

[MeadowHillFarmCT]

I agree with carebear - all comments help us grow and that is why everyone is getting free soap from me ... As my siggy states - I need to be good enough before I start selling...

However, my SIL is a hard to please kind of gal that I love VM... lol

 

[trishwosere]

Sorry but if she was my SIL she wouldn't get any more free soap off me!

why? feedback is important. if everyone just patted us on the head we'd learn nothing.

Whilst I appreciate that feedback is important, the way I read the post of MeadowHillFarmCT led me to believe that the sister-in-law wasn't giving constructive criticism and was in fact, IMHO, ankering after some more freebies especially since she made reference to how long the soap lasted her and not what she thought of the quality... and she was given 2 bars.
Maybe it's an inborn trait with we Brits to be naturally suspicious -I've obviously misconstrued MeadowHillFarm's post and for that I apologise to her.

 

[Sunny]

My soaps don't last very long at all. A week or week and a half at best, between two people. I let the water hit them though and I don't use a sponge or anything, so I know why. Also my soap dish, while it's pretty and matches the rest of the stuff in my bathroom, does not drain well at all!

 

[carebear]

My soaps don't last very long at all. A week or week and a half at best, between two people. I let the water hit them though and I don't use a sponge or anything, so I know why. Also my soap dish, while it's pretty and matches the rest of the stuff in my bathroom, does not drain well at all!

Oh dear! Sounds like you know where the issue is, though.

 

[carebear]

The OP stated the soaps were testers. And how long a soap lasts is an important quality - in my experience - so feedback along that line is important. At least to me. But I get what you are saying, Trish.

 

[MeadowHillFarmCT]

Sorry but if she was my SIL she wouldn't get any more free soap off me!

why? feedback is important. if everyone just patted us on the head we'd learn nothing.

Whilst I appreciate that feedback is important, the way I read the post of MeadowHillFarmCT led me to believe that the sister-in-law wasn't giving constructive criticism and was in fact, IMHO, ankering after some more freebies especially since she made reference to how long the soap lasted her and not what she thought of the quality... and she was given 2 bars.
Maybe it's an inborn trait with we Brits to be naturally suspicious -I've obviously misconstrued MeadowHillFarm's post and for that I apologise to her.

No harm done AT ALL and no need to apologize!!!.

I do solicit both good and bad feedback from everyone I give my soap to....

btw - You are right and my SIL is a bit "hard to please" kind of person. It is good to know how long my bars should last and I probably should have let them cure longer before giving them to her.

I'll be interested to see if my CP lasts longer than the HP..

 

[xyxoxy]

It's funny... my Dad was recently saying something about how quickly the bars I give him are gone. And when he said that both my Mom and my sister-in-law disagreed and said that they last forever.

Perhaps the bars I've given my Dad were not cured quite as long... not sure. But in general most people say they last a long time.
It's difficult for me to tell because I usually have 10 bars going at once.

 

[Simplyangelic]

I have one of my bars in my bathroom that's been going 3 weeks and there's around half a bar left. I've used it as a general soap and as a shampoo bar......however it's been cured for approx 3 months now(100% OO).

HTH

 

[ilovedoxies]

I've had that complaint before, too. Come to find out they did not let the bar dry between uses. It sat in a soggy mess in the shower and melted.

Suggest that she let it dry between uses it will last longer.