akseattle
Well-Known Member
Sisters/ focus group feedback on 9 different soaps
In August, I had a sister’s weekend ( sisters + nieces, grandniece, SO, SIL). I took 9 different bars of soap for trial and feedback. This started as a comparison of colloidal oats v. home ground oatmeal. Since we were together 7-9 days, I took advantage of this opportunity and I expanded. In a separate post, I gave results regarding the colloidal oats vs. ground oatmeal.
Of the 9 bars, the first 4 had different recipes from each other. One bar was ZNSC, and the remaining 4 had modest deviations on the following recipe: 24% tallow, 15% lard, 20% coconut, 29% olive oil, 8% castor oil, and 4% Shea butter. For 500 grams of oil- 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt and 1 TBsp of goatmilk powder, 5% superfat. The main difference on the last 4 bars was an added exfoliant (Crafter’s Choice luffa powder, espresso grounds, poppy seeds) or just the colors/design and fragrance.
The biggest takes were:
In August, I had a sister’s weekend ( sisters + nieces, grandniece, SO, SIL). I took 9 different bars of soap for trial and feedback. This started as a comparison of colloidal oats v. home ground oatmeal. Since we were together 7-9 days, I took advantage of this opportunity and I expanded. In a separate post, I gave results regarding the colloidal oats vs. ground oatmeal.
Of the 9 bars, the first 4 had different recipes from each other. One bar was ZNSC, and the remaining 4 had modest deviations on the following recipe: 24% tallow, 15% lard, 20% coconut, 29% olive oil, 8% castor oil, and 4% Shea butter. For 500 grams of oil- 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt and 1 TBsp of goatmilk powder, 5% superfat. The main difference on the last 4 bars was an added exfoliant (Crafter’s Choice luffa powder, espresso grounds, poppy seeds) or just the colors/design and fragrance.
The biggest takes were:
- Fragrance matters: Lots of it! Except for two of my sisters who prefer NO scent, the rest REALLY like a strongly scented bar. But, preferences on fragrance really differed.
- Looks matter: If a soap had nice colors and a nice design, it was tried more than once, sometimes at the expense of not trying all the soaps.
- No one noticed the luffa in the luffa bar.
This luffa powder was not visible in the finished bar, and no one noticed there was an exfoliant. Maybe I didn’t use enough ??? 
I’ll need to get some tips on using it. - Coffee & vanilla fragranced soap w espresso grounds was pretty popular across the board.
- ZNSC was ok but nothing special (3% lavender after 4 month cure) – I liked the light scent but I think it was detrimental to its ratings for this group ….. the good news was that no one said it was slimey!
- The first 4 soaps had 28%- 32% coconut oil (all had 5% superfat) . Surprisingly, only 1 soap got comments that it felt a little drying. I no longer use more than 20% coconut oil. So, neither my sister’s skin nor mine is that dry or there were other ingredients that balanced it out, or the drying effect would be felt if used over a greater period of time ? I definitely have dry skin.
- Suds and bubbles matter!! (On one bar, I had already started reducing the coconut oil to 20% or less but I hadn’t started adding sugar – general comments were “really pretty but could use more bubbles” It was also my soap with luffa powder. So, a double fail
- One bar had red palm oil. The orange suds got some negative feedback. Red palm oil is definitely not for everyone . Sad
because it has a nice creamy feel, and red palm is a good way to get a really pretty orange without adding mica. - Colloidal oats v ground oatmeal: Colloidal oats might have label appeal, but the visual appearance of oatmeal bits in the soap carries the day. It also anchors the fragrance. I'll save my colloidal oats for a nice face bar or if I'm making a bar for those who have sensitive skin. I’m not sure but I think having sensitive, dry skin might be different than having only dry skin.
