Family Members And Homemade Soap- A Rant

[SueH]

What is it with them!! I live with my brother and he absolutely will not use my soap!! In fact he makes a point of letting me know that he bought soap at the store!! I even made soaps that don't smell so "girly" and he still won't use them!! I've also given some to my other brother and his family and get no feedback from them whatsoever. Friends of mine just love my soap(I do too!!) so it isn't that my soap is bad. Why do they do this??!!! Ok, I got it off my chest!!

[Candle Makin Momma]

Do they know you want feedback? I give candles to my family to get feedback, but I have to come right out and ask them about them. They just don't get it.

[Rebecca_IA]

Then don't give him any and let it go. If you've got friends that will use and provide feedback, you're set. Don't sweat the small stuff.

[Purple Lilac]

Sue, I know where you are coming from, been there many a times and not just with family. Some people will not open their minds up that homemade soap is so much better for their skin than the chemically ridden detergents they purchase at the store. I have also found out that you can not change their way of thinking either no matter what you do. So just find ones that

appreciate your labor of love and make soap!

[sudsnwicks]

Some people will not open their minds up that homemade soap is so much better for their skin than the chemically ridden detergents they purchase at the store.

This is true. For them, the way they see it is, the supermarket soap gets them clean, their skin did not fall off or have some other problems, so why not keep using it when it costs so much less. These folks seldom read labels, or bother with what's in it. To them soap is soap.

[Michi]

This is true. For them, the way they see it is, the supermarket soap gets them clean, their skin did not fall off or have some other problems, so why not keep using it when it costs so much less. These folks seldom read labels, or bother with what's in it. To them soap is soap.

People are stubborn and resistant to change, unfortunately they just have NO idea what the heck is in that store bought soap they are using. I think they hear the word LYE and cringe.

Yep, this is the way it is with my candle testers (family mostly). Why is it that I give my mom a candle and she tells me it blew up on her, and when I ask her if she's trimming the wick, she's like huh??? It's not like I didn't tell her to do so, and to give me feedback....the most I get from her is, "oh it smelled good, can I have another one???"

I know you want them to use your soap, it IS sooooo much better for them, and I'm sure you're giving it to them for free, so why wouldn't they use it??? Maybe cuz he's your brother, and he's just being a you-know-what, who knows??? LOL

[Scented]

We gave up on family as test pidgeons lol! JUST BECAUSE they wouldn't come back with opinions. Now my dad gave us opinions, so he's in the clear lol!

[Jcandleattic]

My family was a lot like this as well. (Well, not my mom, but everyone else) and I just gave up. Like the others said, some people just don't get it.

Well, after a year of not using ANY commercial brand anything on my skin (with the exception of actual store bought make-up) my sister one day looked at me in a new light. She could actually SEE the difference in the surface of my skin, and how much less lotion I am using, and how much softer my skin is, so she finally converted. I beleive she will never go back to commercial, and she is now my #1 marketing agent for my b&b products!

I know it is irritating and frustrating, but don't sweat it. They may eventually come around, and if not- look at it this way - more for you and your skin!

[KMommy]

I've experienced the same thing and as mentioned above some people just feel that "homemade" can't possibly be as good as store bought. It is very fustrating but I have learned that if that is the way they think there is nothing that will change it. Don't worry too much about it. You know you are putting out a good quality product. I just wouldn't waste any more of my products or effort on them. I know how you feel because it would be nice to have support from your family. Don't let it get to you and keep making great soap!

[sawyer's moon]

I call my soaps (and other products) artisan crafted (not handmade) and pretty much have my nose in the air when it comes to my products. No - I'm not a snooty person - but my products are superior to what is in the grocery store and what is in B&BW, etc so I act like it. This gets people begging to test for me!

Jen

[sawyer's moon]

Oh yeah - and if by chance they do feel like store bought is better...well - that's not the type of person I'm trying to sell to anyway so no love lost there!

Jen

[TerriWV]

I work with a rather snooty person. She won't buy candles from me or anything else for that matter...it's homemade. I sell alot of soap and candles at work. After word got out about the soap, she decided she needed to try some. Well, today she told me she was needing more, and needed to tell me in the future when she was getting low so that she'd have it before running out. :rolleyes2

My DH won't use my soap, won't even try it...his reasoning is "it has lye in it". He won't listen to the fact that ALL soap has lye. More for me and he can buy his own darn soap.

[Candle Man]

So if you have problems with family trying FREE soap, then how do you convince a total stranger to buy it?

My point is if family thinks that way then how in the world do you convince people to buy it? Just good advertising, explaining the difference about lye soap & dertegent bars.

[dashmo37]

Awwww, I will try your soap:yay: .

Family has this weird thing about someone they know trying new stuff. They give you the "evil eye" like, "Only big company's can make that. You can't make lotion at home"! If they only knew the stuff those companies crammed into the bottles and passed off as good for you!

Now I will be waiting by my mailbox with my bath towel in one hand and my shower cap on to be your Guinea pig.

[RobinInOR]

So if you have problems with family trying FREE soap, then how do you convince a total stranger to buy it?

My point is if family thinks that way then how in the world do you convince people to buy it? Just good advertising, explaining the difference about lye soap & dertegent bars.

Ha - total strangers are easy. You don't have a relationship history to get past. They always seem to want to score some points. Occasionally you run into a customer like that.

My sister is a Nordstroms type, I don't think she uses my soap even though she gets a bunch at Christmas. I get the feeling that she thinks its a quaint hobby - and she's usually *very* surprised when I'm crowing about a fair at which I did really really well. (Mom always tells her)

[sudsnwicks]

Ha - total strangers are easy. You don't have a relationship history to get past.

Ha! This is correct. They did not know you when you were still in school, coming home with a D in XXX (fill in subject here). So, they won't be thinking, he (or she) can't possibly be clever enough to do that, I'm better off buying it from a big company where it's made by professionals, and formulated by someone who's a real chemist.

[Tracey]

I feel fortunate that my DH asks for my soap. One day he asked me why I was buying soap when I made it---I guess I didn't think he'd want to use it--now I don't buy it anymore.

My six year old loves the body wash I have so she's good there.

I feel lucky that I have friends and family that love my b & b stuff and the candles......not all of them, but the ones I am closest to anyway.....

Tracey

[Hibiscus]

I understand how you feel. My husband is the only one that considers me and everything I make pertaining to B&B dangerous!..LOL When I told him I wanted to make soap he said I'm not putting anything on my skin that has lye in it!...I shouldn't have told him about the lye and he would have slathered and washed until there was nothing left of it!..LOL

I've yet to make one bar of soap and he's prepared for the worse. I don't have any problems with the jewelry and other stuff but B&B oh that's a NO NO!

I'm going to suggest that you don't bother to give the family any thing to test and forget about your brother because when you think about it, the don't really matter anyway. My family has never really taken any of what I do seriously, oh but they LOVE the free stuff! So, I stopped with the free stuff and decided I wouldn't care enough about what they thought to allow it to bother me. Families sometimes act as if you're supposed to give them a lifetime supply of everything!

Um sorry if I ranted in your rant but I couldn't help it

Don't worry about em, some people's sole purpose is to get in your way or cause doubt.

[jwahlton]

My family won't use my stuff either. My in-laws will though. Just yesterday my Mom told me she still had the rose soap I gave all the people sitting at our table at the Mother/Daughter banquet LAST YEAR! I said Mom you're supposed to use it. She said, it's too pretty

[Candle Man]

My family won't use my stuff either. My in-laws will though. Just yesterday my Mom told me she still had the rose soap I gave all the people sitting at our table at the Mother/Daughter banquet LAST YEAR! I said Mom you're supposed to use it. She said, it's too pretty

Yea, I get that a lot too. It's to pretty to use or It's to pretty to burn.

I guess I need to make my stuff more usable instead of pretty & usable.

[sandyrs]

I have the same problem, I gave both my sisters a bar of my peppermint and anise soap. Their story was that it smelled to nice to use, one of them said "you don't use that on your face do you" then she tells me I should sell it. Well if she won't try it why does she think someone would buy it.

[sudsnwicks]

I guess I need to make my stuff more usable instead of pretty & usable.

Nah, it won't work. My stuff isn't all that pretty, and the excuse I hear is "it smells too nice to use".

[maryann]

Ya know my husband is the same way.... just think more for someone who cares. Maybe you should be the opposite and not offer it, like its too special for the likes of him-LOL.

I literally have 150 bars ALL over the house and my husband is busting my chops so bad about the first few batches I made. So I went out the other day and bought him the Walmart special. When he saw it he asked why I did that and I simply said all the soap you see around here AREN'T for U! so now he's singing a different song. You gotta use verse psychology on them

[Michi]

You gotta use verse psychology on them

I swear this works!! Last year for Mother's Day I gave DH's women folk (hee hee) B&BW stuff- cuz I wasn't making that much B&B yet, and still testing a lot.

Well since then I've been talking about all my stuff, gave each of them a couple of bars of this and that, but never heard back on any of it.

So for his cousin's birthday I gave her a whole basket full of my stuff and his sister was like, "oh she gets YOUR stuff and we get B&BW I want what she got!!??"

Well, hello, you never mentioned a gosh durn thing about anything I just gave you for FREE just handed it over and asked you to try it out etc. and now you're pissed??

[Rebecca_IA]

One thing my DH is good for is using my soap. He'll use nothing else and it's been this whay since I started making it. He has one scent he prefers, but he'll use whatever I have available regardless of what scents I have made up.