Natural Soap Is Ugly!!!

[keniasoapboutique]

There . . . I said it. Now that I've got that off my chest, let me start by saying that I'm not the soap maker, Kenia is. Me? I'm just a guy who knows what he likes. I'm typically the voice of reason between the two of us and my voice is telling me that there has to be a better way.

I understand how the process works, and no matter how anyone tries to dress it up, ridge cut, embeds, swirly colors and thingamajigs, blocks are still ugly. The 3D molds that we use for melt & pour look so much more impressive than manually cut up, square, blocky bricks of soap.

I can't be the first person to care about the aesthetics. There MUST be a way to make natural soap in an attractive 3D type mold.

Any help/suggestions? Or am I fighting a losing battle?

[Carrie]

I think handmade soap are beautiful. Each one is a piece of art. I take a lot of pride in the soaps I make, the swirls I create and the color combinations I choose. This is my art.

[mssheddy]

I really have no room to talk as I have yet to make soap, however I would have to disagree...natural soap is awesome if done properly. All you have to do is check out the B&B gallery to see that. I think some of the cutesy 3D molded soaps are just kind of tacky looking myself. They look like they were made to sit in a bowl and look pretty and collect dust. I'd rather share my shower or bath with a great bar of natural soap than a foo foo looking bar of m&p. Just my opinion tho.

[sinjun]

I can say that after looking at everyone here's soap (They made the old fashioned way) I love the varied looks it can have and when I look at a just solid colored bar of glycerin soap that was made in a mold, might have a design on top, be a bit curved, more 3d looking.. sorry to say but I find the glycerin soaps to be downright boring .. save the fishie embed soaps.

[HeavenScentU]

I think natural soaps are simple and beautiful too. It is a form of art for me and an expression of someone's style.

[Crafty1_AJ]

I agree. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I myself am attracted to a rustic, natural-looking soap. It looks wholesome and appealing to me. Surely I can't be the only one on the planet who feels this way. lol

On the other hand, I can also appreciate a brightly-colored swirly beauty. Guess I'm weird that way.

[beau's mama]

I only make M&P right now...but I think there's so much beauty & creativity in both (all) types of handmade & handcrafted soap. For me, I really couldn't care less what the damn soap looks..kinda like judging a book by it's cover. For me, I want a soap that gently cleanses & leaves my skin feeling really nice afterwards. But it's really a matter of preference & what's important to you...how it looks or how it feels...ugly book cover or good book?

Aren't there molds that can be used in cold process soap-making?

Sharon

[Carriegsxr6]

you can pour natural CP soap into pretty 3-d molds. Just use full water and pour at thin trace.

stay away from HP because it can get too lumpy

[mountainmadness]

We all have personal preferences.... I am drawn to unwrapped, natural, chunks of soap. I would not pick up a 3-D bright glycerin bar.

Different strokes for different folks... as they say!

[keniasoapboutique]

Thx everyone for the responses. I'm also trying to look at this like a consumer. They're not used to blocks! You tell them it's natural and handmade and you get a little head nod as if that's a good bonus. But remember, most people grew up on ivory, dial, irish spring, et. They're used to seeing rounded, curved edges. And that's also my personal preference because of the way I bathe. Rolling around a sharp-edged soap brick in my hand isn't exactly how I want to start the morning.

Now, personal preferences aside, are you telling me that there is NO WAY it can be done?

[Vanmala]

LOL! Wrap your soap in pretty paper with ribbon and then you won't have to look at them.

What seems to sell better for you? Glycerin or Natural?

I've never made the natural lye soaps only glycerin but I appreciate the lye soaps and look of them. When my crafter friends throw some my way I am in my glory

[Grumpy Girl]

For the right amount of $$ you can have custom soap molds made to your specifications, even down to including your logo, and in any shape you desire. It can be done if you have the $$ to invest.

I've looked at them, and may go with it in a year or two.

[mountainmadness]

I had soap molds made last year. I do some still in the slab, loaf or I use the custom molds. They are a very thin plastic (like they package oranges in). The great thing is you do not clean them. They are a one time use. You then box them up when you get enough, send them back to the company and they can melt and repour them.

The molds that I had made still make it look like homemade soap. They have a slight, simple texture on the top with rounded corners. They are not 3-D nor have a fancy shape to them.

Be expected to pay a bit for your first set-up order and then there are large minimums... my first order was 12,000 molds.

HTH.

Jennifer

[ChrisR]

You can pretty much use any mold for CP soap that you use for M & P soap......you just have to pour at a thinner trace. You can use PVC pipes for round ones in a variety of diameters. Here's a site that has lots of molds.

http://www.andale.com/storefront?view=CAT_HOME&sid=10209&mode=1&catId=1109560

[lisajo]

If you view your own product in a negative way, can you expect any less from a customer or potential customer?

I adore looking at beautifully swirled and colored soaps. I've seen many here and elsewhere that almost seem to pretty to use. However, give me a big, chunky block of soap and I am in complete bliss.

[EmpressC]

I think it all depends on your target market. Some people tend to like the country craft sort of thing. So handmade, rustic-looking soaps appeal to them. Others prefer luxurious looking soaps, and might think soap from a loaf mold is "cheap" not having a clue as to what the benefits of the soap might actually be.

If your target market group likes the warm fuzzy of nice packaging over (or along with) a quality product, then it is what it is. Just have to meet that demand.

I recently conducted my own (unscientific) poll and asked some members of my future target market what their preferences were. Country craft look was out! They want it wrapped up pretty in a nice looking Tiffany type box....but it also better not dry their skin. As long as they're willing to pay for the extra costs associated with what they prefer, who am i to judge.

[BLSoaps]

I know I never want anyone to confuse any of my soaps with Ivory or Dove. But I understand what you're saying. At least I hope I do! LOL

If it's mostly the edges you're concerned about, try bevelling. I bevelled my soaps for years. I recently stopped simply because of the time factor. I now only bevel my baby soaps and the soaps for my dad, because I know the edges bother him as well. I've always found after a couple uses though, that the "sharp" edges have softened down on their own.

For beveling, you can go as simple as using a veggie peeler, or you can purchase (or make) a beveler. Many companies that sell soap molds also sell bevelers.

[Christina]

I've used plenty of molds, that were meant for melt and pour, with my CP. They turn out fine (except one time when I used too much shea butter and took them out too early...). The only difference is, you make a much larger batch of CP soap and it's a bit tedious to fill all those tiny molds, and you can't really swirl. I didn't care much for it. They're small and really only meant to be looked at. Still, sometimes I'll use a mold for some of my batch and just pour the rest into a large block for cutting. In short, it can easily be done, and much better quality soap (in my opinion), then melt and pour.

Christina

[Candybee]

I love both the "natural" look and the molded look. The gallery has some awesome soap pix. Me-- I must have both I tell you!!!

[Scented]

I have to LMAO at the title of the thread. Can't help it.

I think handmade soap are beautiful. Each one is a piece of art.

And I so agree with Carrie. Plain ol' soap just doesn't have a lot of appeal, but you know, I think soaps are ugly without color. It's only a temporary emotion for me, because I'm bound to use it and how it performs is more important.

[CareBear]

Have you visited the gallery? If Dove is your idea of beautiful we can do that, but among most of the soapers here, creativity abounds.

And I can make you some nice rounded bars if that's what floats your boat. Just give me a couple of weeks and you'll see them in the gallery.

(BTW - I've been lucky enough to see some DAMNED ugly MP soaps too!

[SpaceGirl]

I'll admit that sometimes the handmake soap that gets made and posted can look ..... um, interesting..... but I have really come to appreciate the beauty in natural soap. I know I'll never go back to Dove or Ivory or even shower gels (which I was using -- no edges there!) ever again.

Someone said it earlier -- if you don't believe in your product -- the value, the appearance, then no one else will.

I don't do soap (candles only right now) but the concept of thinking outside your comfort zone is the same with soap. I really don't lie bakery scents -- they make my stomach turn and I don't know why people want them -- but I know that they do so I make them and pretend to like it! If I'm not enthusiatic about it then they aren't either.

JMO

[KristineG]

Thx everyone for the responses. I'm also trying to look at this like a consumer. They're not used to blocks! You tell them it's natural and handmade and you get a little head nod as if that's a good bonus. But remember, most people grew up on ivory, dial, irish spring, et. They're used to seeing rounded, curved edges. And that's also my personal preference because of the way I bathe. Rolling around a sharp-edged soap brick in my hand isn't exactly how I want to start the morning.

Now, personal preferences aside, are you telling me that there is NO WAY it can be done?

I'm not a soaper. I grew up on and still use Safeguard however, my house is VERY contemporary and I will tell you that even though the CP has a more rustic, country look, it does sit in my bathroom as a decoration. I love the smell and it softens the look of contemporary. Anyone that has gone into my bathroom always asks about it. I do think that it's the price attached to the look of the bar that consumers don't get. $4-$5.50 for a bar of soap is high when you don't understand it and can buy a dozen of safeguard for the same price but I think its your job to pull your customer into the look, smell, feel and benefits of the handmade bar and to see the "art" in the bar of soap.

[CareBear]

I make soap, it's true, but even if I had to pay $5 for each bar (I probably spend $10 making each bar LOL) I would be using hand-crafted soaps because I've discovered that at least part of my family's eczema problem seems to be a sensitivity to detergent bars (commercial soaps). ( had gotten to the point of not using soap on the kids at all, and only on my own "hot spots". Since Eugenia gave me a bar of her soap (real, hand crafted, HP soap - NOT MP) we've come 180 degrees and can now lather up.

I am in a swap with different MP soaps to see if I can get the same conditioning qualities from MP with the right additives, but my suspicion is that it's a sensitivity to the basic ingredients that's our problem.

So say what you will - if it looked like doggie-doo-doo, I'd still buy it.

[wildangel112]

I think natural soaps are simple and beautiful too. It is a form of art for me and an expression of someone's style.

I couldn't agree more. Give me a big beautiful chunky bar of natural soap any day .

Rena