Soap base testing results

23 years ago

As some of you know I ran a test with some of my customers, comparing SCFI base with WSS base (because some people who have used both to make soap thought one was definitly better than the other.), so I thought I'd see what my customers thought.

Its been about 2 weeks since I sent off samples-I made Â½ size bars of soap, colored & scented as I normally would. They each got 4 differnt scents, 2 of my old scents, 2 new ones I am considering adding to my line, plus a bar of the SCFI oatmeal base soap.

Now, I'm still waiting for a few of the results, & hopefully they will be in within the next day or so (they have promised they WILL get them to me ASAP), but so far this is what I've got:

Everyone HAS liked the SCFI based soap better as far as lather/afterfeel is concerned.
Everyone has said the SCFI based soap has disapeared MUCH quicker than the WSS based soap, which they said, IF they had bought the soap, would have made them rethink buying it again, even with the better lather & afterfeel.
A few have said they thought that the scent was a clearer scent in the SCFI base, BUT they said that was on comparission ONLY. As a stand alone bar, EACH bar smelled great on it's own, it was only on immediate, side by side comaparission, that they noticed a difference.
No one was really overtly impressed with the oatmeal bar. They said it was ok, but nothing to write home about.

As I said I'm still waiting for a few results-I have heard partial reports from all but one person (ironically, the local tester...). Now believe me this was no scientific test, there were 4 participants, 1 local, 1 about 2 hrs away from me, 1 in NC & 1 in PA. They were all asked to use both bars of the same scent in the same bath/shower, one bar on one side, one on the other side, so they had direct comparissions as to lather, afterfeel etc.

As I get the rest of the results coming in I will let you know a final vote from everyone, but at this point I will probably just stick with the WSS base.

Hazel

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (14)

pistil
23 years ago
Hazel,
Thanks for letting us know! I've been dying to hear what others have to say. I find your testers right on the money! As much as I love SFIC bases, I do agree with your testers that the bar doesn't last as long as WSS's. However, SFIC's low sweat/cp soap DOES last as long, if not longer than WSS's. I'm not trying to change your mind, this is just an FYI. By any chance did you find out if they were using soft or hard water? lol!
Susan
Jill_NC
23 years ago
I was happy to be a tester for Hazel's WSS vs. SFIC base comparison. Have well water here, and honestly found just a small difference between the two. Actually, I had to use one bar on one arm - stroke 10 times, then do the same on the other and compare lather...that's how close it was for me. The scents--heavenly! The colors--beautiful! DH participated too and had the same remarks.

Jill
Related Discussions
How to amend soil based on soil test results
Q
Comments (1)
I know next to nutthin 'bout reading soil tests but a couple of advisories. Depending on who did the testing, some labs give recommendations for lime for agricultural purposes where they expect the lime to be mixed into the soil rather than spread on top. Keep in mind that grass does best in soil that is at a PH of 6.5ish or so.and that it is much easier to increase PH than it is to reduce it. So if you add to much lime... Second thing to keep in mind is that you do not want to add more than one pound of N per month at a time to an existing lawn. Also too much N in a seed bed is not beneficial to seedlings and can kill germenating seeds Thirdly, N and P leach pretty quickly, so adding more than the plant can use before they leach out is both a waste of money and bad for the enviorment. Maybe there are some soil test readers here, If not, I'd suggest you re-do the test with Logan Labs and pay for them to make recommendations. Just my two cents.
...See More
Soil Test Results: please guide
Q
Comments (4)
Why the drama? Because in 2006, Spike, the originator of Gardenweb, sold out to iVillage. Spike had his hands extremely full and was not as able to police the project like iVillage was. In 2007 iVillage/Gardenweb banned people for life because they proselytized and linked to a new lawn forum which sprung up. Gardenweb made the use of that new forum's name a banned word in their dictionary. Then another forum popped up when that first alternate forum proved to be too authoritarian. This next forum got that same treatment where the use of the word was not allowed here. That forum has been renamed to the one you linked to. Apparently Gardenweb has not caught on to the new name. In any case it is usually a violation of the terms of service of any forum containing commercial advertising to link out to forums with similar themes. The advertisers don't want to make it easy to click yourself away from their messages. So this minor drama is how we avoid the major drama and trauma. Many lawn gurus do not post here because of a history between 2002 and 2007 of off topic arguments. It was not unusual to see simple questions go up to the 100-post limit with sometimes vicious bantering back and forth. Sadly some really competent people left or were banned. Myself, Andy, texas weed, bpgreen, turf toes, and a few others have managed to keep our noses just clean enough to avoid the Gardenweb ban hammer. But they mostly stay away from here. That's partly why Andy does not read soil test results here.
...See More
Got Soil Test Results...need help.
Q
Comments (2)
Based on backyard Ca and pH, maybe you did mix 2 up since you say you limed front yard and what you posted makes it look like back yard was limed. DO NOT put lime down again. The 6.3 is great and the 7 pushing high. Doing the lime was a mistake. If they aren't backwards, then liming was good because pH 6.3. If you did get the 2 mixed, it makes sense that P is getting locked up and Ca is higher. Me personally, I'd have to retest again now.
...See More
Unexpected results with homemade Insecticidal Soap. Dr. Bonners.
Q
Comments (4)
Another benefit of any soap that gets on your soil is that it improves water absorption. If you use a concentration that is too strong, you could burn plant leaves though. That's why the various recipes seem so dilute. The reason insecticidal soaps work is the same reason it improves your soil absorption. Soap breaks the surface tension of water droplets. Insects have a coating that causes water to roll off. Otherwise they'd easily drown. (Their breathing organs are a bunch of tiny holes along the sides of their bodies.) So soap breaks the water tension and allows the water to coat their bodies, and they drown. It's especially effective on soft-bodied insects like aphids and squash bugs. (Beetles, not so much, though yes for grubs.)
...See More
Hazel_SC
Original Author
23 years ago
I did hear from my local tester, but his results aren't really complete......
he took his tester bars on vacation to TN this past week, & he says basically the opposite of everyone else:
**he DIDN'T think the new base lathered as well as the old
**he thought the new base lasted better than the old.

However, he also didn't compare them side by side, although he said he would this week. (he's a male.....they DON'T follow directions all that well.......)

As far as the water, not sure who had what, BUT I figured that sending it to several places (& TN wasn't a "planned" test) would give a variety of water types. Glad to hear that Jills well water test went good, & interesting to see that she had the same results as "city water" folks....

If I get any other results, I'll pass them along.......now it's on to scent testing for new fragrances......

Hazel
pistil
23 years ago
Where do we sign up to become a scent tester??!!!! lol!
Hazel_SC
Original Author
23 years ago
Sorry, already have 10 testers lined up, some people from across the country, a couple are my wholesale customers.....I usually just pick my scents by what I like, & by "instinct", but this time I decided to to some scent testing, just to see how close, or far off I REALLY am......then again, I may NOT want to know.
I also thought it would be a good idea to let the wholesale folks preview upcoming things........

Depending on how this goes, I may just go back to the old way (me). It's been a borderline pain....I spent the weekend making tons of Â½ size bars of soap, wrapping & labeling, now packing & getting ready to ship.
I just hope these people get back to me with the results.....I've had to chase the soap base testers down, with the exception of Jill...she was the ONLY one who gave me detailed, scent by scent info, which I GREATLY appreciated!

Anyway, off to pack the soap, & the ebay auctions.......

Hazel
sriston
23 years ago
Hazel, I appreciate your information. I am new to soap making, and I have to admit that although I love doing it, I was disappointed in the fact that the soap didn't last long at all (I am using the SFIC bases). I thought perhaps all melt and pour soap was like that. There are five of us, and we use up one whole bar (full size) every day. If we use the "guest size" bars I made, they only last one washing. Now, if I were buying this soap at three dollars a bar (full size suggested retail), that would be very expensive! Do all M&P bases go so quickly? A bar of Zest or similar will last us a week.
Susan
Jill_NC
23 years ago
Susan--
I have used WSS bases for most of my soaps. They hold up well and the lather is pretty good here (we have well water). SFIC lathered great but I think that's where most of the soap went LOL. I have about a 4 oz. bar of WSS soap that I've been using daily for about a week, and there's more than half left. I guess the trade-off is the way your skin feels afterward. I thought I'd be a die-hard Dial user, but I can't believe the difference in the way the soap leaves my skin feeling. Even my DH likes the glycerin soap better.

Jill
Hazel_SC
Original Author
23 years ago
Susan,
No all M&P bases are not "created equallly"....some last longer, some lather better, some are hard to work with, or don't take scent well.
you just have to try various ones till you find something YOU like.
Good luck!

Hazel
tararara
23 years ago
Aren't there things you can add to the soap to make it 'harder' and longer-lasting? I think I've heard that citric acid can do that? Anything else??

Also, I just got my first order of SFIC base (drove up to Bellingham to get it from Brambleberry - wonderful folks!) and when I opened the bag, it smelled distinctly of alcohol. Now, isn't added alcohol a bad thing? SFIC is supposed to be the best, and I believe that, but what's up with the smell??
Hazel_SC
Original Author
23 years ago
never heard that about cirtic acid....I know some things don't work well in M&P...
as to the alcohol smell, I don't know, the samples I got from SCFI didn't smell like that.......

Hazel
tanner2135
23 years ago
Hey, I smelled alcohol when I broke open a case to take some bars out (waving to Ellen)...I caught a big whiff but it dissipated quickly.

Interesting...
Andrea
pistil
23 years ago
I didn't get the alcohol smell when I opened my sample pack from SFIC but maybe the drunk had the day off. ;o)
sriston
23 years ago
My SFIC sampler (which came from SFIC) had no alcohol smell when I received it, either. In fact, it didn't have any smell at all.
Susan
tararara
23 years ago
It's stearic acid that can be added to harden m&p for a longer-lasting bar (thanks to a little birdie for clearing that up for me!). Ã've never done it though, so can't comment on results, recipes... Anyone else know?

Soap base testing results

Comments (14)

pistil

Jill_NC

Related Discussions

Hazel_SC
Original Author

pistil

Hazel_SC
Original Author

sriston

Jill_NC

Hazel_SC
Original Author

tararara

Hazel_SC
Original Author

tanner2135

pistil

sriston

tararara

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Soap base testing results

Comments (14)

Related Discussions

Hazel_SCOriginal Author

Hazel_SCOriginal Author

Hazel_SCOriginal Author

Hazel_SCOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Hazel_SC
Original Author

Hazel_SC
Original Author

Hazel_SC
Original Author

Hazel_SC
Original Author