[QUOTE=Frizzle;6938211]
And as an aside, I think we should start a COTHers Etsy group![/QUOTE]
Or at least a COTH Etsy Treasury. I wonder if there is a way to do that…I’m etsy obsessed.
People Soap is not a bad idea…I actually order my personal soap from a small boutique soap maker in the West. I love the Lavander soap w/ actual Lavander heads in it!! and gift soaps to friends…PM me your saddle soap orer info…I love anything that works and smells nice…
Signing up now to be a people soap tester 
FWIW, my boarders are RAVING about this stuff! I was cleaning tack last night with a couple of them, and they were thrilled with it, saying everything everyone has been saying- soft, not sticky, shiny, smells great but not too much. I’m sending them the etsy link.
Hmm – ACME - if it turns out safe, I will be glad to share it, but the people soap worries me a little bit! :lol: A lot of the recipes I’ve studied are pretty different from what I do, and I think I’m going to experiment some and see what happens. :eek:
My BFF’s mother has requested the Rosemary scent in a people soap, and frankly, the ingredients for good leather care (which is, after all, skin 
) are not that different from what makes good people soap, so I’m going to make a few changes, add some abrasive stuff to make it good for scrubbing barn/gardening dirty hands and see what happens! I probably have a lot to learn there
YB – I’m so glad your peeps are happy with it! I was thinking about what people said yesterday about other products leaving their hands smelling bad – and it occurred to me then – if it leaves a residue on your hands that is yucky, how good can it be for leather? I had not noticed that with other products, 'cause I’ve been making this for myself for so long, but this thread really got me thinking!
JBRP – There is a clickable link in my sig
Thank you guys so much!!
Libby
If any of y’all are on Twitter, please follow HSLC there and feel free to tweet/mention/tag @HSLeatherCare and tell the world how you feel about the soap! And, as Libby has in her sig… facebook.com/higherstandardsfarm
Thanks for loving Libby’s soap! Tweet, Follow, Like, and Post!
Libby-Your post made ME teary…I bought Mikey 2 months after my Mum died from a stroke, wintertime 2001. He was SO NEEDY he helped fill a huge empty place in my life and same thing as Buzz, no body has ever taught me as much as Mikey did, poor guy.
Ordered mine last night–can’t wait to try it! :yes:
What about a liquid hand soap and/or body wash? I really prefer liquid to bar, although I do love Lush’s soaps (they have a few body washes, but they’re not nearly as nice as the soaps!).
A good leather balsam/conditioner would also be nice.
Awwwww – I think they do find us for a reason
Ok, folks!! People soap is much, much harder! :lol: I’ve come up with something I like, but it will be a long time before it is ready for prime time . . . I did a rosemary gardeners type soap this afternoon, and then an antiseptic soap for a friend that is convinced that Pine Oil wil cure any ill – I was able to make her some soap with that – I’m certain she will gift her children with a “first aid” soap!
Fun, but frustrating too – hard to get my mix-ins to do right. But my kitchen smells lovely.
Tomorrow, it is back to making saddle soap, which I know how to do!
Hopefully, lots of folks will get theirs tomorrow and Tuesday!
Libby
Finally got around to testing my sample out (work, school and cramming kept me pretty busy). Anyway I had purchased three bridles off ebay. One was basically useless since the padding was severely dry rotted. I thought the other two were only very dry and would be mostly useable.
So yesterday I took one of the remaining two to dismantle and clean. Well I found dry rot on the straps beneath all the buckles and keepers and the browband is the only things useable. :no:
I used the saddle soap on the browband and was extremely pleased and surprised with how much it helped to restore the dry leather. While it will still need some oil and conditioning, this saddle soap helped out immensely and will definitely become a staple in my leather care kit!!!
[QUOTE=RiverBendPol;6937992]
I don’t have mine YET but I ALWAYS go for unscented everything when there is a choice. I have to admit, I had a hard time figuring out which scent to order bc I have such a dislike for smelly stuff. Then I decided to buy the citrus for Buzz bc I think I remember Buzz was in trouble when Mikey was struggling. When my package arrives I’ll let you know what The Nose thinks.[/QUOTE]
I also have the nose of a bloodhound and hate almost every scent available for every product horsey or otherwise. So please do reply once you’ve used your citrus bar! I’m interested to hear how it works and if it’s offensive to your sensitive sniffer :winkgrin:
Will be placing my order on Friday. Hmmm, now what scent to choose? 
I ordered some just now. Can’t wait to get it!
Mine came in the mail today!! Of course I was on my way out, but got home and immediately picked a grungy piece of tack from the unused/dirty tack bucket in my garage. Really loved the saddle soap. Scent is nice but in no way strong/overpowering, I got lavender/vanilla. I used a decently damp sponge. Breastplate I did cleaned up really well. This particular piece probably needs a decent coating of oil/leaderbalsm just because of being neglected in my garage for so long. Can’t wait to use it on my barn tack!!
Photos of the breastplate: https://m.facebook.com/shelly.hatchpeters?v=photos&cps&album=a.10100425619337444.1073741826.21308174&__user=21308174
Bensmom, so you think it’s OK to store the damp sponge in the container?
I’m ordering mine now! I can’t wait!
Oh, thank you guys!!
Carolinagirl – thank you for the photos!! I did get a report today that one lid (the silver ones – the ones I used this time in order to fill the order as quickly as possible) did crack in transit.
Did anyone else have any issues with that? I need to keep track of it, as I will need to ship in boxes instead of padded envelopes if the jars don’t hold up well in shipping.
Also, I do leave my sponge in the jar – it probably makes it dissolve faster, so I ought to encourage all of you to do the same, so you’ll have to order more soap faster!! :lol:
Actually, I don’t know if it has any effect on how long the soap lasts, but as long as the container I’m using (I’ve poured up into any number of containers over the years) has room for the sponge, I leave it in there.
I can’t wait to see what other reviewers think! I shipped a lot at the end of last week, so they ought to arrive today and tomorrow.
Libby
My container and candies (nice little treat!!) arrived safely.
So did mine! I can’t wait to try it out on my paddock boots tomorrow
I got mine today! I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to clean tack! Ditto all the other positive reviews thus far. I really appreciate how it doesn’t leave that gummy, icky residue on your hands. The soap cleaned up my saddle and girth nicely, but the real test was the reins on my schooling bridle. They are pretty cheap and stiff and get disgusting every ride. Usually plain glycerine softens the crud enough that I can scrub it off. However, with this soap, I could actually see it breaking down the yuck. I just had to gently rub the sponge on the reins to clean them instead of scrubbing really hard. Afterward my cheapie reins actually felt nicer than they ever have! My girth and saddle needed a light layer of lederbalsam, simply because it’s been so long since I cleaned them. Usually I need to soak my tack in gobs of conditioner, but I only needed a little after this soap. VERY pleased!! Thank you!
My jar had a silver lid and shipped fine. I got the citrus ginger which is a very mild, but pleasant, scent. As a bonus, these jars nest perfectly on top of the Effax Lederbalsam jars!
Mine came yesterday!
As previously reported, this soap does melt that grey scum off the reins and you can rub it off with very little effort. My worst problem was the sponge got very dirty quickly. And I wipe my bridle down with a damp rag almost every time I use it.
My only issue was I got the top of the jar wet, and the name and all the information on top was wiped off, and now it is a plain white top. I found a sharpie and wrote the website on the jar so when I use this up, I will be sure to be able to get more.
Good stuff.
