[QUOTE=cobiemurphy;7333586]
I’m almost ashamed to post this because of how awful the “before” photo is… But the cinnamint soap and leather balm have worked absolute wonders on my poor, tortured boots.
Wow. That is amaze-balls!!!
Here’s a link to my latest blog post - after the difference this stuff made on my boots and other gear, I just had to write a review!
http://acrosstheditch.net/2013/12/27/higher-standards-leather-care-a-product-review/
so the soap and balm is relatively nontoxic right? my toddler totally ate some…
oh, dangerbunny!!
It is non-toxic as far as I know, though it has never been tested on toddlers!!!
The balm is made from basically human ingredients (well, that are intended for humans, not made of humans . . . it isn’t soylent green, after all . . . :lol: )
The soap isn’t made of things that people normally eat, and I wouldn’t add it to my diet, but I don’t think there is anything toxic in it. In fact, some quick internet research reveals that the ingredients in the super secret formula are all classified non-toxic. So, not something you would normally encourage ingesting, but it should be ok.
Whew. Please report back and let us know if the little one is ok!
Bet it just makes her innards supple and clean! I have heard stories about dogs eating soap and having accidents on the rug as things passed through a bit quickly. Hope you had an uneventful night, dangerbunny!
Another big KUDOS for the balm! I just did my bridle, with my fingers (that is not a problem, the balm feels great and doesn’t leave a greasy feeling on my hands), and the bridle looks NEW. This bridle was so disgusting, I didn’t even want to take before/after pics, I was too ashamed of its bad bad shape.
I know I asked about scented balm but really, now that I’ve tried it, it really is just perfect the way it is! I guess I was jaded by the other (stinky) leather balms I used before.
Anyway. THANK YOU! I’ll definitely order more balm. Your products might well turn me into a regular tack cleaner (and that in itself would be an amazing achievement!)
Finally got a chance to use the saddle soap, and I LOVE it!!! I had done a deep clean/condition on my tack the day before so only wanted to do a quick clean, but I was super satisfied with how it looked and felt after using the soap. It’s good stuff!
Lol, he is completely fine but I had to hide it, apparently not only great for cleaning tack but irresistible for babies.
I ordered some soap for myself and the soap and conditioner for my trainer at the beginning of the month after hearing all the hype on COTH. The packaging was damaged in the mail and got hung up somewhere along the line. Since the order had to travel all the way to Canada… and was still stuck in Miami the week before Christmas, I messaged the etsy site. I got a very quick reply to my questions. Luckily my soap came on the 23! After Christmas, I got an email asking if my soap made it on time. It was so refreshing to have such personal costumer service. On top of that the soap is fantastic, and I had a very hard time deciding what soap I should keep for myself because both sents I ordered were so nice! What a cool idea, good work!
Another fan here. I ordered the Christmas gift pack of three flavors of soap and a leather balm. Today I used the Citrus Ginger on my new-to-me 2002 County Competitor, which had been sitting in a trailer before I bought it and was in decent condition but had some green mold and needed a good working over. It’s 32 degrees here and like others, I found that the soap was quite hard at first. However once I loosened it up it was very easy to use and did a marvelous job on my saddle. The smell is quite pleasant. The saddle is not magically brand-new again but it is much improved and it looks great.
The leather balm is excellent. It, too, was hard in the cold so I had to work on it a bit before using it. I usually use Saddle Food" but I am going to switch to leather balm.
Great product. I’m very pleased to support a small business too. FWIW the packaging is attractive and classy. Would make a nice gift.
Edited to say-- if you come up with a liquid spray I would definitely buy it for those in-between days.
Thank you to everyone for your reviews! They are so much fun to read – I have to say that I had one of the earlier iterations of the balm in my horse trailer, and I’ve used it a couple of times and frankly, was not happy.
I kept thinking “why are all these people being so kind? I’m not liking this stuff at all.”
Then I grabbed one out of the new bin in the house, and ahhhhhh – there was a reason that one that was in trailer was a reject!! I like it too 
Made me so much happier. :yes: I knew that the final formula was good – I decided thriftiness be darned, I am NOT using the reject one any more!
Keep your eyes peeled for the new January scent! It just needs a name! I ended up with only the one special scent for December, as the packing and shipping department decided that was all he could really handle 
Libby
[QUOTE=Tuesday’s Child;7326260]
I am dying to try some soap and conditioner, but I have so many current products that I’m waiting to use them up before I order (since it sounds like I will be totally converted once I start!)… [/QUOTE]
Don’t wait!!! Just order it, use it, fall in love with it, and throw out all your old stuff! (Or give the old stuff away… that is probably a more environmentally-friendly option).
Ok, you know we need hints about the new scent! And I’m sure we would all like to help name it, if ya need some assistance.
I’m holding off from buying a big jar + balm until the scent comes out, IN CASE it’s remotely forest-flavored. Then every item I own that has leather is getting covered in it. Clean + pine/fir/christmas smell = happy.
My sister was very pleased with her christmas present (rosemary mint, citrus ginger and leather balm), she brought a very old bridle back to life with it and was pretty happy that she’ll be able to use that bridle on her new horse rather than buy a new one.
[QUOTE=Frizzle;7348163]
Ok, you know we need hints about the new scent! And I’m sure we would all like to help name it, if ya need some assistance. ;)[/QUOTE]
Name is set, just waiting for Libby to work her magic :D.
Quick question about the conditioner…
Mine seemed kind of hard, and I wasn’t sure I wasn’t sure I was really getting any on my sponge. It did seem better after I worked it around some. I was thinking about softening it in the microwave, or is it okay kind of hard, and actually getting on the sponge?
Good question! It does start out hard. Several people have softened it in the microwave, but be very careful if you go that route. I am not sure what the magic power level/time combination is and every microwave is different. It doesn’t take much over time to melt/warp a jar.
What I have found works best is to scoop up a little with my hand. The warmth of my hands begins to soften it immediately, and then I have applied it by hand or with a soft cloth.
Now, this is something I can do in Florida’s version of winter. For y’all in the frozen north, I’m not sure of the best method! Can those of you who are where it is really cold report as to whether you can get it out by hand?
[QUOTE=Bensmom;7354528]
For y’all in the frozen north, I’m not sure of the best method! Can those of you who are where it is really cold report as to whether you can get it out by hand?[/QUOTE]
In order to avoid nuking my balm every time I need it, I’ve started leaving it in warmer microclimates of my house a few hours before I need it. For example, I’ll put it near (but definitely not on!) the stove while I’m cooking dinner, or I’ll leave it on top of a heat vent overnight, etc. I doubt that’s an option at most barns, but I know very few northerners who are cleaning their tack at/in the barn during deepest darkest winter.
When I do nuke the balm, it’s generally on 50% power in my microwave, 30 seconds at a time until I’m satisfied with balm’s texture around the edges of the jar. As with everything in a microwave, the edges cook faster!
I prefer to apply the balm by hand. Have never tried it with a sponge. I must say, it is SO much less greasy and nasty than other commercial leather balms. So if your concern is that your hands will get nasty, they won’t.
We need some sort of pointers to guess the scent! Come on! :lol:
[QUOTE=amastrike;7352364]
Name is set, just waiting for Libby to work her magic :D.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=WinsomeTK;7354887]
We need some sort of pointers to guess the scent! Come on! :lol:[/QUOTE]
Nah, it’s much more fun to let you suffer :D.
