I’m the business manager at 10th Planet Burbank. There are some implications in this thread that seem kinda uncool so I would like to clear up some of the confusion. But first, I wanted to send a shout out to Neale for starting such a great topic. Above all else, the fact that these products exist and awareness is on the rise is great for everyone, from the athletes and gym owners to the manufacturers. And as consumers, we’re grateful for having choices. Hopefully healthy competition creates better products, and anyone reading this thread will get the idea that both products are loved by many 10th Planet Warriors. On to clarifying a few things…
Guy (Defense Soap): “I don't ever recall you being a reseller of ours” and “We have no records of Defense Soap and 10th Planet Burbank...”
Shortly after we open, and shortly after one of our clients (Howard) nicknamed “Mr. Clean” brought Defense soap to our attention, we inquired about opening a wholesale account with Defense soap. Unfortunately, at the time (early 2009), their minimum quantity for wholesale orders was too large for our gym. Keeping skin diseases off our clients and out of the gym was a higher priority than making money off selling soap, so we proceeded in purchasing Defense soap at retail prices from their website directly. We sold it for about a year, while introducing other products like ABC wipes, shower gels, and lotion, and eventually Super Body Care’s suite of products.
Guy (Defense Soap): “…please be careful when saying we use fillers in our soap. Our bar is made of the purest, highest quality natural ingredients we could find.” and “Also some of our products are certified organic. I am not sure how you can make such a blanket statement without researching it first.”
I can guarantee you that we have done more research about soap than any gym owner should! During the time we were carrying both Defense soap, Super Body Care Soap, and other skin care products, we had a client ask us why the Defense soap lasted so much longer and why some of the other soaps were softer and dissolved faster. So, we research it. We found that there are a number of reasons some soaps are firmer and last longer than others, including the use of fillers and preservatives to help the soap keep its shape and longevity. We also found that soaps with more essential oils and purer essential oils tend to be softer and dissolve more quickly. When looking at the specific ingredients in both Defense Soap and Super Body Care’s soap, we came to the conclusion at the time that Super Body Care produced a more natural pure product, with more oils, more essential oils, and no chemical preservatives. Unfortunately, Defense Soap didn’t list all of the ingredients in their soap at the time (not sure if what they list now is a partial or complete list, maybe Guy can let us know), but we found it had a few things in it like tetrasodium EDTA, which is widely accepted and common ingredient in soaps used to “improve effectiveness, stability, hard water performance, rinsability, and shelf life,” but is listed as a preservative made from formaldehyde and sodium cyanide, both known carcinogens. It’s also a “penetration enhancer,” causing it to penetrate the skin’s protective layer and carry its contents into the bloodstream. However, one man’s “con” is another man’s “pro.” Just because we all smell like hippies after using these products doesn’t mean we all want to actually be hippies. Some may prefer to have their expensive sports soap last longer, and the quantity and affects of such ingredients seems unknown and varied. We chose to offer the more hippy solution. As someone mentioned early, it’s a matter of personal choice. Which leads me to my last point.
Guy (Defense Soap): “Funny thing is I just hung up with Eddie when I see one of his schools bashing us.”
Kim had said that Defense Soap uses “fillers and stuff” on a forum designed to share information, experiences, and opinions with a network of our affiliated schools, which certainly doesn’t qualify as “bashing” any company or product in my opinion. Folks should make their own personal choices about what’s important to them, but they should also be given a chance to get the information. Perhaps Kim should have been more specific, but sharing this information on the Nirubi forum is exactly what I believe Eddie intended in creating it. And while we obviously want to be accurate and thoughtful, we shouldn’t have to be paranoid about our word choice or opinions. If there is any misinformation here, it’s definitely not intentional or malicious. As suggested earlier, if the vendors are going to participate in this dialog, perhaps it should be directed at informing us, providing facts, and clearing up misstated or poor information rather than cautioning us on what or how to say what we want to say. Both products are great; it’s staph, impetigo, and ringworm that we hate. But since topic is “Super Body Care vs. Defense Soap,” our opinion is Super Body Care for a variety of reasons.
Guy (Defense Soap): “I don't ever recall you being a reseller of ours” and “We have no records of Defense Soap and 10th Planet Burbank...”
Shortly after we open, and shortly after one of our clients (Howard) nicknamed “Mr. Clean” brought Defense soap to our attention, we inquired about opening a wholesale account with Defense soap. Unfortunately, at the time (early 2009), their minimum quantity for wholesale orders was too large for our gym. Keeping skin diseases off our clients and out of the gym was a higher priority than making money off selling soap, so we proceeded in purchasing Defense soap at retail prices from their website directly. We sold it for about a year, while introducing other products like ABC wipes, shower gels, and lotion, and eventually Super Body Care’s suite of products.
Guy (Defense Soap): “…please be careful when saying we use fillers in our soap. Our bar is made of the purest, highest quality natural ingredients we could find.” and “Also some of our products are certified organic. I am not sure how you can make such a blanket statement without researching it first.”
I can guarantee you that we have done more research about soap than any gym owner should! During the time we were carrying both Defense soap, Super Body Care Soap, and other skin care products, we had a client ask us why the Defense soap lasted so much longer and why some of the other soaps were softer and dissolved faster. So, we research it. We found that there are a number of reasons some soaps are firmer and last longer than others, including the use of fillers and preservatives to help the soap keep its shape and longevity. We also found that soaps with more essential oils and purer essential oils tend to be softer and dissolve more quickly. When looking at the specific ingredients in both Defense Soap and Super Body Care’s soap, we came to the conclusion at the time that Super Body Care produced a more natural pure product, with more oils, more essential oils, and no chemical preservatives. Unfortunately, Defense Soap didn’t list all of the ingredients in their soap at the time (not sure if what they list now is a partial or complete list, maybe Guy can let us know), but we found it had a few things in it like tetrasodium EDTA, which is widely accepted and common ingredient in soaps used to “improve effectiveness, stability, hard water performance, rinsability, and shelf life,” but is listed as a preservative made from formaldehyde and sodium cyanide, both known carcinogens. It’s also a “penetration enhancer,” causing it to penetrate the skin’s protective layer and carry its contents into the bloodstream. However, one man’s “con” is another man’s “pro.” Just because we all smell like hippies after using these products doesn’t mean we all want to actually be hippies. Some may prefer to have their expensive sports soap last longer, and the quantity and affects of such ingredients seems unknown and varied. We chose to offer the more hippy solution. As someone mentioned early, it’s a matter of personal choice. Which leads me to my last point.
Guy (Defense Soap): “Funny thing is I just hung up with Eddie when I see one of his schools bashing us.”
Kim had said that Defense Soap uses “fillers and stuff” on a forum designed to share information, experiences, and opinions with a network of our affiliated schools, which certainly doesn’t qualify as “bashing” any company or product in my opinion. Folks should make their own personal choices about what’s important to them, but they should also be given a chance to get the information. Perhaps Kim should have been more specific, but sharing this information on the Nirubi forum is exactly what I believe Eddie intended in creating it. And while we obviously want to be accurate and thoughtful, we shouldn’t have to be paranoid about our word choice or opinions. If there is any misinformation here, it’s definitely not intentional or malicious. As suggested earlier, if the vendors are going to participate in this dialog, perhaps it should be directed at informing us, providing facts, and clearing up misstated or poor information rather than cautioning us on what or how to say what we want to say. Both products are great; it’s staph, impetigo, and ringworm that we hate. But since topic is “Super Body Care vs. Defense Soap,” our opinion is Super Body Care for a variety of reasons.
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