So I think I might have started something on Facebook with the HSCG…

The Handcrafted Soap & Cosmetic Guild is the one that represents the States. I’ve been upset with them for quite some time thanks to the way they treated me about having to cancel my workshops at their conference in Atlanta as I’ve been bedridden with pain since February.

If you have thoughts, feel free to share them here or on my Facebook page. And you are welcome to share any opinions on this topic, as long as they are respectful and don’t resort to name calling or attacks.

This is what you’d see on my SwiftCraftyMonkey Facebook page…

Okay, this might be a little long, but bear with me. I promise you juicy drama at the very least. I’m sad to see a professional organization like The Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetic Guild treating a member like me this way because I disagreed with a recipe they posted. 

I wrote this post on how I was disappointed and shocked that Handcrafted Soap and Cosmetic Guild would promote an alkaline shampoo bar AND would block the comments of those who criticized it. 

They obviously saw the post – I tagged them, so I welcomed it – and responded. The president of the guild, Charlene Simon, challenged me to provide scientific evidence that alkaline shampoo could damage hair. I provided quite a few links. I could have spent hours doing that, but I figured I’d see what her reaction would be. (Kendra from Modern Soapmaking provided links, too, but the post was deleted before I could screencap them.) 

After all of that, Charlene responded by saying that there wasn’t enough “scientific, factual data to shoot someone’s recipe in the foot”. She accused me of only being contrary to a guild post because I have an ebook or class to push. 

 

By the time I finished writing what I was writing, her comments had been deleted. I posted a screenshot of it, and it was deleted again. I commented on the deletion, and then the entire post was gone. 

Side note: I can’t stand people who delete threads. I mentioned this the other day. They’re selfish and cowardly and waste the time of all the others who were involved to protect their own egos. 

What follows would have been my response to her if she hadn’t deleted the post.

Charlene, I can provide much much more information. You have provided nothing, and if I have to support my position, you have to support your position: It’s hypocrisy to do otherwise. But it’ll never be enough science for you, because science isn’t the issue. You’re attacking me personally, questioning my motives for saying that this is a terrible recipe, instead of listening to my concerns, which says so much about you and the guild you represent. 

I’m contrary to this post because it is irresponsible to tell the members of a guild that looks to you for education that an alkaline soap bar is safe for hair.

I do think it rich that you’re attacking a guild member for being in business for herself and trying to make her feel bad for making money from her knowledge. Isn’t that supposed to be something you claim to support as a guild, people making money? How much have you made on those 1700+ bars this year?

I wrote my hair care ebook in 2010, and I’ve been giving away my shampoo bar formulas for free since 2009. All the proceeds from the hair care book go to support my youth programs. I wrote a shampoo bar ebook recently, which is doing very well. To top it off, your guild thought enough about my knowledge to invite me to present on hair care in Toronto. 

But while we’re talking about money, your guild was happy to take in $2,700 for my sold out seminar in Atlanta for which I would have been paid NOTHING. 

I’ve been anti-Guild since your executive director fired me from the Toronto conference and very childishly unfriended me on Facebook. I’ve been anti-guild since someone sent me flowers with a little note to say they hoped I was feeling better, and neither you nor Leigh bothered to respond to my thank you message. 

Or did it start last year, when the guild didn’t bother to introduce or thank the presenters publicly but had the paid employees of the guild on the stage constantly to receive applause and gratitude – you know, the presenters who volunteer and are out of pocket to teach your members at the conference? I guess I was a little angry about the lack of appreciation for all the time, money, and energy all the presenters spent, but the lovely wine bag and cheese tray you gave to a lactose intolerant teetotal that had to be stowed away in checked in luggage was nice, too. 

Or is it because I was getting angry, hateful messages from people who signed up for that seminar I was presenting because Sara and Leigh were telling people or posting on Facebook I wasn’t coming to the conference for “personal reasons” instead of saying I was bedridden? (Don’t try to say they were respecting my privacy because we all know it was payback for cancelling.)

There is so so much more that I’ll share another day. I’d write to you about it, but I think we both know you won’t respond, so I’ll share it in my post coming up about my experiences with your guild along with copies of the contracts so potential presenters know how much money and time they’ll spend to help you put on your show. 

But none of that had any bearing on this shampoo recipe. I would have critiqued it if it were my best friend’s formula, too. 

This terrible recipe, defensive behaviour, and attacks on my knowledge, reputation, and character are all shockingly over-the-top unprofessional behaviour as a reaction to a member disagreeing with you, but when you add it to the way your staff treated me when I had to cancel because I’ve been bedridden with pain for almost six months, I think it’s safe to say I haven’t supported your guild for a while. 

Please feel free to share your thoughts. My page, my rules, no deletions allowed here. 

That’s what I shared. And you’re welcome to share your thoughts. If you want links to the studies I shared in those screenshots, let me know and I’ll share them!

And there will be more about this guild as I have been preparing a post for those who may be considering applying to be a presenter at one of their conferences.