FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

This page has been in serious need of an update. As we have grown and built upon our original concept, most of the former questions became well answered or irrelevant. Where we built our Frequently Asked Questions upon what real questions we had been asked the most, as time went on those questions stopped being asked. Such things like “Will you make products for women?” no longer needed an answer.

Today, we feel that there are questions out there that are not getting asked. Instead of asking, ‘Do you have any questions?” it is best to ask, “What are your questions?” So…email us with your questions:

Any question relating to our business, products and branding is welcomed. Unless deemed too personal or offensive, pretty much any question will be acknowledged. If we really like your question, we will ask if it is OK to share it with everyone; and we will give you a little something to thank you for letting us do so. Once we learn what questions are getting asked the most we will update this page with those question. Through the process, we will attempt to answer every question that comes in.

Questions

Q1: Who prints your labels?

A1: We do. Currently 95% of our labels are designed and printed in house. We know they may not look as polished or glossy as what you might find elsewhere, but we find that printing in house allows a lot more flexibility and controls costs. For example, our beard oil bottle labels would cost us around $0.29 per label if we had them made for us; where as it costs us about $0.05 per label to make our own. We have looked into a better printer that would allow us to keep printing our own and be of the same quality level if printed by a supplier. For now, our printing quantity needs does not make doing such cost effective.

Q2: I bought a jar of Face Wash and it looked like someone had placed their finger on the inside upon the soap paste. Am I seeing things?

A2: We fill and pack all our products by hand. Nothing is machine filled. There is a chance a finger did touch your soap. If it did, it was wearing a glove. Yet, most likely it was from a spatula leaving a mark from when we smooth the top before capping. It will not be uncommon to see any number of varying imperfections in our products. Not filling anything by a machine leaves a lot of room for variation in how the product may look when you first open it. Do know we take every precaution to ensure you product is safely produced and packaged.

Q3: I bought 3 beard oils and each one was filled to a different level. I feel like I am not getting the right amount for what I paid for.

A3: First, it is important to know that we fill by weight, not volume. When working with oils, their weight is roughly 0.9214 grams per milliliter – water is .99 g/ml. With that in mind, we fill to meet the 30ml quantity we present. Since we hand pour to fill the bottles we aim to reach the minimum 28.3 grams (the actual weight of 30ml of oil), but often go over. That means you are most likely getting more than you expected and paid for. Currently our beard oils are scented to order. Since the scent portion can vary with each scent. we pre-fill all bottles to a minimum of 27.8 grams, with the scent portion taking it over 28.3 grams. With our other products, we make more than enough to fill the desired quantity of finished product as well as a little more in case we spill some and to cover what sticks to the side of the containers we use to mix it. We pour to fill each bottle or jar to meet the labeled quantity then distribute any remaining fill between each unit produced, without over filling. This means that everything we make, you are likely getting more than what the label says. Even our candles contain 5 to 15 grams more in each can than the label states. It may not be a lot, but it means we are not wasting anything and ensuring you are getting what you paid for.

Q4: How do you come up with your scents? And those names, where do they come from?

we come about our scents through numerous means. We find inspiration in everything. We monitor trends in every corner of our industries. If there is an ideal scent in mind, we start to find a means to create it. Using essential oils, pure and natural scent oils and other clean fragrance oils we are able to create a huge variety of scents.

Most every scent we offer has to go past our noses. Friends and family become our test subjects. We take notes on their interpretations and reactions and then go from there to see if it is worth making a test product. Our suppliers often have new scents they have created and offer free samples. This is a good way for us to get inspired and come up with new scents. Some say our scents lean towards the masculine. We don’t think on gender profiles. Many floral and sweet scents are often overdone and become pedestrian. J&L likes to lean towards uncommon and unusual scents.

Those scent names comes from a variety of things. Sometimes it is named for the main ingredient fragrances, other times it inspired by the geographical location where the core scent oil is produce or has cultural significance. Recently, as a music geek, I have leaned towards song titles from artists I greatly enjoy that reflect or nod towards the what the scent evokes. For me, it is a spiral of inspiration where scents can evoke a feeling that is mirrored in a song title. I may also play with the name a little to not be so obvious to the song title. If you are really up on alternative music from the late 70s to today, you may know the inspiration when you see and smell it.

Q5: Are you hiring?

A4: At this time, we are not needing any help making product or processing orders. As much as I would love to bring more folks on board to help achieve my goals, the business is not to a point where I can do that. The best way to help make this happen, is to sell more goods. There will be a point where the amount of business we will be doing will force us to take a dramatic jump to where hiring a couple extra hands will be necessary. We envision this to be a “factory store” – a place where we can make our wares, offer direct retail, and support our online business. Until we are able to open our own store, we will continue to vend at area street festivals and larger events. When these happen, we put a call out for help via our Facebook page. Helpers are like volunteers but are compensated and will also have a meal paid.

Q6: “I prefer to shop from eco-friendly businesses. I see you use plastic bottles and jars as well as bubble wrap and other plastics in packing shipment. Why?”

This is not the exact question we get asked, but a summary of many comments and questions we have received over the years.

A5: We have always been on a green path and continually seek sensible, dependable and affordable means of reducing waste and plastic use. Where we have had few options in packaging to prevent breakage in shipping and safety for the user we have had to rely upon plastics. As we exhaust our current supply of packaging materials, we are seeking new alternatives along with taking a deeper look at how and where the product is used. Where we know that safety and durability will not see a negative impact, we will opt to use glass. Recently we have seen the rise of wheat straw based plastic packaging. These items are biodegradable or even compostable. In mid 2022 these materials have made their way to consumer cosmetic packaging options. Very shortly we will start testing available jars and bottles to see if they will be suitable for Room + Fabric Spray, Lotions, Scrubs, foaming cleansers and refill bottles for our liquid soaps.

Speaking of liquid soaps, we have already announced that we will discontinue these items to be replaced by our highly sustainable bar soaps. Liquid soaps are very convenient for many people but are also inclusive of many unsustainable aspects. They weigh more per use – a 360ml bottle of liquid soap will not last as long as a 120ml bar of soap. At 3 times the weight, it is more expensive to ship. Not only to ship to the customer, but the base is very expensive to ship to us from the manufacturer. Liquid soaps are more expensive to make, leading to a higher price per use. There is just no way to make them truly eco-friendly.

In shipping, we heavily rely upon recycling packing materials. Air pillows, bubble wrap, “packing peanuts” that are used by our suppliers when shipping to us are reused in our shipping practices. Not only does this reduce waste through reuse, but it saves us money. These are materials that would end up in a landfill as many of these items are not able to be recycled in the majority of communities. Our thoughts are that we are at minimum getting one more use of these items before then do end up in a landfill. The packing peanuts we use are more like a Cheesy Poof than the Styrofoam kind that are most common. They are made from corn starch, much like Cheesy Poofs, just less crunchy and flavorless – but don’t eat them as you don’t know where they have been!!! They quickly dissolve in water to biodegrade and not take up space in a landfill.

For paper products, we look to those that are made from post consumer content. An early “signature” style of ours has been the kraft paper boxes and bags used. This aesthetic came naturally as it is what we used and had on hand for photos and such.

Reducing materials that are made from plastics, decrease our carbon footprint and maintain an affordable premium product is very much a part of our culture. We are always looking to do better. In 2022, we added sustainability to this list and are driving to make us overall a better partner to the environment. As part of this goal, we will do so without negatively impacting our pricing. We very strongly feel that being green should not be a luxury!