Soft Services: A Love Story
Being nice, for once
I criticize brands a lot, including my own. It’s not because I don’t support founders or innovation, it’s because there’s a lot (A LOT) of noise out there, and very little integrity. In an era of celebrity brand cash grabs, fast fashion brands that are the material equivalent of ambulance chasers, chasing trends instead of accidents, and downright diabolical planned obsolescence across automotive and technology, integrity in business is a lost art. Nothing is built to last, let alone work.
Through the shit storm emerge few brands that deliver value without gimmicks, and who put weight into utility and user experience as much as they do desirability. So I decided, as an act of good will, to shine a light now and again on brands I feel deserve it. It won’t happen often, mind you, but every once in a while I’m going to make it nice, to quote the great Dorinda Medley.
Do you see how I tie every post back to RHONY? Give me any topic. ANY TOPIC. And I will show you how that topic relates to RHONY.
Look, I’m trying to be more positive and perhaps a little less biting, alright? At least for this week, I am a beacon of optimism, and fuckin’… hope, and um, peace…? That sounds right. But ONLY for this week. So, don’t get all, Trish has gone soft on us.
Where were we.
I feel unreasonably confident that I was somehow the first person to find out about Soft Services, being an OG listener of
, a beauty news podcast hosted by industry experts and Glossier alum Nick Axelrod-Welk and. Of course, I wasn’t even close to the first person to be watching this brand, but I can remember looking at their website when they first launched and thinking, damn. This is gonna be good.Quick unpaid plug for EWB: As a newbie beauty founder, I savor each episode. Nick and Annie provide copious insights through the lens of beauty insiders, and are among the rare voices who actually offer critical thinking and critiques of brands and trends. Many beauty and business podcasts out there only dote on brands and founders and never apply a scrupulous eye.
I can’t stand the “omg amazingggggg” era we’re living through. Everything is “amazing” and having a thoughtful opinion about someone or something is considered mean or cancellable. That is not how discourse should be.
The point is, they know what’s what, they’ll call bullshit on bullshit, and they at least seem to practice what they preach.
Back to the subject of today’s post, Soft Services. I use SS as one of my North Star brands, not because it’s perfect, but because the products are earnest, thoughtfully designed, well-researched, non-gimmicky, and they perform.
Soft Services - great name - is a body skin company. From their site, “Our first-of-their-kind products have the efficacy of advanced facial skincare, but are optimized for the unique conditions of body skin.” SS is here to save us from body skin conditions like body acne, and Keratosis pilaris, aka “chicken skin,” a chronic skin condition that causes small, rough bumps on the upper arms, thighs, cheeks, or bum.
I’ll admit, it took me a long time to purchase. Like, years. Mostly because I don’t really deal much with body skin issues. That also means I neglected my body entirely when it came to skincare.
So I waited in the wings, occasionally checking in to see what new products they rolled out. I finally pulled the trigger and purchased four of their products a few months ago. I know that sounds crazy, that I only recently became a customer. It was almost like I was observing from a distance like a fan or creepy admirer rather than a customer. Thankfully we’ve moved on from that toxic dynamic.
This review of SS will be broken down into packaging, ingredients, user experience, and product performance.
Packaging
We’re all suckers for good packaging. Presentation matters. What I enjoy about SS is that they take utilitarian packaging and create a uniquely pleasant unboxing experience. The products are delivered in a paper draw-string bag of sorts. Apologies for butchering the packaging component descriptions. I don’t know all of the industry terms for the various packaging types, so I’m describing them as I would to a three year old.
All of the products are recyclable. They even include detailed recycling instructions for each product on their website. I don’t think people realize how difficult it is for a brand to design with 100% recyclable materials. They tend to be more expensive and there are high MOQs. So whenever you shit on a small new brand for not using 100% recyclable materials, why don’t you put your money where your mouth is and invest in them. Punk.
The product names are effective in letting you know what the product is for in an interesting way. Software Update Performance Retinol Serum, Buffing Bar Microcrystal Exfoliant, Theraplush Overnight Repair Treatment, and the Soap Home, a companion to the Buffing Bar you use in the shower so your bar of soap doesn’t disintegrate or going slippy sliding all over the place. Brilliant.
I’m not sure how to put my finger on the packaging design aesthetic, but I’m obsessed. It doesn’t sway particularly masculine or feminine. The textured cartons give it a nice visual depth and sturdy feel. Some of the artwork is abstract and whimsical without feeling childish, and it’s certainly not too literal.
I’m including a few more shots from the Soft Services website PDPs because their product photography is great and I love the artwork.
On the component design front, I have to give one final shout out to what I believe is their best seller, the Theraplush Overnight Repair Treatment to help your weathered leathery hands look smooth and youthful. It’s meant to live on your bedside table, so it has an inconspicuous appearance that at first glance you wouldn’t assume is a product, but perhaps a little decorative jar or something to keep your jewelry in. But this butter colored baby shines at bedtime. Let me break it down once again in toddler terms, not because of you, dear reader, but because my component vocabulary is still nascent.
The lid is designed to have a slight divot, or depression on the surface, which easily holds a pair of earrings, rings, or other jewelry removed at bedtime. Once you remove the lid, you’re presented with a pump. A few presses down on the pump and the treatment cream neatly dispenses onto the surface of the pump apparatus for you to easily swipe up with two fingers and rub into your hands. It’s also designed to be reused with refillable pods, so the main jar and pump components can live on and be used again and again. It’s probably the best user experience I’ve ever had with a beauty product.
Okay, so obviously their packaging is top notch. Let’s move on to ingredients.
Ingredients
I appreciate that they know they’re speaking to an informed consumer group. They don’t shy away from dermatologic terminology. Nothing feels dumbed down. As the body skin experts, they’re more focused on what works than on what sounds good.
I’m going to focus on one ingredient in particular because while it is a tried and true ingredient, it isn’t one I’d seen advertised by any other skincare brand. It’s called, Urea. Yes, it sounds like urine. It’s naturally occurring in our bodies as part of our metabolic system, so it is approved as safe and effective for treating skin diseases and conditions.
As Soft Services puts it on their website, “it's a type of a keratolytic—it breaks down keratin build-up on the surface of the skin. This is beneficial as it gets rid of any rough and flakey skin and bumps (like keratosis pilaris aka "chicken skin" that we get on the backs of our arms and thighs) while being exceptionally moisturizing.”
Quick shout out that the Theraplush treatment is also the old hand lotion I’ve ever used that has retinol in it. So it is actually keeping your hands looking younger.
User Experience
I touched on this a bit with packaging, but the TLDR is, the UX is great. You can tell that each element of each product, from the color, to the smell, to the way the product feels in your hand, was carefully selected. Everything about SS feels highly intentional.
There’s nothing worse than when the vessel for the product does not adequately deliver it to you. That’s a component failure. You know when you purchase a pump product, like a shampoo or a body wash that you have to pump into your hand, and the pump doesn’t press down? You purchase this product, twist the top to release the pump, and what do you know, it doesn’t pump! It’s infuriating, and it happens a lot.
I’ve been experiencing a lot of component failures, specifically in the lip department. Every lip gloss or oil I’ve purchased in the last few months is now leaking where the cap meets the tube. Even my expensive Dior lip oil that I love so much, leaking. It’s tragic.
So hats off to SS for creating inventive yet extremely practical, functional components that actually work.
Product performance
Aside from applying spf and spritzing a hydrating mist on my décolletage, I’ve pretty much always neglected my body skin. I just never thought about it. I hate the way it feels to apply lotion right out of the shower and then try to put on clothes?? That’s diabolical. I can’t stand my hands or body feeling sticky or oily or slimy from products, so I never used them.
Trying SS, it felt good to treat my body with as much dignity as I treat my face. Show some damn respect! This body has done a lot for me, it’s time I treat it better.
My hands are perpetually softer from Theraplush, my body skin is smoother from the Buffing Bar, and I feel very good about myself for finally taking proper care of my neck and chest by applying a nightly body retinol, Software Update.
I think this is my first official love letter to a brand. You have to understand, there is so.little.integrity in all sectors of business, and beauty is no exception. Everything feels gimmicky, cheap, and trendy, like their main mission is to pull the wool over our eyes so we can’t see just how poorly made and useless their products actually are (and that they’re basically all the same products just repackaged and branded). They have no backbone, no real mission, and no story or human element, just a facade. Even more tragically, investment flows into these brands.
So it’s an absolute pleasure to see a company that has integrity in what they create and how they create it. I’m not saying SS is perfect, no brand is. But what matters to me is that they’re trying in earnest to deliver the best products and experiences to their customers without cutting corners.
So hey, maybe give them a try.
I hope you enjoyed this uncharacteristically positive post this morning. I’m sitting here enjoying a cup of coffee looking out at the Fall leaves on a gray Upstate NY day. This is my perfect setting for writing and I’ve gotta tell ya, I’m having so much fun writing this Substack. You have no idea how much I needed this outlet, the words are just flowin’ out of me. I appreciate you for being here and reading my posts. Reading and writing are nearly lost arts, and there’s something extra special about people who take the time to sit down and allow their brain to move in one direction. For me, Substack is like a smoothie for my brain, and I always feel smarter, more energized, and inspired after reading posts my favorite writers. Wow this is getting a little too lovey dovey so let’s wrap this shit up.
THANK YOU so fucking much for being here. You are one of the special ones. ⋆⭒˚.⋆
Love Soft Services!!
I’m a sucker for the buffing bar and soap dish — they had a fall scented one last year that I loved; I off to add the DS & Durga collab to cart!