I always find these hysterical. They love to brag about how they made their own and it's great and wonderful... Meanwhile I'm looking at them thinking their hair is about ready to just fall out, looks like it dried up or is so caked in gunk it's in desperate need of any decent shampoo, and nothing about them inspires me to try their grooming product.It is even worse with home brewed hair styling products. Hipsters love the stuff but with few very exceptions, horrible.
I just got in a batch of sample soaps from Maggard's and I read multiple critical reviews of each before ordering. I looked at how long each artisan/company had been around. I wasn't interested in the one that came out last month, but even a newer one just needed a history of success. Something to show that they knew how to make the product and customers were happy enough that they're getting repeat sales. I still expect that at least one or two will be a bust for me, and that's fine. But if I bought some unknown from a local craft fair I'm going to consider it a donation to the local craft community until proven otherwise.