It’s been an exciting time for Pampered Robot, a line of personal care items I started making a few years ago. I haven’t had the time to create a dedicated website (happy to say I’ve been too busy making products and filling orders!), in which case I wanted to carve out a little space here to answer some commonly asked questions. If you have a question you don’t see covered here, send me a message using this page’s contact form.
ABOUT US
WHAT IS PAMPERED ROBOT?
Pampered Robot is a line of 100% natural personal care items. There are three different Pampered Robot products: Take a Chill Pill Lotion Bars, Take a Chill Pill Extra-Smooth Lotion Bars and Resting Robot Face Lip Balm, all available in a variety of scents.
Lotion Bars: Lavender, Frankincense/Myrrh and Unscented
Lip Balm: Vanilla Mint, Frankinmint and Unscented
Other scents are available upon request for orders of 10+ items, but there are some scents we just won’t do. While we make certain everything we create has a light, pleasant aroma, we also want to make sure the essential oils we use have skin-healing and/or mood-boosting properties.
HOW DID PAMPERED ROBOT COME INTO EXISTENCE?
My husband has a fairly rare skin condition called dyshidrosis, which can be especially painful for him during the dry winter months. There’s no cure, and he’s tried multiple prescription and over-the-counter creams with very little success (not to mention, everything was loaded with a long list of chemicals and petroleum by-products that in some cases even made things worse). So I had an excess of shea butter and beeswax and a desire to use it for good, which led to my first-ever batch of “Take a Chill Pill Lotion Bars.” Although the bar didn’t cure my husband’s condition, it brought him more relief than anything else he’s ever tried, so I started making them somewhat regularly (and gave a few to a small cadre of family and friends).
Then the orders – from people who’d received free samples – starting coming in. Whether they liked the fun name and packaging and wanted unique gifts – or had real success with the product – I started selling the bars to family and friends through email and social media, before recently opening the door to outside sales.
The whole cycle repeated itself after I gave out free lip balms winter 2018. They were a hit, and I recently started getting orders for those, too.
HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE NAME “PAMPERED ROBOT”?
It all started with a character I’ve been drawing for 11+ years, which I named the “Pensive Robot” at some point along the way. When I received my first big lotion bar order, I hadn’t really created any brand support (just the bars themselves). A friend suggested I draw the Pensive Robot as a parent treating themselves to a cup of coffee or a day at the spa. A few sketches later, and the Pampered Robot was born. You can check out a selection of my Pensive Robot drawings here, if you want to see what the robot has been up to over the years (trust me, a little pampering was well deserved).
IF THE LINE IS CALLED PAMPERED ROBOT, WHY IS YOUR WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA ALL CONNECTED TO FORESHADOWBOXER?
FORESHADOWBOXER is the social media handle and web address I’ve had for years; I use it for my writing, photography and drawings. As Pampered Robot first grew in popularity, I stuck with FORESHADOWBOXER quite simply because it was the easiest thing to do. I only recently created Pampered Robot accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and I plan on using those more regularly in 2020 (thus fully separating FORESHADOWBOXER from Pampered Robot). Rest assured, both accounts are managed by the same person, and you can still place an order through any FORESHADOWOBOXER or Pampered Robot account. We’d love for you to follow both because, well, it’s tough being a writer/photographer/writographer without an audience.
OK, I’M SOLD. WHERE CAN I BUY SOME OF YOUR LOTION BARS AND LIP BALM?
We hope to get our Pampered Robot website up and running sometime in 2020, but until that’s ready, you can place an order by emailing pamperedrobot [at] outlook.com OR by sending us a DM through any of our FORESHADOWBOXER or Pampered Robot handles on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
We’re also super excited to have our lotion bars now available at Page 1 Books in Evanston, Illinois. Page 1 Books is one of our absolute favorite bookstores; if you’re in the Chicago area, we highly recommend you check them out. And regardless of where you live, Page 1 offers a monthly book subscription service and amazing holiday gift bundles, all shipped to you. We were super excited to be included in Page 1’s December 2019 box and are gushing over their holiday gift bundles. Want a non-traditional holiday gift? Sign friends and family up for Page 1’s monthly box, or send them a one-time holiday gift bundle!
ABOUT THE PRODUCTS
WHAT THE HECK IS A LOTION BAR? IS IT SOAP?
If you’ve never used a lotion bar before, it might leave you scratching your head. Sure, it looks like soap, but adding water will pretty much ruin it. So, uh, don’t do that. As a lotion bar, you use it the same way you’d use hand cream, lotion or a salve. Which is to say: you apply it and rub it in. Whether you have a dry, red patch on your chin that needs some TLC or your hands and feet are dry and cracked from winter weather, just rub it where you need it and re-apply as needed.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ORIGINAL AND EXTRA-SMOOTH LOTION BARS?
We recommend the original bar for most uses. The extra-smooth lotion bar was made for people with mature and/or very delicate skin (mature skin doesn’t have as much elasticity, and very delicate skin can hurt when tugged). The extra-smooth bar applies more easily, with no real need to “rub” it in.
THE EXTRA-SMOOTH BAR SOUNDS GREAT! SHOULDN’T EVERYONE USE THAT?
The extra-smooth bar applies more easily because it has a lower melting point. That means you’ll apply a little more at each application. That, in turn, can mean it takes a tad longer to absorb into your skin (not to mention, you’ll get fewer applications before your bar runs out).
I CAN’T FIND MY LIP BALM AND THIS WINTER WEATHER IS BUTCHERING MY LIPS. CAN I USE MY LOTION BAR INSTEAD?
Yep! So long as you’re comfortable rubbing your lips the same place your hands have been – or you have a bar dedicated solely for use on your lips – these work great there, too.
IF I CAN USE YOUR LOTION BAR AS LIP BALM, WHY’D YOU STILL CREATE A SEPARATE LIP BALM?
Our lotion bar is safe for use on your lips (unless you’re allergic to any ingredients, of course), and it can work wonders there, too. But it isn’t *made* for lips. Our lip balm, on the other hand, is specially formulated for that region (not to mention, our lotion bars and lip balms use different essential oils).
IS YOUR LIP BALM SPF?
Nope. Not yet, anyway. Much like we believe you should use SPF when you’re outside, we don’t think you need extra SPF ingredients when you’re away from the sun. Consequently, we suggest you use Resting Robot Face lip balm when you’re inside (especially after brushing your teeth and/or at bedtime), and use your regular SPF when you’re heading outside.
SPEAKING OF RUNNING OUT, WHAT DO I DO WITH THESE CONTAINERS WHEN I’M DONE?
We’re big believers in taking care of our planet, and though we generally avoid plastics, we’re all about using ones that are easy to reuse or recycle. We’ll do a separate post on fun ways to reuse your Take a Chill Pill Lotion Bar bottles and Resting Robot Face Lip Balm tins in the near future. But until then, just keep in mind that once your item runs out, you can remove the label, clean the container, and use it to store similarly-sized items.
HOW DO I STORE YOUR PRODUCTS?
These all-natural products can soften in high temps, so we recommend storing them in a cool, dry place. Whatever you do don’t store them on or near a heat source. If you live in a warmer climate, don’t leave them in your car on especially hot days.
PAYMENT FAQs
WHAT SORT OF PAYMENT DO YOU ACCEPT?
We love Zelle/ChasePay/QuickPay. They don’t charge any fees; you don’t have to fork over any of your personal information to a third party to use them; and most major banks offer the service for free. Don’t have Zelle/ChasePay/QuickPay? We also accept cash and check.
WHAT’S A “CHECK”?
Ask your parents. 😊
WAIT, SO NO PAYPAL OR VENMO?
At this point in time, we do not accept PayPal or Venmo. We’re trying to convert the world to Zelle/ChasePay/QuickPay for two reasons:
PayPal and Venmo both charge the merchant (me!) a fee for each transaction. In order to recover that money, I’d have to raise prices.
PayPal and Venmo both require the merchant (and in some cases the customer) share their banking information with a third party. In this age of constant hacking and data breaches, we figure the fewer services that have access to our personal information, the better.
If our current payment methods are inconvenient for customers, however, we will certainly reconsider using third-party payment services, like PayPal and Venmo. But it’s our hope to avoid them for as long as we possibly can.
I’VE NEVER HEARD OF ZELLE. HOW DO I GET IT?
Chances are you already have it and just don’t know it. Zelle is currently offered for free through all of these banking institutions. Just log into your bank account, search for Zelle and follow the steps to start using the service.