How to Care for your Handmade Soaps
You’ve just bought your first or 20th bar of handmade soap. You’ve taken it home unwrapped it from its packaging and the smell is divine. To take it to the nearest sink to test it out. You turn on the water and plunge your hands and the soap under the running tap and rub your hands all over the soap to get it bubbly, then you plop the sopping wet bar of soap into a dish. And cue the screeching break sound…
As much fun as washing your hands this way can be, it’s definitely not the best way to make your soap last a long time. Soap is much like a living object. It ages and loses moisture over time. If put into standing water it will melt way into a gooey mess. If you store it on the window sill it’s mostly likely to go rancid.
Here are my THREE TIPS for caring for your handmade soaps:
Store your soap in cool dry place. If you buy a bunch of soap that you won’t be using immediately, store in a place that won’t get hot or wet. Also make sure there is a bit of air circulation. Soap needs to breathe. If you store it in hot warm place, the oil in the soap can go rancid. You’ll see dark orange spots form. You can still use this soap, but it might not smell that great. If this happens because you forgot and left your soap on the kitchen counter near the stove for a month simply cut out off the piece with the spot and use the soap as soon as possible.
Don’t drown your soap. This tip is one of the hardest for people to follow, but I promise if you do you will be enjoying your soap for much longer! When you wash your hands, instead of grabbing the bar of soap and putting it under the water and then rubbing it on your hands with water running over them, wet your hands first then pick up the soap give it good rub between both hands and then put the bar back on it’s stand. This minimizes the amount of water that will drip off of the soap and pool around it.
Get the right soap holder. Store your soap bar upright on it’s side for as long as it has a rectangular shape. The best soap holders are ones that allow for the draining of water and good airflow. Wooden ones that look like mini pallets are great or something hand carved. If you must use a soap dish get one with holes. I have a soap dish without holes and I meticulous about letting as little water be around the soap bar as possible.
Follow these three easy tips and your should have no problem at all with your soap lasting a month or more!
If you try these tips, let know in the comments below!
