Hot Process soap soggy after use?

by Anonymous

I have no problems cooking hot process soap it comes out just the way I want it, my problem is when I use it afterwards it looks and gets real soggy. Is this normal?

Answer:

Soap's very nature is to dissolve but there are a couple of things you can do to help avoid 'soggy' soap.

One thing is to make sure your soap is able to dry out completely between uses. This means placing the soap in a self draining soap dish. One mistake often made is to leave the soap too close to the spray of the shower. This leaves the soap under constant running water even while it isn't in use.

Another thing to do is to look at your recipe. Make sure you have enough hard oils in the recipe to make a fairly hard bar of soap.

I find using a combination of harder oils (like coconut, palm, shea butter, cocoa butter, tallow, lard) in the amount of about 40% - 60% of the total oils makes for a good long lasting bar of soap.

Adding botanical matter like calendula petals or oats will also make the soap more absorbent to water and can result in a softer bar of soap.

My basic soap recipe makes a good hard bar of soap that is long lasting...maybe give that a try.

Good luck,
Cathy