HOW TO STORE SOAP AFTER IT'S MADE

by Christine
(UK)

I am feeling slightly confused after reading this:

Q. After I've made my soap (melt & pour or cold process), how should I store it?

A. Storing cold process soap and melt and pour is a fairly easy process. Simply place the bars, gently, into a semi-air tight container (a Rubbermaid container will work just fine - a shoebox is too permeable) and store, out of sunlight. Do not store different scents in the same box; they WILL blend and mix with each other. I also like to put a cotton ball, saturated with fragrance, inside the container as well. It seems to help the scent really stick in the soap! Once you're done storing your soap, just add a little baking soda to the bottom of the container, and let sit, for a few days to help get rid of any remaining scent that may have leeched into the plastic.

Is this done after the soap has been left to air dry after 4-6 weeks or after 24-48 hours after un-moulding, since its in a semi-air tight container? Also, does Tupperware work well for storage? Rubber-maids are not exactly cheap!

Answer:

I'm guessing that this answer is a readers comment or you read it somewhere else? I prefer to store my soap in cardboard boxes and do not place scented cotton balls into the box with the soap.

Soap should be air dried, not touching each other, on a shelf in a cool, dry location for approx. 4 - 6 weeks. This is the cure time when excess water will evaporate out of the soap. If the soap is touching each other or is in an air tight container, the excess moisture will not be able to evaporate and leave. It will settle back on to the soap which will likely shorten the shelf life of the bars.

Once the cure time is over, I like to store the bars, stacked into cardboard boxes. The first layer of bars are laid down with slightly smaller than bar sized gaps between the bars. I then lay papertowel down and stack the next layer of bars placing the bars over the gaps. This way there is very little overlap of the bars and they touch each other as little as possible. Hope that makes sense.

Cathy