LONGER LASTING SOAP

by Christine
(UK)

I have made numerous CP soaps and I have been please with their appearance , lathering qualities etc.

However, they don't seem to last very long. Some of the soaps have cured well over 3 months. What is causing this?

Do I need to get the soaps even harder, and can I add something to the mix to achieve this? I personally don't think they are soft at all. Does anyone else notice this with homemade soap no matter the recipe?

Answer:

There are a couple of things that might be making your soap disappear faster than you like.

1. Letting the soap sit in water. It is important that soap dries out between washes. Leaving the soap on the tub rim near the shower results in disolving soap.

2. Using low amounts of oil that contains stearic or palmitic acid in them. Oils containing these acids will strengthen up your soap and make it last longer. My recipes tend to contain 50-60% of hard oils.

3. Hair! Lots of hair on an individual will act as a scouring pad on the soap. This will cause the soap to disappear at an alarming rate. Try getting a 'pouf' or wash cloth lathered up and wash with it...not the bar directly.

You can always add ingredients like beeswax or stearic acid to a recipe to make it harder but you shouldn't have to. The recipes on my site produce soap that lasts quite awhile in my house...and I have two teenagers who shower an unbelievable amount of time.

Cathy