Which oils go rancid?

by Ali
(Halifax NS)

I am wondering if you have a page that would list which oils go rancid and approximately how long they last in soap before they spoil?

THANK YOU for your incredibly resourceful site!!


Ali
Halifax, NS


Answer:

Sadly, all oils will go rancid eventually.

For optimum shelf life of your oils, don't buy more oil than you can use in a reasonable amount of time and store them in a cool, dark location or better yet, refrigerate them if you can.

In order to keep your soaps at their best, they need to be stored in a cool, DRY location out of direct light until use.

Try to keep the soaps from touching each other as they will continue to lose the water they were made with as they age. This goes on for quite some time and that moisture needs to be able to evaporate rather than settle back onto the bar of soap.

When I was producing large quantities of soap, I found the best way to store the soap was on my drying racks with a sheet over the rack to keep dust away. This allowed for moisture to pass and kept the bars dry.

A super cheap option that works great is to place your cut soaps spaced out evenly on paper towel lined beer flats!

When one flat is full, simply rest another lined flat on top of the cut soap bars and start another level. Air still circulates and dust is kept off the bars.

For estimates on the life span of oils, check out the manufacturers and sellers websites. They often give time frames on the life of their products.

Cathy