How to make your handmade soap last longer

One of the first things people notice when switching from commercial soap to handmade natural soap is that the bars seem to disappear faster. This is real, and there are specific reasons for it.

The good news is that with a few simple habits, you can extend the life of a natural soap bar significantly. Some people get twice as many washes from the same bar once they adjust how they store and use it.

Why natural soap goes faster

Commercial soap bars contain hardening agents and synthetic waxes that help them hold their shape and resist softening when wet. Natural soap does not have these additives.

Natural soap also retains its glycerin, the humectant that makes it feel good on skin. Glycerin attracts water from the environment. This is good for your skin, but it means the soap bar itself absorbs moisture from the air and from sitting in a pool of water. A bar that stays wet dissolves faster.

Understanding this is most of the solution.

Let it dry between uses

This is the single most effective thing you can do. After each use, move the soap to somewhere it can air-dry completely before the next use.

A soap dish with drainage holes is the standard solution. The bar should never sit in standing water. If your soap dish holds water, replace it or drill holes in the bottom.

Some people use two bars alternately, rotating each time. This gives each bar a full day to dry out between uses. Both bars last longer than either would with daily use.

Keep it out of direct shower spray

If your soap sits on a shelf in the shower where the spray hits it directly, it is constantly getting wet and re-wet without time to dry. Moving it to a spot outside the direct spray path, even a few centimetres, makes a noticeable difference.

A soap bag or sisal pouch is also useful. It holds the bar, allows it to drain, and doubles as a light exfoliator.

Store unused bars somewhere dry

If you have bought multiple bars, keep the unused ones somewhere dry and away from direct sunlight. A drawer or a closed shelf is fine. Not the bathroom, where humidity is high.

Natural soap actually improves with age to a point. The bar hardens as it cures further, which means it will last longer when you eventually use it. Bars bought ahead of time and stored properly for a month or two before use are often harder and longer-lasting than bars used immediately.

Use enough, not more

Handmade soap lathers differently from commercial soap. Commercial soap's synthetic surfactants create dense, abundant foam. Natural soap's lather is softer and less voluminous, but it cleans just as effectively.

New users sometimes keep soaping because the lather does not look like what they are used to. You need less than you think. A few passes across the skin, a light work into lather, and it is doing its job.

What to expect

With good storage habits, a draining soap dish, air-drying between uses, kept away from direct spray, a well-made natural soap bar should last two to four weeks with daily use. Some last longer.

If yours is dissolving in a week, the storage is almost certainly the issue rather than the soap itself.

Our bars are made dense

We make our bars at a thickness and hardness that accounts for this. Bars are cured before they ship, so they are not still soft from recent production. But no natural soap survives a wet soap dish. The storage habits still apply.

You can find our soaps in the shop. If you have questions about which bar suits your skin type, the product descriptions cover the ingredients and what each one is best for.