Disappearing Soap

Where’d my soap go?!?!

I’ve heard that question before.  No, I’m not referring to how your favorite bar always seems to be snagged by the kids when you go to get clean or when you drop the soap in the shower.  (Probably a whole different blog and bunches of bad jokes right there.)  I’m referring to the question people get occasionally when they switch from the mass-produced detergent/beauty bars in the grocery store to a homemade soap.  Yes, handmade soaps behave differently in the shower- that’s part of why we love ’em!  Let me explain a little to hopefully solve one of your shower mysteries.

One of the perks of handmade soaps is that they retain their natural glycerin.  This is a wonderful thing for our skins!  The beauty/detergent bars you usually find in the stores have had their glycerin removed (most often to be reused in cosmetics, lotions, and the likes.)  Keeping that precious glycerin in the bar actually helps our skin.  It keeps us from drying out as badly and, for some people with skin allergies or problems, it has been shown to help to soothe those problems.  But what does that have to do with how long the bar of soap lasts in the shower?  That awesome glycerin also makes the bar dissolve quicker in running water.

Your handmade soaps will last much longer in the shower, bath, and next to your sinks if you don’t store it under running water.  I know that might sound a little obvious (who keeps their soap directly under the faucet?) but your shower stall might have its’ soap dish where water runs over it while you shower or water pools in it.  This can effectively “wash away” your soap before its time.  Keep your soaps in a soap dish that has a raised bottom or drains water off.  You don’t want your bar sitting in a pool of water- unless you are trying to achieve that old homestead “mush in a bucket soap” look.  You know, where you just reach in and scoop out a glop?  And I can tell you from personal experience that some of the soaps, especially the brown colored ones, just don’t look like something you might want rubbed all over your body once they’ve gone soft and mushy in a waterlogged soap dish.  If you just can’t picture what I’m talking about, drop me a line and I’ll send you a picture!

To recap, glycerin is good.  Running or pooling water is bad for soap, unless you’re doing science experiments with soap like we have.  I hope that this has solved one of your shower mysteries and given you a little smile along the way.  I am back off to see if my new soap scale has arrived yet and plot my next batch of soap.  Have a great weekend all and we will catch you next week.

Happy Washing!

Dorothy