Does your soap erode faster than you would like in the shower? Yes, I do have a degree in geology, erode is exactly what I mean.
Cold process, homemade soaps are made with natural oils and produce lather naturally, but they don’t tend to last quite as long in the shower as store-bought soap. You know, the soap that you can’t pronounce the ingredient list and is made with synthetic surfactants and detergents.
So how do you make homemade soap last longer?
Here are some tips
1) Keep it out of the water and as dry as possible is key. Direct shower spray will erode your soap away. Lather up without direct spray from the shower. Get wet, step out of the direct spray of shower to lather up, and then rinse off.
2)Store your soap on a soap saver so that it can drain and dry. If it can’t drain, it turns into a mushy mess that will wash away without being used. When you are not using your soap, store it on a soap saver.
Which soap saver works the best?
They are many options, and any kind works better than none. Those who like to go natural prefer the wood or coconut fiber. I personally like the plastic type better, and have also seen some made of metal, but either way, it helps your soap last longer. Both the plastic and coconut fiber can easily be washed out when they start to get yucky. In fact, I use mine to scrub the shower with when it gets saturated with soap.
The soap saver is not perfect, but it is a big help
You can also use a mesh soap bag and hang it away from the water in the shower. Soap bags are also a great way to use up your scraps of soap, (you know those pieces that get too small that you usually just throw away). You can put your whole bar of soap in the soap bag and use it to wash with, this will also exfoliate your skin.
Hard Water Vs Soft Water
Having hard water also makes your soap disappear more quickly. This is a recent discovery. We recently moved to a house that has very hard water from a house with a water softer. (I am a little jealous of those who have natural soft water) When I first starting using the softened water, I couldn’t stand the feeling of not being able to get the soap off but got used to it and now I miss it (isn’t that how life works). Now, with the hard water, I feel like the soap washes off too fast, not giving me time to lather up and making me feel the need to use more soap. I can tell my bar is not lasting as long. I don’t have a solution to this problem, but just wanted to recognize that having hard or soft water makes a noticeable difference.
A bar of soap in my shower lasts from 2 to 3 weeks. This is two people washing their hair and bodies with the bar once a day. I also shave my legs with it, although less frequently than my husband prefers.
Get your soap savers here: Products – Tagged "accessories" – WYld Bees
I would love to hear any ideas you have that have prolonged the life of your bar of soap.
Have a Merry Christmas!!
From the WYld Bees Crew
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