A bar of handmade soap is a small thing to buy, but people want it to last, and so do we. We spend eight weeks curing every bar before it leaves the workshop. It seems a shame for one to turn soft in a puddle within a few days of arriving.
The good news is that most of what decides how long a bar lasts happens after you unwrap it, and none of it is complicated. Here is what we have learned, and what we do at home ourselves.
Why Bars Wear Down
Soap dissolves in water. That is the whole point of it, and also the whole problem. Every time a bar gets wet, a thin layer on the outside softens. If it dries before the next use, that layer firms back up. If it sits wet, the softening keeps going, and the soap washes away a little at a time without ever doing any washing.
So the question of how to make a bar last is really a question of how to keep it dry between uses.
Use a Draining Dish
The single most useful thing you can do is put your soap on a dish that drains. A flat dish, a shelf in the shower, or the corner of the sink all hold water underneath the bar. A dish with slats, ridges or holes lets the water run off and lets air reach the bottom of the bar.
Wooden slat dishes, ridged ceramic dishes and simple raised racks all do the job. It does not need to be expensive. It just needs to keep the bar off a wet surface.
Keep It Out of Standing Water
This is the same idea, said a different way, because it is the most common way a bar gets used up early. If your shower has a ledge where the spray lands, or a dish that collects water, move the bar somewhere the stream doesn't reach. Out of the direct spray is better than in it, even if it is a little less convenient.
When you are done washing, give the bar a quick rinse and set it down on its draining dish. If there is a puddle forming beneath it, empty the dish now and then.
Let It Dry Between Uses
Air is the other half of the job. A bar in a damp, closed corner dries slowly. One in a spot with a bit of airflow dries faster and stays firmer. If you shower every day, you might keep two bars going and switch between them, so each one has a full day to dry out.
That is also where our smaller size comes in handy. The Heritage Cut is a 1 oz cut of the same soap, which makes it easy to keep one by a sink and save the full bar for the shower.
Store the Spares Somewhere Dry
If you buy a few bars at once, keep the ones you aren't using in a cool, dry place away from the steam of the bathroom. A drawer or a linen closet works well. Unused bars don't need anything special, only to stay dry until it is their turn.
Why Cure Matters Here Too
We covered the cure in Issue No. 3, but it connects to this question. As a bar cures, water leaves it and the soap hardens. Tallow also makes a hard bar, which we talked about in Issue No. 4. A harder bar holds up better in use. That part is our job, and we do it before the soap ever reaches you. Keeping it dry is the part that's up to you.
How Long Should a Bar Last?
It depends on how often it is used, how many people share it, and how wet it stays. We can't give you a guaranteed number. What we can tell you is that, according to customer feedback, a bar of ours lasts about a month.
If yours is going much faster than that, look first at where it sits between uses. In our experience, the dish usually turns out to be the problem.
A Small Habit
None of this takes much effort once it becomes routine. Set the bar on a draining dish, keep it out of the spray, and let it dry. A soap that was made slowly can be used slowly too.
If you are running low and want another, you can find The Heritage Bar in the shop. Orders ship from Greenville within 1–3 business days.
Welcome back to The Provision Press, our journal of craft, intention, and the art of making things well.
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