The Dish

This is going to be an informational post about making sure your new handmade soap lasts as long as it possibly can. If done correctly, your soap can last weeks with day to day use. Many people don't realize it, but a good, natural, handmade soap needs good drainage in order to to last long. Commercial soaps have lots of additives in them to make them harder, and last longer. Most of the time these additives are what makes that bar of soap so harsh on your skin. You may notice that bar of grocery store soap sitting in a pool of water in your shower starting to break apart in layers. That has to do with two things:

One, many commercial soaps are actually detergents pressed together, instead of being a poured mix of oil and lye water. The lye in handmade soap is a necessary ingredient, and this mixed with water is what turns oil into soap. But that's for another post...

Two, because it is pressed together, the layers start to break apart as those additives are broken down.

With handmade soap, because often it does not have these additives, if it sits in water over a long period of time it can begin to dissolve. But, don't worry! This can be eliminated with a good soap dish. It can be cheap, and it doesn't have to be pretty, it just needs to work! I have a cheap, wire shower caddy that works perfectly. The key is to get a dish that touches the soap as little as possible after you've used it. That's why my wire rack works so well.

Here's a good example of an Etsy seller's version of a good soap dish. It's got great drainage, and it minimally touches the soap which is great because then you don't have to worry about the soap getting stuck to it. PERFECT.

Andrew's Reclaimed

But again, this is just one example. Most people have a great soap dish and don't even know it!