Thread: Drying Soaps

Hey Guys,
I have a bit of a problem that I'm at wits end with, I have some glycerine and tallow based soaps (like Tabac and Ogallala sp?) and no matter what I do, these soaps remain most. I'm kinda worried that some may have some mildew on them, not that I could see but it smelled a little musky so I washed them off and after having them in a towel for about a day, they refuse to dry, the glycerine soaps like col. conk has little water droplets forming on them (where the heck did they come from?!)

Can someone please give me some suggestions on how to store and keep these soaps safe/dry for the future?

How's the humidity there? (Where are you located?)

For what it's worth, I've had a shave den setup in both dry and extremely humid environments and haven't had trouble in either. I keep my (dozen or so, all different kinds of) soaps in Anchor Hocking bowls from WalMart.

Are you sure it's water and not oil or glycerin coming out of the soap?

If water came out, it would mean the soap doesn't hold water, and then the water would evaporate. If it's not water coming out, it won't evaporate.

If you're worried about microbial growth, add a little lavender, rosemary or tea tree oil to the soap. These are antimicrobial, but will alter the scent.

Your soap has to be completely dry before being put away for storage or else mildew and other soap spoiling factors will rear their ugly head. I will usually leave a soap out to dry for a few hours after a shave, or even overnight if I shave later in the evening. Works for me.

Humidity doesn't seem to be too much of a problem (maybe it is, I'm the one with wet soap), although I am on the eastern sea border. Even if I keep them in an airtight container the moisture stays on the soap since it doesn't seem to dry regardless of where I store them.

It could be oil coming out of the soap. Thanks for hte tip on the things I can add to the soap although I'd like to try to keep them at their original scents.

The main problem though which just doesn't make any sense is regardless of how long I leave them out, currently a few days, whether just laying on desk or wrapped in a towel, they are always slick to the touch.

I Have enclosed a picture of Col Conk soap with the little bubbles that most of the soaps share, it's easiest to see on this one.

If it weren't for the image resizing, you could really zoom and see the pills moisture but you can still see them.

It does not look like mold to me. I think this is common is some coastal areas. I remember growing up and everything around being covered with this salty, "oily" substance; lots of corrosion too. And everything always smells musky. The flour gets all clumpy and the salt sticky. I am correct, what you are seeing is exactly that. I suggest using silica gel to dry out your soaps. If you do not have any available, rice work well with salt but it may not be enough for water craving (hygroscopic) soaps. It may be worth trying though.

Al raz.

Originally Posted by DoubleEdge23c

Humidity doesn't seem to be too much of a problem (maybe it is, I'm the one with wet soap), although I am on the eastern sea border. Even if I keep them in an airtight container the moisture stays on the soap since it doesn't seem to dry regardless of where I store them.

It could be oil coming out of the soap. Thanks for hte tip on the things I can add to the soap although I'd like to try to keep them at their original scents.

The main problem though which just doesn't make any sense is regardless of how long I leave them out, currently a few days, whether just laying on desk or wrapped in a towel, they are always slick to the touch.

I Have enclosed a picture of Col Conk soap with the little bubbles that most of the soaps share, it's easiest to see on this one.

If it weren't for the image resizing, you could really zoom and see the pills moisture but you can still see them.

I was thinking about some Silica gel but I only have a few packs of it from "here and there". If I were to go with the rice/salt combination, obviously I wouldn't want it to touch the soap but how would you suggest using that?

Like, rice around a paper towel folded around the soap? I can't really think about tossing a $15 puck of soap into a bowl of salt without it being super gritty the next time I use it.

Edit: after 3 days of wrapping the soap in different fresh towels (1 a day) they have tried considerably but a few still feel slick but far from dry.

Glycerin attracts moisture that is why it is beneficial to your skin so I wouldn't worry about the glycerin based soap unless it is not used for very long periods. I am not sure about tallow based soaps as to whether they possess a similar trait...

I could just be overgeneralizing but isn't Tabac tallow based soap? I thought there were just two kinds of soap, tallow being the animal-based fat soap? (Kinda like that good mushy stuff from Fight Club!!)

Are you keeping them in a very small washroom, close proximity to the shower...?
I live in Florida, Mildew is like our State plant, but I have no problems...I do have a large washroom, bathroom, whatever you want to call it, and the shower is seperate.

Does your bathroom mirror fog up after you shower? Try keeping one in a different room overnight, see if that helps. Also, you may want to check the relative humidity in your house. Lot's of thermometers come with barometers...It can be helpful...