How to make a natural soap bar last longer: drainage, dishes, and the soap bag

A good bar of natural soap is a small, honest thing: plant oils, a little fragrance, and a few weeks of patience. Ours are cut by hand in Mapleton, Utah, from saponified olive, coconut, sustainable palm, castor, and sweet almond oils, with phthalate-free fragrance and no ingredients from the California Prop 65 list. That short ingredient list is why people try handmade soap. The one complaint we hear is that a handmade bar can go soft faster than the store-bought kind. It doesn't have to. Give it drainage and a place to dry, and a bar lasts a lot longer. Most of the fix costs less than the soap.

Why natural soap goes soft in the shower

Cold process soap keeps the glycerin that forms when oils turn into soap. Glycerin pulls moisture from the air, which is part of why a handmade bar feels gentle on your hands. It is also why the bar soaks up water if you let it sit in some. Many mass-market bars are built differently, with the glycerin removed or with synthetic detergents doing the cleaning, so they shrug off a puddle better than ours will.

We cure every batch for four to six weeks before it ships, so extra water evaporates and the bar hardens. (There's more on that in how we make cold process soap in Mapleton, Utah.) Curing hands you a firm bar. What happens after it reaches your shower comes down to where it sits.

The rule under everything below is simple: natural soap lasts longest when it gets fully dry between uses. Standing water turns the bottom of a bar to paste, and paste washes down the drain.

Step one: get it out of the puddle

Before you buy anything, look at where your bar lives right now.

• Out of the spray. A bar that sits under the showerhead gets rinsed every time anyone showers, whether they use it or not. Move it to the far end of the tub or a shelf the water doesn't reach.
• Off flat, solid ledges. The tub edge and the corner of the sink collect a thin layer of water that never quite leaves. A bar sitting in it stays wet all day.
• Shake it off first. After you lather, give the bar a quick shake and set it down on its edge or its drier side.
• Let the room breathe. A bathroom fan or an open door after a shower dries the air, and the bar dries with it.

None of that costs a thing, and it makes a real difference to how long a bar holds its shape.

A soap dish that actually drains

The best single upgrade for a handmade bar is a dish with slats or ridges, so air reaches the bottom and water runs away instead of pooling. Our Bamboo Soap Tray is $4 and does exactly that. Bamboo handles water well, and the slatted design lets it drain off so the bar isn't sitting wet between showers. Tip it slightly toward the tub or sink so it drains instead of collecting, and rinse it now and then so soap doesn't build up in the gaps.

Short on space? The Soap Saver Sponge ($2.50, currently in tan) is the smallest fix. The bar rests on top, the sponge keeps it out of standing water, and your counter stays cleaner. Squeeze it out every few days so the sponge gets a chance to dry, too.

One thing to skip: a solid dish with no drainage. A pretty ceramic dish that holds a spoonful of water will soften a bar faster than leaving it on a dry shelf.

The soap bag: hang it and let it dry

Our Soap Bag is $2, woven from natural hemp fibers, with a drawstring at the top. Drop your bar inside, wet it, and lather right through the bag. The textured weave builds a rich foam and adds a gentle scrub, a little like a loofah.

The real trick is what you do after. Pull the drawstring and hang the bag from a shower caddy or a hook. Air reaches every side of the bar at once, so it dries faster than it would resting on anything, even a good tray.

It's also the answer to the last sliver. When a bar gets too thin to hold, drop it in the bag with the next one and keep going. Nothing goes to waste. The hemp is durable and biodegradable, which fits the same idea as the soap itself: simple materials that do their job.

You can find all three in our soap accessories, and each one costs less than a bar.

Small habits that add up

• Cut the bar in half. Each of our bars is approximately 6 oz and hand-cut, which is generous. Use one half and keep the other somewhere dry. Less soap in the shower means less of it soaking up water at once.
• Rotate two bars. If two people share a shower, or you like switching scents, let one bar rest a full day while you use the other.
• Store spares somewhere dry and airy. A bar waiting its turn is happiest on an open shelf, not sealed in a damp cabinet under the sink.
• Keep washcloths off the dish. A wet cloth draped over the bar keeps it damp for hours.

Pick the scent you'll look forward to

Clean ingredients are why most people try our natural soap. The scent is why they come back for the next bar, and a bar that lasts longer means more mornings with a scent you love. A few we'd start with:

• Sugar Bear: bright grapefruit, tart lemon, bergamot, and a cool mint finish. One of our best sellers.
• Lavender Driftwood: calm lavender grounded by warm driftwood, a good fit for evening showers.
• Cypress & Gin: sharp juniper, a hint of red currant, and a smoky backbone of oak, balsam, and cedar.
• Spiced Honey: golden honey, creamy vanilla, smooth almond, and a whisper of warm spice, made for cold mornings.

Every bar is $7.99, or pick any 3 for $19.99. Browse all of our scents in our natural soap collection. Add a tray or a soap bag and you're closer to free shipping, which starts at $40. Every scent is backed by our 100% Scent Satisfaction Guarantee.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a bar of natural soap last?

It depends on how many people use it, how long the showers run, and how steamy the room gets, so we won't promise a number of weeks. Each of our bars is approximately 6 oz, hand-cut, and cured four to six weeks to harden before it ships. Keep it out of standing water and let it dry between uses, and you'll see the difference in the first bar.

Why does my handmade soap get soft and mushy?

Almost always, it's sitting in water. Cold process soap keeps its natural glycerin, which draws in moisture, so a bar left in a puddle or under the spray softens from the bottom up. A draining dish, a soap saver sponge, or a hanging soap bag fixes it.

Is a soap saver bag worth it?

For $2, we think so. Hanging lets the bar dry on every side, the hemp weave adds a gentle scrub and builds lather, and it lets you use up the last thin sliver instead of throwing it away.

Does cutting a bar of soap in half make it last longer?

It helps. Only the half in the shower is exposed to water and steam, while the other half stays dry until you need it.

Can I use the soap bag and tray with any bar soap?

Yes. They work with any bar, though they make the biggest difference with handmade, cold process soap, since those bars keep their glycerin and soften faster when they stay wet.

A little drainage goes a long way. Set your bar up to dry, pick a scent you're glad to reach for, and let it last.