How To Make Bar Soap Last Longer

There are a few ways to make natural bar soap last longer between uses. Let’s face it, high-quality soap made with high-quality organic ingredients is pricey. You want to make it last as long as possible and get all those nutritious ingredients onto your skin, not down the drain. Check out these simple tips and tricks to lengthen the life of your soap.

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1. Use a Soap Saver Dish to Help your Soap Last Longer

First, use a soap-saver dish. Using a tray, dish, or soap-saver bag will allow your soap to drip dry between uses and allow air to circulate around it. This is important so the bar can dry out completely between uses. When a bar of soap is left on a flat surface it will stay wet and you’ll notice your soap mixing with the water and making a thick paste. This is still fine to use but it will make your soap disappear faster, not to mention the goopy mess.

Whether you’re using your bar soap in the shower or at a sink will determine what type of soap holder you’ll use. You can use a glass or ceramic dish at the sink but I wouldn’t recommend that for the shower. No one wants broken glass in the shower if an accident happens. Soap-saver bags are a popular choice for in the shower because then you can use the bag in place of a washcloth or sponge. You can toss these in the washing machine whenever you want to give them an extra wash.

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2. Cut into Smaller Pieces

We sell bars that are great for shower use or as a hand soap for the kitchen or bathroom. If you use it as a hand soap outside of the shower I would recommend cutting the square bar in half so you have two separate rectangular pieces. This will extend the life of your hand soap because half of it isn’t getting wet at all while you’re using the first half.

3. Keep out of Direct Water

When you’re in the shower you want to make sure you have your soap stored somewhere out of the direct water stream. I use this caddy because we can put all of our individual bars on there and also hang razors, cotton scrubbies, or soap-saver bags. It holds 4 bars and we don’t have to worry about them falling off the side of the tub or slipping off the small edges of the shower. The water should not be hitting the soap when you’re not using it. Having water constantly hitting the soap will make it melt away much faster than you want, and leave a mess where it sits too. I know, you’re only in the shower for 10 or 20 minutes, but every bit of time the soap sits under a stream of water, it washes away the goodness.

4. Use a Washcloth or Loofah (aka Luffa)

To help save your body soap in the shower, try using a washcloth, loofah, or soap saver bag. This may help you use less soap than if you were just lathering the soap on your hands or directly onto your body. Use the cloth to lather and decrease the wear on it. Even better, grow your own luffas in the garden! It’s a lot of fun.

Ditch the Plastic Scrubbies

While I’m on this subject I’ll just touch on why I don’t recommend using the popular plastic scrubbies. I know, they’re so convenient and it doesn’t seem like there’s anything wrong with them. In reality, they are made of plastic, which is a HUGE issue in today’s society. These scrubbies contain chemicals that can be very harmful, like phthalates and BPA, which can leach when exposed to heat and water (not so great in a hot shower, right?). These chemicals should be avoided, especially on products used every day.

Synthetically made products, like some shower scrubbies, contain microplastics that find their way into our water, food, soil, and everywhere. These microplastics contain forever chemicals called PFAS, which are linked to many health issues, including cancers and reproductive issues. Plastic scrubbies can be easily replaced by handmade cotton scrubbies (buy from a local friend who crochets or knits), loofahs, sponges, etc. Try a few different things out and see what you like! Go for natural fibers whenever possible.

To Help your Bar Soap Last Longer-Keep it DRY

Overall, the most important thing to do with your bar soap is to keep it dry however possible. Keeping it dry will ensure you get the most out of your natural high-quality soaps. All in all, keep your soap out of the direct stream of water, keep it on a ridged tray so air can circulate it, cut it into smaller pieces, or use a washcloth to help with the lather. Follow these tips and your soap will last longer.

Not all Natural Bar Soap is Created Equal

I was recently walking around a local shop and they had a beautiful selection of bar soaps. They smelled so nice and were pretty colors, very appealing! They were labeled as all-natural, which seems great but realistically it can be misleading. When you look at the ingredients list of a product, you may see things like fragrance, natural colorants, natural scents, etc. To the unknowing eye, these don’t seem bad but there are some things to be aware of. There is really no one that is regulating the term “all-natural” which means you can label products as all-natural and they can still include synthetic ingredients. There are also natural ingredients that aren’t necessarily good for everyone’s skin so just because something says all-natural, doesn’t mean it means safe for everyone.

The biggest red flag I see in “all-natural” skincare products and soaps is the word FRAGRANCE in the ingredients list. Some ingredients hide behind this word, including phthalates, natural and synthetic scents, carrier oils, stabilizers, alcohols, solvents, etc. These can contain hormone disrupters and ingredients that are harmful. A company can put pretty much whatever it wants in its product and slap “fragrance” on the label and go on its way. I hate this lack or transparency. Nonetheless, be aware of this as a consumer who wants to put safe products on your skin! Make sure to do your research and read labels when you’re choosing your products.

When you find that perfect bar of soap, use the tips and tricks we laid out for you in this post and make it last longer! If you see lye or sodium hydroxide on an ingredients list and wonder why check out this article. Read more about essential oils in soaps here.