# Soap in Freezer



## Spice (Aug 28, 2014)

some one asked me if they could be their soap in the freezer. This person really likes my soap, and wants to freeze it so it last. I know it can go into the ref, not sure about the freezer for a long term thing?


----------



## RiverRose (Aug 28, 2014)

There is no reason to freeze soap, it won't "go bad".

If it's CP or HP, it will actually improve with age... If you are selling your soap, I'm surprised you don't already know this.


----------



## Susie (Aug 28, 2014)

How long term are we talking about?  

If it is months, then it should be perfectly fine without freezing.

If it is for years, then you need to test _your_ individual recipes in the freezer before answering.

If they are just one of those people that think everything needs to be stored in the freezer, then perhaps suggest that the refrigerator might be a better solution, although truthfully I don't see how it would hurt the soap to be stored in the freezer.  They may find that the scent gets into everything in there, however.  I would suggest a good double wrapping in freezer paper before storing in bags as the FO/EO will migrate through plastic alone.


----------



## Earthen_Step (Aug 28, 2014)

I have had a few customers buy bulk 12+ soaps at a time.  With that many bars some may not be used up within a year or so.  I give them the recommendation to store extras, that won't be used soon, in a dark and cool area to extend it's life.  I have only had one bar go rancid.  It was sitting in my grandmothers guest bathroom.  It was my first oatmeal bar attempt and the chunks were far to large for my taste.  But from the occasional use and being out for over a year the oils soured.

I have bars well over a year old that I keep in the basement that are phenomenal.  Those are some of my early recipes that our family uses and some relatives that live near us get some from time to time.  Good CP soaps seem to be like a fine cheese, they can age really well!  Making soap and fermenting has made me want to get into cheese making someday.  So many things to do, so little time.

If I use some very short life oils in the future.  I will test out how they do without any ROE or any other antioxidant.  I have heard putting bars in the fridge with short lasting oils is a common practice.  Bring them out as you use them type of thing.  I have never heard of people freezing soap but I know you can freeze most, if not all, oils to extend their life.  I don't imagine the soap properties would be diminished in any way.  But, like I said I have never heard of it or done it myself.


----------



## Obsidian (Aug 28, 2014)

I froze some castile bars almost a year ago. Not sure how it affected the cure but the soap is perfectly fine to use, I don't see any ill effects.


----------



## dixiedragon (Aug 28, 2014)

I've got soaps that are 10 years old that are fine. I visit a dear friend of mine, and whenever I visit I take lots of soap for him and and his extended family as gifts. His grandmother never uses hers, and instead puts them in drawers to enjoy the scent. (And puts a bar of Dial in the soap dish by the sink! The HORROR.) Most of them are still good and still have some scent. A few have yellowed. I think storing in a freezer might actually be bad for the soap - too damp.


----------



## Earthen_Step (Aug 28, 2014)

dixiedragon said:


> I've got soaps that are 10 years old that are fine. I visit a dear friend of mine, and whenever I visit I take lots of soap for him and and his extended family as gifts. His grandmother never uses hers, and instead puts them in drawers to enjoy the scent. (And puts a bar of Dial in the soap dish by the sink! The HORROR.) Most of them are still good and still have some scent. A few have yellowed. I think storing in a freezer might actually be bad for the soap - too damp.



That's great, about what % superfat are those 10 year old bars?  Maybe vacuum packing them and freezing them would work to keep moisture out, but that seems very overkill.  That might be good for the "preppers" who like luxury, or a deep freezer full of soap to barter with.


----------



## neeners (Aug 28, 2014)

we used to keep purchased soap in the fridge (before I knew any better), and I hated it.  you'd take it out and it would sweat and start melting.  so annoying.  

 well made soap should last in a cool dark place (unused) for years, unless oils were poor quality or prone to rancidity.


----------



## Earthen_Step (Aug 28, 2014)

neeners said:


> we used to keep purchased soap in the fridge (before I knew any better), and I hated it.  you'd take it out and it would sweat and start melting.  so annoying.
> 
> well made soap should last in a cool dark place (unused) for years, unless oils were poor quality or prone to rancidity.



What about oils with a very short shelf life, something like hemp seed oil?  I have  read of people storing the soap in the fridge with short life oils.  Do you or anyone know how well it holds up?  Lets hypothetically just say it's 10-20% hemp seed oil, and the rest a combo of coconut/olive/palm.  I would imagine it would have a reasonable shelf life, but I have not tried it yet.


----------



## dixiedragon (Aug 28, 2014)

Earthen_Step said:


> That's great, about what % superfat are those 10 year old bars? Maybe vacuum packing them and freezing them would work to keep moisture out, but that seems very overkill. That might be good for the "preppers" who like luxury, or a deep freezer full of soap to barter with.


 
I soap with 5-6% superfat. Re: vaccuum packing - maybe after letting the soap age for a year? You do want to let the soap cure, and that means the water will slowly evaporate out of it.


----------



## Earthen_Step (Aug 28, 2014)

dixiedragon said:


> I soap with 5-6% superfat. Re: vaccuum packing - maybe after letting the soap age for a year? You do want to let the soap cure, and that means the water will slowly evaporate out of it.



Thanks for the reply, great to know soap can last that long @ 5-6%.  The vacuum pack/freezer/survivalist comments were more of a joke.  Not very funny I suppose.


----------



## dixiedragon (Aug 28, 2014)

Earthen_Step said:


> What about oils with a very short shelf life, something like hemp seed oil? I have read of people storing the soap in the fridge with short life oils. Do you or anyone know how well it holds up? Lets hypothetically just say it's 10-20% hemp seed oil, and the rest a combo of coconut/olive/palm. I would imagine it would have a reasonable shelf life, but I have not tried it yet.


 
I don't soap with oils with a short shelf life. IMO, the benefits those oils offer are much better utilized in some kind of leave-on product, rather than soap.


----------



## Earthen_Step (Aug 28, 2014)

dixiedragon said:


> I don't soap with oils with a short shelf life. IMO, the benefits those oils offer are much better utilized in some kind of leave-on product, rather than soap.



Thank you for the reply, makes sense.


----------



## LazyUmbrella (Aug 28, 2014)

dixiedragon said:


> I don't soap with oils with a short shelf life. IMO, the benefits those oils offer are much better utilized in some kind of leave-on product, rather than soap.



ok, going off-topic a bit, but does shelf-life of an oil still need to be considered after the oil has saponified? 
I can understand if we're talking about the SF-ed oils, but isn't the oil no longer an oil after saponification? Unless of course we're talking about the non-saponifiables that are contributing to any rancidity?


----------



## dixiedragon (Aug 28, 2014)

LazyUmbrella said:


> ok, going off-topic a bit, but does shelf-life of an oil still need to be considered after the oil has saponified?
> I can understand if we're talking about the SF-ed oils, but isn't the oil no longer an oil after saponification? Unless of course we're talking about the non-saponifiables that are contributing to any rancidity?


 
My understanding - which could be totally wrong - is that it is the non-saponifiables that give these oils a lot of their benefits, and also gives them short shelf lives. 

Although, I think that cocoa butter and avocado oil are also rich in unsaponifiables, but have long shelf lives? Maybe their unsaponifiables are different?


----------



## dixiedragon (Aug 28, 2014)

Earthen_Step said:


> Thanks for the reply, great to know soap can last that long @ 5-6%. The vacuum pack/freezer/survivalist comments were more of a joke. Not very funny I suppose.


 
LOL, I was taking your literally. I have a friend who is very into reading about survivalist techniques (she hasn't actually tried any of them yet) and she was talking excitedly about canning bacon. So vacuum sealing soap is not outside the realm of possibility!

If I had some super special soap made from an ingredient that was very difficult for me to get - like giraffe tallow (is that even a thing?) or something - I might consider going the extra mile to store it.


----------



## Earthen_Step (Aug 28, 2014)

LazyUmbrella said:


> ok, going off-topic a bit, but does shelf-life of an oil still need to be considered after the oil has saponified?
> I can understand if we're talking about the SF-ed oils, but isn't the oil no longer an oil after saponification? Unless of course we're talking about the non-saponifiables that are contributing to any rancidity?



I'm sure it depends on the % superfat and the oil.  Some oils have a shelf life of 4-6 months and if you leave behind 5-7% and used a substantial amount in the recipe I'd be very surprised if it lasted nearly as long as a cocoa butter / coconut oil type bar.  I'd also imagine if you used only 3-6% of an unstable oil at a 3-5% superfat, that bar would have a great shelf life.  But I have not had experience with short shelf life oils yet.  I'm only guessing.



dixiedragon said:


> My understanding - which could be totally wrong - is that it is the non-saponifiables that give these oils a lot of their benefits, and also gives them short shelf lives.
> 
> Although, I think that cocoa butter and avocado oil are also rich in unsaponifiables, but have long shelf lives? Maybe their unsaponifiables are different?



I'd be very interested in the details on what makes some oils go rancid much quicker than others.  Wheat germ has very high vitamin E content (a natural antioxidant) but only lasts about 1 year.  

I just did a quick google search and found this: "A study of the unsaponifiable fraction of wheat germ oil with special reference to vitamin E".  I don't have time to read it right now, but it might shed some light on the subject. 

This is getting kind of off topic.  But, these are some fun subjects to think about.

I fed the kids and looked over that first linked article.  Most of it is boring and doesn't answer much and/or is over my head.  But I found something that is much more interesting! "What determines the shelf life of fats and oils?"


----------



## neeners (Aug 28, 2014)

Earthen_Step said:


> What about oils with a very short shelf life, something like hemp seed oil? I have read of people storing the soap in the fridge with short life oils. Do you or anyone know how well it holds up? Lets hypothetically just say it's 10-20% hemp seed oil, and the rest a combo of coconut/olive/palm. I would imagine it would have a reasonable shelf life, but I have not tried it yet.




 the soaps we had were CO and soybean oil.  they were gummy and not great compared to mine (but I COULD be biased...hehe).  we went through about a bar of soap a week and they got gummy and gross.  I can't speak for any other oils like hemp, on its performance after being in the fridge, but all I can say is I will not be putting my handmade soaps in the fridge.


----------



## Earthen_Step (Aug 28, 2014)

neeners said:


> the soaps we had were CO and soybean oil.  they were gummy and not great compared to mine (but I COULD be biased...hehe).  we went through about a bar of soap a week and they got gummy and gross.  I can't speak for any other oils like hemp, on its performance after being in the fridge, but all I can say is I will not be putting my handmade soaps in the fridge.



I have a lot of soap, I'm going to go ahead and freeze and refrigerate a few bars and see what happens over time.

4 half bars in the fridge 08/28/2014
4 half bars in the freezer 08/28/2014


----------



## dixiedragon (Aug 28, 2014)

In my experience, canola and soybean often lead to gummy soaps, which is why I don't use them.


----------



## Obsidian (Aug 28, 2014)

I have a bar of soap that is close to 30 years old and its just fine and dandy. Its a terrible harsh soap but its not rancid in the least. Even though I have soap in the freezer, it generally shouldn't be needed. 

My first castile batch developed slight DOS at 2 months so I put half in the freezer to see if it would stop the spread. Not sure I really needed to as the bars I kept in the closet only developed a couple more spots the last year. I have other bars made with short life shelf oils so I out them in the freezer too, just to be on the safe side.


----------



## Ellacho (Aug 28, 2014)

One of my friends who also makes soap lives in humid summer weather. To prevent soap from sweating, she wraps every single soap with special paper and keeps it in the refrigerator. When weather cools down, she lets her soap out from refrigerator.


----------



## Susie (Aug 28, 2014)

I live in humid weather year round, and I leave mine open to air at room temperature year round.  No DOS yet.


----------



## neeners (Aug 28, 2014)

I lived in the Caribbean in the forest, so everything is prone to mold.  all the soaps I made were kept in my curing room (just a storage closet) and I've had no problems in the 10 months I was soaping there.....


----------



## DiddlyO (Aug 29, 2014)

I'm still to find out if it helps or not, but I've been wrapping mine with a small packet of desiccant. It gets humid here too.


----------



## Spice (Aug 30, 2014)

Earthen_Step said:


> I'm sure it depends on the % superfat and the oil.  Some oils have a shelf life of 4-6 months and if you leave behind 5-7% and used a substantial amount in the recipe I'd be very surprised if it lasted nearly as long as a cocoa butter / coconut oil type bar.  I'd also imagine if you used only 3-6% of an unstable oil at a 3-5% superfat, that bar would have a great shelf life.  But I have not had experience with short shelf life oils yet.  I'm only guessing.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Thanks for all that info, I have read it and it's great, especially, the what determines the shelf life of fats and oils.


----------



## Spice (Aug 30, 2014)

I am so grateful for this forum, thank you all for all your replies. Some really good opinions/info. I havent froze any soap, just refig it, what I can tell it can be done.


----------

