can't hang on to soap when using it

[gww]

Perhaps this is a dumb question and the truth is that soap is soap but here goes. My mom has been using body wash and she tried my bar soap and said she could not hang on to it while using it. Are there tricks in making soap where the end product is easier to hold while using in the shower. Things like shape/size, adding ruffles, additives, oils or cures that make some soap better then others in this regard. She is talking about putting it in a sock or just rubbing it with a wash towel and using it that way. Anyway, I am sure my question is out there and if the answer comes back that soap is soap and that is how it is, I will understand but thought I would ask anyway.
Cheers
gww

Ps, I like simplicity and so tackling something complex would not fit my nature.

 

[CreativeWeirdo]

Soap on a rope: drill a hole through a sphere/oval or cube shape and thread some cotton fiber (like yarn)

Felted soap: there are some people on here who do beautiful work in needle felting over a bar of soap. Feel free to do a search on here.

Soap sack: knit or crochet a little pouch to put the bar in, I use cotton yarn that's used for dishcloths and hang it to dry. I've seen some small town gift shops with bags sewn from cotton fabric that I'm assuming are meant to be washed after every use, like a face cloth, but I'm personally not sure if that would be a thing I'd like.

My personal opinion is that simply modifying the shape of the freshly made bar wouldn't exactly remedy the slipperiness as it gets used and the fresh edges wear away. For me, I've found that even smaller bars still slip.

 

[dibbles]

A bath puff, one of these things. And if your mom was a body wash user, she might already have one. Wet soap in one hand, wet puff in the other, rub the puff on the soap a few times, set the soap down and squeeze the puff to make lather.

 

[CpnDouchette]

A lot of people like sisal bags. Personally I hate them and I find the soap never dries fully between uses. Soap on a rope is another option.

I have made bars with piping which makes it easier to hold however in time the definition is lost so it just becomes a smooth bar.

Bevelling the edges makes it easier to hold in the hand and generally the bigger the bar the harder it is to manipulate so I like something relatively small and thin.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I make very simple bars that fit in the hand - not huge in any of the 3 dimensions, but it can slip out sometimes even then just not in a way that makes it unusable.

My bars are approximately 7.8cm X 6.2cm X 2.3cm and that seems to work even with my wife with smaller hands.

 

[gww]

I would like to thank you guys who have taken the time to give me ideals. It is sorta what my instinct was telling me but you don't know for sure if you don't ask.
Cheers
gww

 

[AliOop]

Since she is a pouf user already, she’d probably like the soap saver bags made out of the same material as the bath pouf shown above. This does not get moldy like the cotton or natural fiber bags tend to do.

Mine has a drawstring closure and costs $1 at the Dollar store. Here is a link to something similar on Amazon. I hang it in the shower by the drawstring to drip dry between uses. It’s also great for using up the last bits of various bars.

 

[gww]

AliOop
Thank you. I have not responded earlier because I don't care but more cause I like deer hunting more. When I get done each day, I come home and try to catch up with all the treads on this site and then usually go to bed later then I should. I do appreciate you post and hope I get the info to where it will do the most good.
Cheers
gww

 

[Johnez]

I'm not sure what your "too complex" threshold is, but have you considered making liquid soap? It'd work *with* what your Mom's used to and heck you can gain a new skill in the mean time.

 

[lianasouza]

Maybe this could help:
https://drsquatch.com/collections/shower-boosters/products/soap-gripper-1

 

[gww]

Johnez
I have made two batches of liquid soap so far and have given my daughters, sisters and mom each a little half pint (little jelly jar) or so to try. I am using it in one of my baths and like it pretty good. I have the rest still as paste and find diluting to be a bit of a complicated time consuming process that I hope I get better at. I have been scenting it with a little lemongrass oil cause it was something I had on hand as I use it to trap honey bees with. It is the only thing I have not left unscented cause scenting is expensive. I basically used the same recipe as for my bar soap but just changed the lye to koh.
Thanks for the comment and advice.
Cheers
gww

 

[melinda48]

Perhaps this is a dumb question and the truth is that soap is soap but here goes. My mom has been using body wash and she tried my bar soap and said she could not hang on to it while using it. Are there tricks in making soap where the end product is easier to hold while using in the shower. Things like shape/size, adding ruffles, additives, oils or cures that make some soap better then others in this regard. She is talking about putting it in a sock or just rubbing it with a wash towel and using it that way. Anyway, I am sure my question is out there and if the answer comes back that soap is soap and that is how it is, I will understand but thought I would ask anyway.
Cheers
gww

Ps, I like simplicity and so tackling something complex would not fit my nature.

Perhaps some colloidal oatmeal to add a bit of “grab” to the bar might help.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

What is the linoleic percentage in your fatty acid profile? For my recipes, soaps with 15% are noticeably more slippery compared with soaps that have 8%.

As @AliOop suggested, mesh bags are sudsational!

 

[gww]

Mobjack bay
The linoleic percentage was 5. I did show my mom the bags but I think she is going to try the liquid. She said the soap was great everywhere but how to say this delicately, it was a little harsh on her bottom.
Cheers
gww

 

[Zany_in_CO]

she tried my bar soap and said she could not hang on to it while using it. Are there tricks in making soap where the end product is easier to hold while using in the shower.

So, maybe your soap is slippery? Maybe your mom has small hands and your bars are cut too big for her?

These things may be corrected by changing your formula and cutting to a smaller bar for your mom or using individual cavity molds that fit the hand better.

Have a look at the Basic Trinity of Oils. It makes a bar of soap that, to my mind at least, is closest to French-milled soap, i.e., not slippery at all.

Funny thing about bath poufs. I include one with every soap I gift to friends and family. When I first made soap, I put one in the shower for my DH. He never used it. He was used to using his hands to lather up and wash. I had forgotten about it until 4-5 years later, he came down to breakfast, exclaiming about the copious lather he got when he tried the bath pouf for the first time!

You can imagine my surprise.

 

[gww]

zany
I use two of the three of the basic trinity oils. Lard base, 20 percent coconut and 5 percent castor.
Used a shoe box as the mold. As you can see, I have pretty much used what was at hand though I will slowly take and incorporate suggestions though very slowly cause I am cheap and also hate going into stores. I still end up closer with time and watching for opportunity as long as I have ideals of what to watch for which you guys are nice enough to offer.
Thanks
gww

 

[Quilter99755]

https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Orga...hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583657831414228&psc=1
I have used a bag similar to this for shampoo bars that have broken into pieces. They don't hold water and dry out between showers. My daughter bought a bundle at a close out sale years ago and we use them for sachets, soaps, etc. I use them as a soap saver for end pieces of bars, too. I have never had one tear and we've used them for about 3 years now.

If you want to try one out PM me with an address and I'll put one in an envelope for you. You might have to cut a bar to size as mine a fairly small.

 

[gww]

quilter
That was a great offer and I have taken other people up on their offers if small enough not to make me feel guilty. I got tobacco seed and mushroom spore and one time I got a big item for a homemade saw mill that the guy would never give me his address so I could at least do something back for him and I did feel guilty for a long time. We talked for years and then his wife died and he fell off the internet. My moms house is plumb full of stuff and I bet we can come up with something exactly right and she also goes to the amazon reject store to buy their returned junk and so if she wants it she will run on to it. I do however, really appreciate your offer and want you to know that in my opinion, it is such things as your offer that make this world really worth living in and pleasant. You make me feel good.
Thank you.
gww

 

[Quilter99755]

quilter
That was a great offer and I have taken other people up on their offers if small enough not to make me feel guilty. I got tobacco seed and mushroom spore and one time I got a big item for a homemade saw mill that the guy would never give me his address so I could at least do something back for him and I did feel guilty for a long time. We talked for years and then his wife died and he fell off the internet. My moms house is plumb full of stuff and I bet we can come up with something exactly right and she also goes to the amazon reject store to buy their returned junk and so if she wants it she will run on to it. I do however, really appreciate your offer and want you to know that in my opinion, it is such things as your offer that make this world really worth living in and pleasant. You make me feel good.
Thank you.
gww

You are right! Love this site for all the advice and caring people

 

[Catscankim]

I generally use my go-to recipe all the time unless I am making something special. I love my regular size bars, but then I made soap in a slab mold and filled it more than I probably should have, and ended up with enormous bars. I actually shouldn't say enormous, because the weight is the same, it's just that they are thicker and shorter. Same soap recipe and a FO that I love, but I hate the soaps because they are just awkward to use in the shower.

Try cutting one of your bars in half and see if she likes them better.