Dried orange and rose use as decoration on top of soap turned moldy

[gimmegoodskin]

I have been making cp soaps at 40% lye concentration and yet my soap decoration are growing mold. I see people using these to decorate their soaps without any problems but mine aren’t working. Should I add an preservative? Please help me

 

[artemis]

I have been making cp soaps at 40% lye concentration and yet my soap decoration are growing mold. I see people using these to decorate their soaps without any problems but mine aren’t working. Should I add an preservative? Please help me

Lots of people have trouble with plant material turning moldy on their soaps. Lavender, rose buds, dried fruit, it's all at risk for getting moldy.

 

[Misschief]

That's one reason I rarely use botanicals to decorate my soap.

 

[Relle]

It's probably from the amount of rain and the humidity in the last few months that you have had in Nepal, nothing is fully drying out.

 

[gimmegoodskin]

It's probably from the amount of rain and the humidity in the last few months that you have had in Nepal, nothing is fully drying out.

I buy dehydrated ones and don’t dry them on my own

 

[Relle]

I buy dehydrated ones and don’t dry them on my own

It doesn't matter if you do your own or buy them, the weather plays a big part of dried things on your soap going mouldy.

 

[Phantomina]

Yeah, I would agree with @Relle , your storing conditions are not right. Had the same problem. And actually, I live in a really dry place, but I realized the room where I store my soaps has humidity issues. I guess best you can do, is to think about your storing options, how to get that place dry, or just switch the botanicals with something else. Many options out there.

 

[DeeAnna]

Or just avoid the problem entirely -- don't put big chunks of things that can go moldy on top of or inside your soap. Those decorated tops look so cute on insta, but they're a pain in the you-know-where to deal with in real life.

Before I made my own soap. I bought a bar that had whole oats stirred into it. The bar looked rustic and cute when I bought it, but I didn't realize how nasty those whole oats would become when the soap was used.