Expired Melt and Pour- HELP?!

normalgalmakeup · Sep 5, 2023

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum. I am writing because I am a newer soap maker. I recently received a large amount of melt and pour soap; like nearly 300 lbs worth. No joke. All of the items are still either sealed and unused in their 24lb cases or unused in the 2 lb packages. I did not realize until I brought this home that the expiration dates were listed on the packages as 2018, 2019 and 2020.

I have read on soap sites such as Brambleberry, that technically Melt and Pour soap bases are safe to use indefinitely and do not go bad. They said you may need to add a little glycerin to add some moisture. Ok, so here comes the questions; I would appreciate you honest feedback.

1. Is it safe to make and use this soap?
2. Is it safe to make soap and other products from these expired items and sell them?
3. Do you/have any of you personally used M&P that was expired for this long and had any problems? What were your experiences?
4. Most importantly, can this cause harm to anyone?
5. Is it ethical to use expired soap base to sell soap?

I would love to hear from as many of you as possible. Three major soap sites that I visited said that it was completely safe to use and never go bad, but I just wanted to double-check. Thanks so much!

FFLinOhio · Sep 5, 2023

this is from WSP's website

MP Soap does not have an expiration date because it will not go rancid. The high percentage of propylene glycol required to produce this type of base acts as a natural preservative. Most MP Soap Bases have a “Best Used” date. The Best Used date is important because MP Soap Base can lose water and dehydrate over time.

If you find yourself with dehydrated MP Soap Base you can try adding in liquid glycerin (at 5-10%) to make it usable.

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I have used some MP soaps that were 2-3 years old without a problem. I did not need to add glycerin. My soap were still in bags in their original packaging. Some got Glycerin Dew on them but that melted away as soon as I heated up the soaps. Sometimes I'd have to spray extra rubbing alcohol to help make it more clearer.

Zany_in_CO · Sep 5, 2023

normalgalmakeup said:
I recently received a large amount of melt and pour soap; like nearly 300 lbs worth.

WOW! That's a lot of soap to make! Aren't you going to have FUN!

There aren't many M&P soapmakers on SMF so you may want to check out WSP (Wholesale Supplies Plus). They have oodles of tutorials, recipes, cute molds, colorants and other supplies.

MelissaG · Sep 6, 2023

You'll be fine. I have melt and pour that's a couple years old and is just as good as the day I bought it.

LucyFae · Sep 10, 2023

MP is my first love.

I haven't used expired soap, but you've had many answers on that already.

That said, I had a major MP issue about a year ago, and I believe dehydration was a huge factor. It was the worst soaping experience of my life in all honesty. I bought like 60lbs of MP from Aztec, and had this issue with half.

I was in tears. I posted about it in this forum, but it had to be either old and dehydrated, or made without enough water and it was awful. It took me like a weeks worth of 12hour days to get it workable (including dozens of tests and things youre never supposed to do, like adding water). I couldn't use the additives I wanted because it set too fast. It was setting up while melting, and the second i took it off the heat. Literally, michaels soap bases were 1000% less of a headache. CP is way less of a headache. It was awful, and I was so disappointed.

The soap did come out okay. It has to get really hot and wet to lather so i kept it for personal use. I'd advise you to open a few different batches and try them first. You definitely want to know the quality before committing to 300 lbs of soap you might not be able to sell.