Grabbed an old soap and...

[Neve]

Now I love it! It's months old honey and oatmeal that did nothing for me at the time now actually smells like honey and is so nice. And to think I was considering throwing them all away.

Must start diving into the basket of old soaps more and see what else is hiding in there. I don't know what that cure time does but it sure was kind to this soap.

 

[fuzz-juzz]

Oh I love old soaps as well, 4-5 months cure at least is a must for me. I "forget" some on purpose and many are at their best after quite a few months.

 

[Susie]

Those folks who expect wondrous soap after 7-10 days should read this.

 

[Neve]

You read about this when you start soaping but until you experience it you don't really get it.

My soaps are useable after a week or two, ok after two weeks, nice to use after four weeks but I've noticed after 2-3 months they become really sweet.

But that honey one I think I made it last year or early this year (it'll be on here somewhere) and it no longer resembles the last time I used it. Which in this case is a good thing!

 

[LunaSkye]

I'm still waiting to use my last remaining mango butter soap-bar. I remember using it when I first made it and it actually made my hand feel really good. I knew it was going to be good and two people close to me confirmed it when they tried the samples.

 

[jules92207]

I am loving this thread, I recently noticed how much better my soaps feel the longer I wait to use them. As a very new soaper still, most of my soaps are only a few months old. It's exciting to think I am only just beginning to reap the benefits of my efforts, and it will only improve with time. I better start making my fall and winter stuff now!

 

[Relle]

I'm using 4 year old soap in the shower atm and it's so bubbly and creamy, wish I had more.

 

[CaraBou]

I'm a huge fan of a long cure. I usually won't even try a bar for at least 2 or 3 months, and that's just to make sure I haven't unknowingly created the holy grail. I try to soap at regular intervals so that I can let most bars of every batch get at least 4-6 months old if not older. The challenge in that is more about giving too many away rather than using them myself too soon. I like to give away old bars too but I get kind of selfish with them the older they are. Not just anyone gets those soaps!

I have a couple bars left of the very last soap I made with palm oil, back in July 2013. Can't wait to try one on their birthday. Too bad I can't have that cake and eat it too, as I'd like to keep it forever!

I'm using 4 year old soap in the shower atm and it's so bubbly and creamy, wish I had more.

You are my hero! Where do you store them so long, and how do you finally decide to use something that old?

 

[seven]

yes to old soaps! my 1st batches (ugly as hell) are a joy in the shower.

 

[bjdmwill]

How old is "too old"?

 

[lsg]

I have a few that I have found that are about six years old. They were stuck back in a drawer. IMO, older soap makes the best bubbles.

 

[Neve]

Wow. Guess I better start on those Christmas soaps now!

 

[Chefmom]

Another reason to keep good notes and to label your soap boxes! I had a soap that was a simple experiment. I have in my notes that it was "meh, nothing special" and then a couple of trim pieces and two bars ended up getting pushed to the back of the shelf for almost 2 years.

A move happened and the bars made it up front....I was running low on soap (egads!) and pulled it to use for hand soap. It struck me because it lathered beautifully, and my husband used it in the shower and came back asking about it. I didn't remember what it was and it had very little scent left in it.

I poured back over my notes and discovered how old it was, and my notes on how it wasn't anything special. I was just a basic bar made with grocery store oils, shortening, coconut and olive with a few ounces of cocoa butter. But with a long cure it DID become something special.

The lesson I learned was KEEP THOSE NOTES and sometimes simple recipes can be extraordinary....with a good cure.

 

[Bayougirl]

I made a batch of salt bars when I first started making soap. I wasn't thrilled with them and stuck them in the back of the closet. 3 years later I gave one to my sister to use and she liked it. I still have one 4 years later, it bubbles like crazy. I'm not really a big fan of salt bars to begin with, but the longer the cure the better the bubble with them. It still smells like Caribbean Coconut (WSP).

 

[fuzz-juzz]

I had these verbena bars made about 6 months ago. They lost lovely lemony scent and now smell like sweaty old socks. Anyway, I went to chop them up the other day and they are still fresh and soft in the middle. So even after 6 moths, they are not fully cured through the whole bar. So , yeah, I would say, older the soap, the better it will get. :-D

 

[Relle]

You are my hero! Where do you store them so long, and how do you finally decide to use something that old?

I store them in the laundry on a wire rack and I decided to use the last bar because I needed a bar for the shower in a hurry with a towel wrapped around me,remembered how nice it was when fresh and grabbed it. They're not ornaments after all.

 

[Sinful7]

Notes are important!! I have a soap that when I made it I absolutely hated it... So much so that I didn't keep notes on it. Fast forward almost a year, went to rebatching and decided to try it. LOVE it and now can't even begin to reproduce it. Lol valuable lesson learned

 

[Neve]

Haha, who knew?

They're not ornaments after all.

 

[Obsidian]

My very first soap is just a year old. I rebatched all the bars I had but my mom had a couple of the originals left so I took one back. It has really improved and no DOS which I kinda expected since its 57% crisco and 100% goat milk.

It has really nice lather and some peppermint scent left. Its a bit drying to my skin but nothing like it was last time I tried it a few months back. Can't imagine what one of my good soaps will be like in one year.

 

[CaraBou]

I have a few that I have found that are about six years old. They were stuck back in a drawer. IMO, older soap makes the best bubbles.

Six years old, that's what I call a mature soap! That's like, what, 42 dog/soap years? Do they have any scent left, and are you planning to use them??

I agree that the bubbles just get better and better. That is my primary reason for liking a long cure. It's an amazing difference. I'm still waiting on a soap that I used too much castor in (25%). I wonder if time will bring it to the 'soap on steroids' I hoped it could be, or if it will always be 'a real drag.' It's almost a year old too. I have a couple other bars that are almost years old, but like the high castor bar, I'm in no hurry to use them. I've waited this long, I can wait longer!