How can I tell if homemade soap is rancid?

JJG · Feb 1, 2012

Hi,

I recently got some soap from my mom that my aunt made around 5 years ago. I've heard that soap can go rancid, and I have some questions related to this:

1) Is rancid soap unhealthy to use (in the shower)? I don't want to get free-radical damage from oxidized fats, if that's a concern.

2) I read about "dreaded orange spots" (only found 1 picture of it though)... The soap appears to be somewhat yellowed, but I don't see any large spots of orange. It smells fine. If it smells okay, does this mean that it's not rancid?

Thanks!
-JJG

IrishLass · Feb 1, 2012

I don't know the answer to question #1 (hopefully someone in the know will chime in on that), but if it smells fine and it is not spotty or oozing weird liquid or anything like that, you should be good to go if you ask me.

I still have bars that I made 5 or 6 years ago and they are great. As a matter of fact I just started using a bar yesterday that I made 3 years ago and it's absolutely wonderful.

IrishLass

JJG · Feb 5, 2012

Thanks for the helpful reply, IrishLass!

What kind of soap ("castille", animal-fat based, etc.) have you made that lasted the 5 or 6 years that you mentioned? Have you ever had soap go bad on you, and if yes, what let you know?

Soapy Gurl · Feb 5, 2012

I have had a batch of soap turn after about six months. It had a very off smell to it, like when your oils turn. I used older oils to make the soap. I used it, but I have a sensitive nose and it bugged me. My Dad won't give up his, even though I told him it went bad!

IrishLass · Feb 6, 2012

JJG said:
Thanks for the helpful reply, IrishLass!

What kind of soap ("castille", animal-fat based, etc.) have you made that lasted the 5 or 6 years that you mentioned? Have you ever had soap go bad on you, and if yes, what let you know?

Well, I've been soaping for a little over 6 years now, so I've got several different kinds- Castiles, Castile-types, all-veggie, animal based, salt bars, etc...- you name it! I like to save a bar or two from each batch to see how they do over the years, but lately it's been getting a wee bit backed up/overcrowded and so I've been using them to make more room! :lol:

The one I'm using now (the 3 year old bar) is a Castile-type/all-veggie formula with 50% OO, and it's wonderful. I scented it with Orange Blossom FO from SweetCakes, and believe it or not, it still smells of lovely orange blossoms. The scent is still strong enough to fill up my bathroom and linger for a bit after taking a shower. For those looking for a great Orange Blossom that sticks- try SweetCakes for sure!

Yes, I've had soap go bad on me, but thankfully, only a few batches. One was a canola oil batch that went bad within a month of its making. It came down with a bad case of the dreaded DOS- orange spots everywhere. And another was a batch made with cow's milk/cream. Actually, I don't know for sure if the one made with cow's milk/cream was really and truly rancid as there were no visual symptoms like DOS to go by- it just smelled cheesey to my nose. But then again, a cheesey smell is fairly common with soaps made with cow milk/cream because of the amount of butyric acid naturally present in it. Instead of being rancid, it could just be that I have a super sonic nose for detecting the presense butyric acid. :lol:

IrishLass

JJG · Feb 8, 2012

Thanks ladies, you've given me some good info!

I think I'll go ahead and keep this soap, then. It smells fine, no (obvious) DOS's, and is just a little bit yellowed.

Have a good one,
JJG

paillo · Feb 9, 2012

to me the smell is the give-away. positively putrid smell overshadowing any eo or fo. what really horrifies me to to find rancid soap in shops or markets -- what are these sellers thinking?!