Soap keeps drying forever

[Soap Samurai]

Hello!

It has been almost 5 months since we did our first two batches. We are struggling somewhat for space, so had no ideal place to store the soap. In the end we put it in the building's basement which unfortunately isn't particularly insulated or dry (we really had nowhere else to put it).

Next to both batches I placed a dehumidifier which has been doing quite well, but here we are 5 months later and the weight is still going down week after week.
I was told that a soap is done curing when the weight stops changing, so we left it down there. Today I checked and batch 1 has reduced by 0.11 grams since last week, and batch 2 by 0.06, roughly. Is a small change like this an indicator that the curing is basically finished, or should we leave it there for longer?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Kcryss]

I was told that a soap is done curing when the weight stops changing, so we left it down there. Today I checked and batch 1 has reduced by 0.11 grams since last week, and batch 2 by 0.06, roughly. Is a small change like this an indicator that the curing is basically finished, or should we leave it there for longer?

I have personally never heard that soap is cured when it stops changing weight although others here may chime in with a different answer. Lots of smart people on here.

I've always been told that soap is cured in 4 weeks for most, but there are some that require a great deal longer. Salt soaps for instance need a full year.

I live in a dry climate and my soaps will continue to lose water until there is almost nothing left. I've learned to put my soaps into cardboard boxes or ventilated plastic bins to prevent continued dehydration.

 

[dibbles]

At five months, your soap is surely cured, unless it is something like a 100% olive oil soap. Most soaps are done curing after 4-8 weeks, and the tiny changes in weight you are seeing now aren't an indication it isn't ready to use. It should actually be quite nice!

 

[WildHareCraftSoap]

I too have not determined cure time by weight unless there’s an obvious problem going on. I’ve only been soaping about a year but I use 5 weeks as a general guidance for regular CP. Perhaps there was a problem with the amount of water in the recipe? Can you share the recipe?

 

[Soap Samurai]

Thanks for the quick replies, everyone! I can't remember exactly where, but multiple sources said that once the weight stops changing, the soap is fully cured. I was also a bit skeptical of this since traces of water can keep evaporating for a long long time. In that case I think we will start using these batches from today

I too have not determined cure time by weight unless there’s an obvious problem going on. I’ve only been soaping about a year but I use 5 weeks as a general guidance for regular CP. Perhaps there was a problem with the amount of water in the recipe? Can you share the recipe?

Here is the recipe we used:

 

[TheGecko]

I was told that a soap is done curing when the weight stops changing, so we left it down there.

Soap never stops losing weight. Unless it is a salt soap or soft oil soap like Castile or Aleppo, soap is considered fully cured after four to six weeks. It is during this time that you will have the most water evaporation, but the soap will continue to lose weight as water continues to evaporate.

I live in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and during the winter it gets really cold and damp with all the rain. I cure in my uninsulated garage, and because of the lower temps and extra moisture in the air, I give my soap an extra two weeks to cure.

 

[DeeAnna]

The weight doesn't STOP changing, but it slows considerably after some weeks. Graph the information you've been collecting for your soap and prove this to yourself. Here's information I collected for my soap some years ago --

 

[Zany_in_CO]

(we really had nowhere else to put it).

What about the trunk/boot of your car? I've known soapers who did that but never tried it myself.

Here is the recipe we used:

I ran your recipe through SoapCalc.net. It looks fine. However, "Coconut Oil - All grades except virgin" might be a problem if you used Fractionated Coconut Oil? That would require more NaOH than the normal 76°F Coconut Oil normally used.

 

[melinda48]

Hello!

It has been almost 5 months since we did our first two batches. We are struggling somewhat for space, so had no ideal place to store the soap. In the end we put it in the building's basement which unfortunately isn't particularly insulated or dry (we really had nowhere else to put it).

Next to both batches I placed a dehumidifier which has been doing quite well, but here we are 5 months later and the weight is still going down week after week.
I was told that a soap is done curing when the weight stops changing, so we left it down there. Today I checked and batch 1 has reduced by 0.11 grams since last week, and batch 2 by 0.06, roughly. Is a small change like this an indicator that the curing is basically finished, or should we leave it there for longer?

Thanks in advance!

I have never heard such a thing either. Generally four weeks is good; of course for some soaps, like Castile, it may be considerably longer. Soaps will lose weight forever! I have two bars of soap my father made over 50 years ago and they are very very light!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I think the miscommunication was really about how much weight loss means your soap is still curing intensively (because a soap never stops curing).

Did you record the weights and dates? I imagine you'd plot a graph very similar to that in DeeAnna's post.

You'll have to find your own Goldilocks range for curing, where you leave it long enough that the performance is good, but not so long that you're getting minimal improvements per week