What is happening to my soap?

Goldensungod · Jun 19, 2013

When I use my soap for my hands and leave it on a soap dish to drain and dry after use the part of the soap that is in contact with the dish turn into a gel-ish substance the consistency of a pomade and the stickiness of sap, but when I leave it in the shower on a wire hanger for soaps under the shower head it get a few line indentions but doesn't turn to gel. My water supply is from a private well I also used the water to make the soap. The soap is 50% Canola, 20% Organic coconut(solid at 76 F), 30% olive.

DeeAnna · Jun 19, 2013

The gelled areas are the parts of the soap that are staying wetter from being in contact with your soap dish. The wire rack in your shower doesn't hold as much moisture against the soap, so the soap can dry faster. If you don't like the gelled soap (yes, rather icky to me too!), try a different soap dish that allows more air underneath the soap so it can drain and dry as quickly as possible.

Edit: Another thought is you may want to use less canola in future recipes. Soap made with more solid fats tends to be harder and may not absorb quite as much water as your high canola soap. But any handcrafted soap still needs to drain and dry quickly to avoid the gel problem.

heatherglen · Jun 19, 2013

I have the same thing happen, especially with high olive oil soaps. Not sure what causes it, though. Doesn't seem to happen with my shea butter soap.

Moody Glenn · Jun 19, 2013

Hi! The design of soap dishes is all wrong. No matter the geometric shape of soap bars one side or angle will always be in either direct contact with a film of water or be in a higher humidity. This constant contact around or in water rehydrates that side of the bar. Cp, Hp soap plus melt and pour soap contain natural glycerin (from the reaction of the lye with the oils and fats) and that is part of the gloppy residue. Your shower wire hanger is open to all sides of the bar to dry - leftover water drips off and circulating air dries it.

I could never find a soap dish I liked. Instead of the function to dry soap most are made for decorative purposes. Many act like a bowl which traps water or slowly drains the water but the bar still sits on a wet surface. I eventually found one type I like and is called Soap Saver dishes which are clear, flexible plastic, rectangular flat panels that raises the bar in the air by pegs or fins and allows water to drain through onto the sink. I find this "dish" is better in allowing water to drain. It is not perfect for even where the bar sits on the pegs that trapped moisture still melts the soap at that small point of contact. But the bars last a whole lot longer.

If any one can invent a levitating bar of soap you will become a billionaire!

Bicycle808 · Jun 19, 2013

I've installed an Air Hockey Table in my bathroom to put my used soap on between showers... :shock:

Goldensungod · Jun 20, 2013

Thanks all for the replies. The gellied soap doesn't bother me, I was just wondering what it was and what caused it. Now I know. And I'll my next batch will be mostly coconut oil, with a moderatly high SF level. :thumbup: