Does soap go bad?

[lookatme]

How long does the typical homemade soap last? I have a bunch I made a few years back and I'm wondering if they're still ok?

 

[rain]

After a while I've noticed mine loses its scent. I don't know if the soap itself is still good, but i usually like to use it while it still has a fragrance.

 

[Emily Klesick]

It all depends on the soap recipe, Some soaps, particularily fatty soaps will not keep long. but most soaps have a pretty long shelf life. If they are lye soap they will probably have lye odor. If they haven't developed a fatty smell or a lye odor they should be fine.

 

[Tabitha]

Would a fatty smell be caused by the oils going rancid?

 

[Emily Klesick]

A fatty smell would be caused by oils going rancid, or by too much oils. Also some oils go ranceid sooner than others.

 

[Black soap n candle lady]

Are you going to put any type of food in them? I would say that food soaps ought to last about two years. I make mine in very small batches. Happy soaping!

 

[zee]

The higher the lye discount, the less time the soap needs to go rancid for me. I try not to go above 6%.

 

[MikeInPdx]

I agree with Zee....my 4-5% soaps last a lot longer than my 8% lye discount soaps.

But, I'm going to play with some sodium citrate and some BHT in my next batches....they're both wicked antioxidants.