Max cure time?

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

federalist

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2015
Messages
52
Reaction score
24
Location
Los Angeles, CA
Hi, can you cure soap for too long? Is there a point where the lather quality starts getting worse with age? I made CP coconut soap last night (20% superfat, 3:1 water-to-lye ratio), and I'm trying to figure out how long to cure it for. I know it will be okay after 4 weeks, but I want it to be excellent.
 
I would cure it at least 8 weeks as you used quite a bit of water. I have soaps several years old and they are still awesome. You may get some scent fading but they will last a long time.

I make salt bars that are very similar to your recipe but I add 25-30% salt and they become way better with a good long cure. I like 4-6 months or longer. High olive recipes do better with a Long cure as well.

I would try it at 4 weeks and then every week so you can see how it changes with time
 
Is there a point where the lather quality starts getting worse with age?

Just the opposite, actually! The longer you cure, the better the lather. Of course, the soap will eventually reach the point where the improvements level off, but they thankfully never reverse themselves. :)


IrishLass :)
 
Most of my soaps are 3-4 months and older. I rarely use anything that has less than 8 weeks of cure.
After a while soaps might lose scent a little bit, but their performance will just improve with age
 

Latest posts

Back
Top