How do I keep my soap "clean"?

[jrm]

Okay, I realize that the wording of this thread title might be a little odd... But I can't figure out a better way to say it.

I just got my first shaving soap; mamma bear's aged spice. It smells great and lathers up really nicely. Im not getting much slickness out of it yet, but I'll find that optimum mix of soap and water in due time. Anyways... I followed a tutorial on soap lathering found in this subforum, and one of the steps when loading the brush was to actually get a lather going on the soap itself before moving to a bowl to do the real lathering work. So, I'm doing that and it is setting me up for some very nice lathering.

However, when done, there's obviously some left over lather that is piled up of top of the soap. I figured it would dry out overnight,however, it still had some moisture in it 24 hours later. I'd hate to ruin the soap(if possible) by leaving water on top of it... Making it fall apart like a regular bar of soap does when it sits in a dish with some water for an extended period of time. What's the advice here? Do most people scrape the top of their soap after using it in order to have a clean and dry layer on top instead of left over lather seeping water down into the soap? Am i being paranoid? Does this even make sense?

-Jon

[SiBurning]

This is one reason I prefer wood bowls--they breathe and dry out. Sealed, air tight ones stay wet. Many people leave the top off for a few hours or days. No matter what the container, some clean off the top and others don't bother.

For myself, the main reason I leave plastic containers open, and don't clean off the top of any soap too well, is that too much water will loosen the soap from the container and it's really hard to move the brush over a puck that's sliding around in the container.

[Sunflake]

You could just wipe out the lather with some tissue.

[Stevew443]

I keep my soap in an open mug, and the only thing I do once I finish shaving is to turn the mug over to drain any water from the bottom of the mug and then set the mug upright and the soap seems to dry naturally and lasts a good long time. I never had any soaps break up like the soap that has been left in water does.

[Zamonium]

I had been wondering about this as well. I had read that it is better to leave soap covered, and after a puck of MWF went all cracked and dry on me, I was eager to seal in the moisture. But I got to worrying that this might cause problems with mildew or something like that, especially since that kind of smell might not be easily noticed over, for instance, that wonderful Tabac scent.

Is it bad for my soap to stay covered between shaves if I use it often? Is it bad for it to remain uncovered instead?

[pipskicks]

Careful between hard soap and others. I'm not sure on all soaps, but make sure you don't dry out a cream or something you aren't supposed to.

That being said, I like leaving hard soap uncovered, the lather on top doesn't really matter much as far as I can tell. I'm not really sure what the downside to sealing it wet though, maybe mold but I would think that would take a long time. I know just leaving it out and unsealed a little would probably just fix the problem and that's what I try and do, but I think there have been very few reports of mold....I'm not really sure what would happen if you leave it with the water though.


Has anyone sealed their soaps in water and can confirm if this did anything noticeable?

[Mr5x5]

Love MB. Great soap! You could wipe it off, or do like I did, and switch to face lathering.

[kingfisher]

When I'm loading the brush, I do as you described and get a nice protolather going. When I am ready to move to the bowl (or the face) to continue lathering, I use the index finger of my left hand to gather up the remaining protolather, and I put it onto the brush (no sense wasting perfectly good protolather).

After the shave, I leave the lid off the soap (and I leave it out of the bathroom) to dry. When I get home from work I put the lid back on, tighten it, and then store the soap under the sink.

[takeshi]

Anyways... I followed a tutorial on soap lathering found in this subforum, and one of the steps when loading the brush was to actually get a lather going on the soap itself before moving to a bowl to do the real lathering work.
Which one? The guide linked in the sticky recommends loading with a relatively dry brush on the puck and building lather separately.


However, when done, there's obviously some left over lather that is piled up of top of the soap. I figured it would dry out overnight,however, it still had some moisture in it 24 hours later. I'd hate to ruin the soap(if possible) by leaving water on top of it... Making it fall apart like a regular bar of soap does when it sits in a dish with some water for an extended period of time. What's the advice here? Do most people scrape the top of their soap after using it in order to have a clean and dry layer on top instead of left over lather seeping water down into the soap? Am i being paranoid? Does this even make sense?
No idea. I don't lather on the soap and don't have any problems. There's minimal lather (more like paste) left on the soap when I'm done and I don't worry over it. I just clean up the edges of the bowl, if needed.

[turtle]

I keep my soaps open (like a lot have already said) until the foam drys. Then I lid it up, put it away, and take out another soap to use.

I don't think I have used the same soap two days in a row since joining B&B

[redrako]

I would just leave it uncovered for one day, or if you use it regularly just leave it uncovered. The proto-lather that's left on top of the puck will return to a soap powder once the water has evaporated from it.

I had the experience this past winter of screwing the cover on top of MamaBears container which I had milled two sticks of Palmolive shave sticks into. I used the Palmolive puck about once a week, but realized one day that my Palmolive puck was much softer (and mushier) than the sticks themselves. I realized that I hadn't allowed the soap to dry properly by trapping moisture inside the soap.

I dried it out for one week by leaving it uncovered and it returned it's normal state. I live in the northeast in an older house, so we'll say charitably that my bathroom is well-ventilated. I suppose that in hotter climes, or even here in the hot-humid months of summer that supposedly.

[plpenn]

Sometimes I let them dry for a few hours (or day if I forget) and sometimes I put the lid on as soon as I load my brush. I have not had an issue and have no concerns about doing either.

[fccexpert]

I don't bother; when I'm done, I put the lid on, rinse the closed container under running water to wash off any lather on the outside and put it away. I've been doing this for years with not problems so far.

[jrm]

Which one? The guide linked in the sticky recommends loading with a relatively dry brush on the puck and building lather separately.


No idea. I don't lather on the soap and don't have any problems. There's minimal lather (more like paste) left on the soap when I'm done and I don't worry over it. I just clean up the edges of the bowl, if needed.

I was looking at this tutorial:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/439-Glycerin-Soap-Tutorial-Part-2

Following it, I'm able to get a nice lather. Not as slick as I was expecting, but I'm working on getting the right water ratio in there.

Thanks for the info fellas. I'll try a couple different methods (scraping the top, wiping it with a tissue, transferring the protolather to a bowl, sealing it, not sealing it...) and see what happens. Sounds like there's really no wrong way to go about it! It's super dry here (colorado rockies), so maybe it wont be an issue over time. Thanks!

[TimL]

I keep my soap in an open mug, and the only thing I do once I finish shaving is to turn the mug over to drain any water from the bottom of the mug and then set the mug upright and the soap seems to dry naturally and lasts a good long time. I never had any soaps break up like the soap that has been left in water does.

This workes for me too, on both Van der Hagen luxury glycerine soap and Tabac tallow soap. The only adverse affects are that the Tabac will swell to fit the much and crack some when it dries but performance in unnaffected.

[Red-Leg]

I typically just use a splash of water from the tap, swirl it around a bit on the soap to clean up any lather, and dump it. I then wipe the inside of the mug with a towel or t-shirt. This "cleans" up the soap and mug, and any little bit of moisture left on the soap is dry by the next shave.

[gus1942]

I don't bother; when I'm done, I put the lid on, rinse the closed container under running water to wash off any lather on the outside and put it away. I've been doing this for years with not problems so far.+1

[PugslyCat]

However, when done, there's obviously some left over lather that is piled up of top of the soap. I figured it would dry out overnight,however, it still had some moisture in it 24 hours later. I'd hate to ruin the soap(if possible) by leaving water on top of it... Making it fall apart like a regular bar of soap does when it sits in a dish with some water for an extended period of time. What's the advice here?
I have been using Mama Bear Aged Spice for the past month with no problems. I use a dry enough brush that I often have to add just a touch of water, but not so much if there is still water pooled on top of the soap from the last shave. I suppose that if the soap seemed to be getting water logged I would leave it in a warm place for a few days with the lid off to dry it out a little bit.

Do most people scrape the top of their soap after using it in order to have a clean and dry layer on top instead of left over lather seeping water down into the soap?
Not me. I don't do anything in particular with any of my soaps after I have loaded my bursh. At one point I was rinsing

Am i being paranoid?
Yes, but just because you are paranoid doesn't mean there aren't forces in the universe out to get your soap supply.

[Zamonium]

Yes, but just because you are paranoid doesn't mean there aren't forces in the universe out to get your soap supply.

Bewaaaaaaaare.

[pdmcadams]

I don't bother; when I'm done, I put the lid on, rinse the closed container under running water to wash off any lather on the outside and put it away. I've been doing this for years with not problems so far.

This one... Don't seem to have any problem and it is by far the easiest of all the suggestions!

As an aside, the best MB tip/glycerine soap tip that I saw somewhere was to put a little water on top of the soap for a few minutes to soften it so that when you started to load your brush, you picked up soap a little quicker, easier. I think it was a glycerin soap tutorial on the board here somewhere...

Cheers!

[Go West Young Man]

I don't bother; when I'm done, I put the lid on, rinse the closed container under running water to wash off any lather on the outside and put it away. I've been doing this for years with not problems so far.


Yup, this.

[MickToley]

I just run the soap under a water for a couple of seconds, then let it dry. It's not a problem at all.