The Cure!

This blog post is all about The Cure! Not the Robert Smith kind (that my goth high school friends adored) but the soaping kind of cure.

Why do we need to wait for soap to cure before using it?

Well, one reason that we have to wait for the soap to cure is that the water needs to evaporate out of the bar so that it hardens up properly.  A well cured bar of soap will be harder, lather better and last longer. A bar of soap that is not cured properly will most likely turn into a mushy mess in your hand and disentegrate after a few uses and aint nobody like washin themself with a mushy mess!

So how long do you have to wait?

Well, that depends if your soap has been hot processed (cooked) or cold processed (not cooked). Hot processed soap is best used after curing for 1-3 weeks because the cooking process speeds up the saponification process but cold processed soap needs to cure for 3-6 weeks ideally. Soaps like ours at Willow’s Wonder with a high percentage of olive oil will benefit from an even longer cure. The cure time also gives your soap time to finish off the saponification process so that there is no more lye left in the soap. Letting it cure for several months will actually produce a better, milder soap with a really rich lather.

When curing your soap it should be stored in a cool, dry, well ventilated area. It will be worth the wait, I guarantee it!

Until next time, it whats new in the world of Willow’s Wonder,

Tina x