Storing your handcrafted soap after you've purchased some is no big deal.
Unless your soaking it in water or letting it sit in a hot steamy bathroom, your soap will be just fine in almost any location! But just to be clear, the following discusses the best practices on storing your freshly-bought soap.
Have you recently bought a few bars of fine, artisan soap and want to know how to properly store them to keep them fresh? Well, I've got a crazy idea for you...store them in your linen closet in a shoe box!
First and foremost, YOUR LINENS AND TOWELS WILL SMELL AMAZING!
Second, most linen closets are dry and out of direct sunlight. Your soap will stay fresher longer if it is not exposed to moisture on a regular basis. Will it go bad if it gets hit with a little steam? No. This can simply add moisture where moisture is not needed.
Now, the reason for the shoebox is to keep your soaps free from any dust and to preserve their scent even longer.
If the soap you purchased is all natural, it is likely scented with pure essential oils. Because essential oils are as delicate as natural herself, they tend to need a little extra care to prevent their scent from fading. Ideally, soaps made with essential oils should be used within one year to experience the full strength aroma before it fades.
Soaps scented with artificial fragrances are a bit different. Their scent can last many, many years. Unfortunately, this is due to the slew of dangerous chemicals designed to cling to the skin, nostrils and fabrics, forcing the scent to remain.
By storing your soap in a shoebox, whether naturally-scented or artificially-scented, you will preserve the integrity of the scent and prevent moisture from reaching the bar. Plus, it keeps any soap residue off your linens should they get tossed around in the closet.
Third and finally, if your home is ever broken into by a soap-a-holic, they'll never know where to find your stash! Haha!
Storing handmade soap in a bathroom can cause the integrity of the soap to decrease over time because of the constant moisture exposure. A well-made bar soap can ideally last for an eternity, minus the loss of scent. Soaps 100 years old are on display at museums worldwide and they would be perfectly cleansing should you use one.
There you have it. There's nothing complicated about storing the handcrafted soap you just purchased, hopefully from us. Store it away from moisture, in a shoe-box preferably and hide it away in your linen closet. It's the perfect set up!