How to Make Bar Soap Last Longer: 8 Simple Habits

A bar of soap that sits in water softens, swells and washes away faster than it gets used. If yours turns soft within days, the fix is simple: keep it dry between showers. These eight habits help a bar keep its shape until the last sliver.

1. Use a soap dish that drains

A flat dish holds water under the bar. A slotted or raised design lets water run off and air reach the underside. Our bamboo soap dish has a slotted design for exactly this reason.

2. Keep it out of the spray

Even a good dish cannot keep up with a constant stream of water. Place it where the shower does not hit it directly.

Water is what wears a bar down. Let it dry fully between uses.

3. Let it dry completely

A bar that dries between uses firms up again on the surface. If you shower more than once a day, a second bar helps (see habit 6).

4. Lather in your hands or on a cloth

Rub the bar between wet hands or on a washcloth for a few seconds, then put it down and wash with the lather. The bar spends less time under running water, and you still reach every spot.

5. Cut it in half

A smaller piece means less surface exposed to water each time. Use one half while the other stays dry in a drawer.

6. Rotate two bars

Alternate between two bars so each one has a full day to dry out.

7. Store spares somewhere cool and dry

Keep bars you have not started yet out of the steam of the bathroom, in a drawer or cupboard. Our Persimmon Body Bar has a shelf life of three years, so keeping a few on hand is no problem.

8. Use up the last sliver

Press the small piece onto a new bar while both are damp, and they will usually stick together. You can also collect slivers in a soap saver pouch and use it to lather.

Why some bars soften faster

Bars differ. Clear glycerin soaps attract moisture from the air, so they tend to soften faster in a steamy bathroom. How warm and humid your bathroom is also plays a part.

Is it hygienic to keep using a bar?

Yes. Used bars do carry some bacteria, but McBride found the levels on in-use bars were low compared with those on the hands. In a test by Heinze and Yackovich, people who washed with heavily contaminated bars had no detectable test bacteria on their hands afterwards. A dish that drains keeps the bar drier and more pleasant to use.

Wondering whether a bar is the right choice at all? Read Bar Soap vs. Body Wash.

How long a bar lasts depends on your water, your shower and how you store it, so we do not put a number on it. The Persimmon Body Bar is a 100 g handmade bar with a three-year shelf life and a 60-day money-back guarantee.