The Shelf Life, Color & Scent of an All Natural Soap

The Shelf Life, Color & Scent of an All Natural Soap

Everything, be it food or beauty products comes with a shelf life. In simple words, shelf life refers to the longevity of the product and the time period in which it is fit to use. Understanding the nuances of shelf life becomes even more important when you are making a chemical free soap base.

Yes, handmade soaps, like fine wine, get better with age. But still, there are some factors that determine the changes that take place in real soaps over a period of time. Be it the ingredients of the soaps, or their formulation process, the handmade soap maker needs to take everything into consideration before moving ahead.

As all the ingredients are directly extracted from nature, the color and scent of a no chemical soap is different from its commercial counterparts.

In this article, we will understand the gradation that defines natural soaps, factors affecting its shelf life, scent, color and how to prolong its longevity.

Shelf life of real soaps

As mentioned, the naturally extracted ingredients are what makes natural soaps better than the commercial soaps. Thus, the handmade soap maker needs to understand the following factors which are important in determining the shelf-life of handmade soaps:

•         What is a natural soap made of?
•         Do you use fragrance oil or essential oil in the scent of the natural soaps?
•         Is the formulation of soap base or acid?
•         What is the type of color used in the soap: botanical or synthetic?

At Mike’s Soaps, we handcraft our handmade soaps in small batches to ensure that the quality of our soaps are never compromised.

We always use essential oils in the scent of our handmade soaps as our basic goal is to make products that are good for your skin. The scent of the essential oil fades earlier than that of synthetic oils as essential oils are volatile. But the catch here is, the rate of evaporation of each essential oil is different.

Along with the natural soap’s ingredients list, the formulation of soap has a lasting effect on the shelf-life. We use no artificial preservatives in the development process of our handmade soaps.

We completely understand the fact that ‘what are soaps made of’ determines their effectiveness. Therefore, we refrain from using any kind synthetic stabilizers to increase the shelf-life of our products.

Methods to prolong the shelf-life of the natural soaps

Believe it or not, but like humans, all types of natural soaps need some breathing space. Exposure to the natural air contributes in hardening of the natural soaps and gives it a long-lasting quality.

So the trick here is to leave the soap that has all natural soap base unwrapped. Moreover, if you are hesitant in leaving the soap unwrapped, wrap it in a box with some breathable space.

We at Mike’s Soaps do not wrap our soaps tightly. Moreover, we employ sustainable and recyclable packaging. Besides, we instruct our customers to keep their real soaps away from sunlight and excessive heat to enjoy their benefits for a long time.

Scent of the natural soaps

Handmade soaps have a greater surface area as compared to their commercial counterparts. Because of a higher surface to volume ratio, evaporation of the essential oils takes place at a greater pace.

Moreover, whether the soap base or acid, its lather still remains long after the scent is gone. At Mike’s Soaps, we only prefer scents that are generated from the natural oils. Despite the fact that scents of essential oils fade early than that of the synthetic ones, our focus remains on the quality of the product.

So, now a question may arise here, is natural soap better in the real than then the commercial ones? The answer still remains yes. Besides, as far as the scent of the natural soap is concerned, it is often revived after the outer layer is washed away. This happens only because of the presence of natural oils as one of its main ingredients.

Our no chemical soaps can also be used to render an aromatic scent to your clothes. All you have to do this wrap the real soaps with your clothes for a little while before washing them. You will be pleasantly surprised to see the immaculate results.

Color of the natural soaps

Our natural handmade soaps are made of ingredients like herbs, fruits, coffee, botanical, etc. Despite the fact that the color of the natural soaps fades with time, it doesn’t affect their soothing effectiveness on the skin. At Mike’s Soap, we hand-craft natural soaps having some of the most vibrant colors you will ever come across.

There might be instances where you will feel that the color of the commercial soaps seems more vibrant than of the handmade soaps. The reason behind it is simple. The commercial soaps use chemical cocktails which are made of detergents which are disturbing for the skin and even cause allergic reactions.

At Mike’s Soaps we take adequate care on the ingredients rather than going for just the appearance of the soap. Our natural soap base color is devoid of any harmful chemicals and is prepared only to provide richness to your skin.

At Mike’s Soaps, we create our soaps and other products by keeping three basic things in mind:

• The product should be healthier for the skin
• The product should keep the skin nourished and moisturized
• The product should suit the skin type of the customers

Therefore, we choose the ingredients on the basis of their richness, skin moisturizing element, etc. Our goal is to provide the best possible quality of real soaps to our customers and not focus on just increasing the shelf-life of our soaps.