do shampoo bars go bad?

[Bruiser]

Hi there, I used to love my Chagrin Valley poo bars and used them religiously for about a year before straying to conventional shampoo, I have a pretty big stash of bars some opened and about a dozen not opened. I put them in a basket and haven't touched them in about 3 years. I pulled out the basket today because I wanted to start using them again and all the wrappers (basic brown paper bags) are covered in white mold! the bars look and smell fine...
thoughts?
anyone experienced this, are the bars still okay to use? or not risk it?

thanks!

[spidermom]

Don't risk it. Mold goes much deeper than you can see.

[Bruiser]

Don't risk it. Mold goes much deeper than you can see.



AHH I know your right just so gutted about having to throw out my stash :(

[Obsidian]

Soap shouldn't mold, can you pay a pic? When did goes bad, it gets orange spots that smell bad.

[Bruiser]

Soap shouldn't mold, can you pay a pic? When did goes bad, it gets orange spots that smell bad.

im not sure how to post a picture in the comments.. the soap itself looks and smells the same, it appears that the oil have saturated the paper and mold is on the paper itself.. pretty gross

[Obsidian]

Thing is, lye soap has a high PH, much too high for mold to grow on. This is a subject that comes up periodically in the soaping community. The white bits can be caused by a number of things.
I always use a hosting site for images but maybe if you use the go advanced button to the right, it will have a option to upload? The soaper in me really wants to see what is going on.

[Bruiser]

Thing is, lye soap has a high PH, much too high for mold to grow on. This is a subject that comes up periodically in the soaping community. The white bits can be caused by a number of things.
I always use a hosting site for images but maybe if you use the go advanced button to the right, it will have a option to upload? The soaper in me really wants to see what is going on.

Okay I hope this works
http://s1044.photobucket.com/user/jenniferlaeser/media/IMG_9244_zpsv3qy7k4x.jpg.html%5D%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i1044.photobucket.com/albums/b441/jenniferlaeser/IMG_9244_zpsv3qy7k4x.jpg%5B/IMG%5D%5B/URL

http://s1044.photobucket.com/user/jenniferlaeser/media/IMG_9244_zpsv3qy7k4x.jpg.html%5D%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i1044.photobucket.com/albums/b441/jenniferlaeser/IMG_9244_zpsv3qy7k4x.jpg%5B/IMG%5D%5B/URL
http://s1044.photobucket.com/user/jenniferlaeser/media/IMG_9245_zps82lv7rle.jpg.html%5D%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i1044.photobucket.com/albums/b441/jenniferlaeser/IMG_9245_zps82lv7rle.jpg%5B/IMG%5D%5B/URL

[AZDesertRose]

Okay I hope this works
http://s1044.photobucket.com/user/jenniferlaeser/media/IMG_9244_zpsv3qy7k4x.jpg.html%5D%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i1044.photobucket.com/albums/b441/jenniferlaeser/IMG_9244_zpsv3qy7k4x.jpg%5B/IMG%5D%5B/URL

http://s1044.photobucket.com/user/jenniferlaeser/media/IMG_9244_zpsv3qy7k4x.jpg.html%5D%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i1044.photobucket.com/albums/b441/jenniferlaeser/IMG_9244_zpsv3qy7k4x.jpg%5B/IMG%5D%5B/URL
http://s1044.photobucket.com/user/jenniferlaeser/media/IMG_9245_zps82lv7rle.jpg.html%5D%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i1044.photobucket.com/albums/b441/jenniferlaeser/IMG_9245_zps82lv7rle.jpg%5B/IMG%5D%5B/URL

Something went weird with the coding there, because when I clicked on the links, I actually realized that the URL for each linked image was repeated and there seems to be some weird coding stuff in between? (I was able to delete the excess stuff and actually view the images, but when I initially clicked on each link, I got an error message because of the wonky coding.)

Incidentally, Photobucket has removed the option for linking on a forum to a photo posted there unless you pay for their premium service (or at least, they did that a few months ago, and I'm not sure that enough ruckus has been raised to dissuade them/persuade them to revoke that change to their terms of service). Normally, the easiest way to post a photo is to use the little "framed picture" icon above the post/comment-entry field, and that asks you for a link to the photo. There are some sites (Imgur and PostImage off the top of my head, but I know there are more than just those two) who will still allow you to link to a photo hosted on their sites without you having to pay for premium service.

As for the actual topic, I don't know enough to tell you what's going on with the white gunk on the shampoo bars. I'll defer to Obsidian's greater knowledge of soap-making (and anyone else who, unlike me, knows whereof they speak). ;)

[Obsidian]

I can't view the images. I tried removing the excess code and all I got was the upgrade your account image.
Most people have switched to different hosting sites, I started using tinypic or imgur

[lapushka]

Yep photobucket has gone to hell & beyond.

Try imgur or any other hosting site (I use imgur myself).

[Obsidian]

I finally figured out how to view them. It looks like the paper wrapping has molded, the soap underneath looks ok. I would unwrap them, clean them up and put them someplace dry for a week or two and see how they do. Personally, I would use them after cleaning them up.

http://i1044.photobucket.com/albums/b441/jenniferlaeser/IMG_9244_zpsv3qy7k4x.jpg
http://i1044.photobucket.com/albums/b441/jenniferlaeser/IMG_9245_zps82lv7rle.jpg

advice for anyone using handmade soap, don't store them around heat or humidity. The do best being kept dry and cool if possible. A bedroom closet is a good option.

[lapushka]

Obsidian, I can't view those pictures at all.

If there's mold on them (if it *is* mold), I'd just chuck them! It's not worth it.

Maybe a good reminder, if you want to hoard stuff (I hoard stuff ;)), don't do it with natural products, make sure those are the first things you use up, compared to things that have good preservatives in them. :flower: I even had products by Lavera (their rose shampoo) go bad well before the expiry date. The shampoo had turned into a snot-like consistency (nobody is going to make me believe that is/was normal). Gloopy, clotty, and then runny. Yuck. Since then I have been careful with more natural products!

[Obsidian]

The bars themselves don't have any of the mold or whatever the substance is, its just on the outside of the brown paper they are wrapped in. I've posted the pics on my soap forum to get opinions from the pros.

[Bruiser]

lets try this agin!

https://imgur.com/ycFBtUm
https://imgur.com/rgAXPdr
https://imgur.com/DSnQOCl

[lapushka]

Oooh no that's terrible! I wouldn't trust the soaps in this packaging - at all! And it looks like it's on the soaps as well judging from the second picture. Get rid of the container that it's been stored in as well (or wash it well, in the most highest degree water you can tolerate).

[Aredhel]

Yeah I wouldn't put those anywhere near my head. I probably wouldn't even touch them with my bare hands if those were mine. Soap shouldn't be fuzzy. :( I don't think a lot of natural products will last much longer than a year, from my personal experience...maybe two if stored in a cool/dry place, and depending on the ingredients.

Definitely not worth the risk IMO!

[Obsidian]

General consensus on the soap forum is to give them a good wash, let dry and if they smell ok they are good to use.

Soap if properly stored can last for years. I have a bar my Gramma made that is 35 yrs old, it's still good.

Wish you guys understood chemistry of soap more. Any mold is only on the surface and it's not actually growing on the soap.

[lapushka]

General consensus on the soap forum is to give them a good wash, let dry and if they smell ok they are good to use.

Soap if properly stored can last for years. I have a bar my Gramma made that is 35 yrs old, it's still good.

Wish you guys understood chemistry of soap more. Any mold is only on the surface and it's not actually growing on the soap.

Yes, soap keeps, if it doesn't grow things off of it. I would throw these away, the ingredients are far too natural. It's all well and good but she has to live with the moldy bars, and I would NOT put that anywhere near my head at all.

[lapushka]

Yeah I wouldn't put those anywhere near my head. I probably wouldn't even touch them with my bare hands if those were mine. Soap shouldn't be fuzzy. :( I don't think a lot of natural products will last much longer than a year, from my personal experience...maybe two if stored in a cool/dry place, and depending on the ingredients.

Definitely not worth the risk IMO!

That's the thing, isn't it!!!

[Bruiser]

General consensus on the soap forum is to give them a good wash, let dry and if they smell ok they are good to use.

Soap if properly stored can last for years. I have a bar my Gramma made that is 35 yrs old, it's still good.

Wish you guys understood chemistry of soap more. Any mold is only on the surface and it's not actually growing on the soap.

thanks for your advice! I think ill do that, I have a few that I stored out of package in a different area and they look and smell the same as the ones with the mold, I need to learn not to be such a hoarder :P

[lapushka]

Just a note of concern. Isn't there a danger that the saponified lye breaks down into its base component again; because I can imagine these bars no longer hold together well under the circumstances. :hmm:

[Bruiser]

Just a note of concern. Isn't there a danger that the saponified lye breaks down into its base component again; because I can imagine these bars no longer hold together well under the circumstances. :hmm:

hmm didn't think of that? maybe ill get my hubby to try them first :P

[Obsidian]

Just a note of concern. Isn't there a danger that the saponified lye breaks down into its base component again; because I can imagine these bars no longer hold together well under the circumstances. :hmm:

No, that would be like saying a cake can break down to milk and eggs if it goes bad. Oils and lye no longer exist in soap, only salts of fatty acids. If a bar of soap was going to break down, it would either turn into harmless goo or a powdery substance. If going rancid, it would turn orange, slightly oily and smell bad. This is due to oxidation not bacteria or germs/mold.

After some more discussion, its still agreed that the soap itself is probably safe to use but there is concern about the spores released into the air during unwrapping them. Its suggested that they be unwrapped outside and possibly with a respirator.

After hearing this, I would probably throw out the wrapped ones and just clean up the ones you have already unwrapped.