Soggy soaps

[Rustyshackelford]

I read a lot of posts about people concerned about introducing water to their soaps and how long to dry before storing or concerns about the soap absorbing too much water etc...

I don’t share in the panic and fear of ruining soaps and having them go bad. But I do recognize the potential for the consistency and performance to impacted over time if some care isn’t taken.

Some of the best observations I have read on here have been the folks noting the lack of air circulation in varying areas where soaps used or set out to air dry. So I decided to improve the process for my one piece of mind.

I am using a small USB powered fan to quickly dry my soaps. I hypothesize that scent is most likely to dissipate quicker the longer the soap remains open and uncovered. Additionally, I see the potentials for soaps to become too saturated and possibly hinder long term performance. I typically set my soap at a diagonal angleon a wire rack or on is side and direct this fan toward the open tub. I encourage water to drain out while circulating air over the surface where the moisture may collect. I feel that I have effectively reduced the dry time to 15-20 minutes. This is also helpful for drying natural hair brushes on a stand as well.

Eventually, I plan to build a stand to rest soap tubs on and pass the air across the soap having it exhaust out and toward a brush set out to dry.

 

[sarimento1]

I read a lot of posts about people concerned about introducing water to their soaps and how long to dry before storing or concerns about the soap absorbing too much water etc...

I don’t share in the panic and fear of ruining soaps and having them go bad. But I do recognize the potential for the consistency and performance to impacted over time if some care isn’t taken.

Some of the best observations I have read on here have been the folks noting the lack of air circulation in varying areas where soaps used or set out to air dry. So I decided to improve the process for my one piece of mind.

I am using a small USB powered fan to quickly dry my soaps. I hypothesize that scent is most likely to dissipate quicker the longer the soap remains open and uncovered. Additionally, I see the potentials for soaps to become too saturated and possibly hinder long term performance. I typically set my soap at a diagonal angleon a wire rack or on is side and direct this fan toward the open tub. I encourage water to drain out while circulating air over the surface where the moisture may collect. I feel that I have effectively reduced the dry time to 15-20 minutes. This is also helpful for drying natural hair brushes on a stand as well.View attachment 1094460View attachment 1094461
Eventually, I plan to build a stand to rest soap tubs on and pass the air across the soap having it exhaust out and toward a brush set out to dry.

remarkable endeavor!

for the so many soaps i've used over many years, no problem shaking out excess water and letting them dry a few minutes, then closing and storing away, closed and in a cool, no-sun cabinet. so far, after many years, no problem!!

 

[clk]

I typically load and close. Never had a problem.

 

[Invicta]

This is too laborious for my liking as I use the same soap continuously for a couple of months and just put the lid on when I finish shaving; never had a problem with mould but they do seem to dry out a little in storage.

 

[Tallships]

I just put my soaps in a ceramic bowl that I find at thrift shops, No lid needed for just using 3-4 soaps in rotation. I just let soap air dry, nice and dry the next morning

 

[fhalden]

Some soaps,(MWF I'm looking at you) work better if they're used daily, as they aren't afforded the opportunity to dry out and harden up. With multiple consecutive days of use, they soften, and are easier to load. So I drip dry MWF, and then replace the ceramic lid. Other soaps, like Stirling and PAA, I leave open over night. I do this with MdC also, because it doesn't need to be any softer to easily load, and it's expense warrants making it last as long as possible.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[BigJ]

Interesting idea!

Some of my favorite soaps, for example MWF or Haslinger, actually improve with frequent use and a bit of added water accumulation!

 

[bjm]

I may have found a solution in search of a problem, but thanks @Rustyshackelford for the inspiration.

I came across an advertisement for a razor dryer last year. It seemed to be for the purpose of saving money spent on cartridge razors by extending the life of the blades by blow-drying them. I mostly used DE razors and wasn't about to spend fifty dollars to extend the life of a ten cent razor blade. But the dryer got me thinking about a way to apply the same principle to shaving brushes. Unfortunately, I have the limitation of being able to chase only one squirrel at a time so I quickly abandoned the thought and moved on to other distractions. An then this thread came along.

This is what I came up with to dry brushes.



I didn't create the design for the brush stand; I found it online and produced some with my 3D printer for myself and a few friends. I then modified the design by opening the base for air flow when placed atop the fan. Please don't confuse what I did with innovation; I just took someone else's original design and modified it to suit my needs.



I also printed a grill for an 80mm fan. The USB fan should arrive today. Worse case I'm out ten dollars for the fan, a few grams of PLA filament, and bit of time learning how to modify 3D files.

Why would someone "need" such a contraption? I hope to use it to speed up the break-in period of boar brushes by reducing the time between wet/dry cycles. We'll see what happens...

EDIT: Photography is not one of my hobbies, so I apologize for the lack of quality in my pictures.

 

[Ducati Scotty]

With Proraso, after I load the brush I just turn the container upside down on the edge of the sink while I shave. This lets whatever excess water there is drain out. Once I’m done I put the cap back on and put it away. I find this keeps the soap from getting softer as I get to the bottom.

 

[LewisW]

I usually turn my soaps upside down for a few hours the put them away. I haven’t had any issues over the years.

 

[Rustyshackelford]

I may have found a solution in search of a problem, but thanks @Rustyshackelford for the inspiration.

I came across an advertisement for a razor dryer last year. It seemed to be for the purpose of saving money spent on cartridge razors by extending the life of the blades by blow-drying them. I mostly used DE razors and wasn't about to spend fifty dollars to extend the life of a ten cent razor blade. But the dryer got me thinking about a way to apply the same principle to shaving brushes. Unfortunately, I have the limitation of being able to chase only one squirrel at a time so I quickly abandoned the thought and moved on to other distractions. An then this thread came along.

This is what I came up with to dry brushes.

View attachment 1096183

I didn't create the design for the brush stand; I found it online and produced some with my 3D printer for myself and a few friends. I then modified the design by opening the base for air flow when placed atop the fan. Please don't confuse what I did with innovation; I just took someone else's original design and modified it to suit my needs.

View attachment 1096184

I also printed a grill for an 80mm fan. The USB fan should arrive today. Worse case I'm out ten dollars for the fan, a few grams of PLA filament, and bit of time learning how to modify 3D files.

Why would someone "need" such a contraption? I hope to use it to speed up the break-in period of boar brushes by reducing the time between wet/dry cycles. We'll see what happens...

EDIT: Photography is not one of my hobbies, so I apologize for the lack of quality in my pictures.

darn it! I am antiquated at my old age of 35 and still look to wood as the material to make everything from.... I would be dangerous with a 3d printer.... I spent some time playing with the sketchup app and got pretty comfortable with it.... with the ability to print out the stuff in my mind... idk if the world is ready.

 

[bjm]

As for the "soggy soaps" issue... I've been trying to stick with one soap per month for several months now. I remove about an ounce or so from the puck and press it into a separate container for use during the month. Whether I choose to cover the soap or not doesn't really matter to me anymore because it will be gone in a month. The original puck never comes into contact with a wet brush. This works for me... for now.

 

[chinmusic82]

Not required at all. Just use, tip out excess water and close the soap. But then I don’t rotate products, I use one up until it’s done before moving on to the next.

 

[Rustyshackelford]

Im not actually getting any issues with excessive moisture in my soaps, i load with a damp brush and don’t introduce much water at all. I just read so many panicky posts from others that thought I would put this up as a solution for those that are overly concerned. I have been setting them in front of or over top of the fan to circulate air so the little bit of foam or paste dries out for 10 or so min, then I cap them and put them on the shelf.

What I do like about this fan is helping to dry brushes. On a given day we have 2 or 3 brushes in use and natural hair brushes are something i like to make sure get dried well before i put them on the shelf. I have heard some report this helps newer brushes to loose the animal funk (smell) sooner if they are used then dried completely between uses.

 

[kingfisher]

I may have found a solution in search of a problem, but thanks @Rustyshackelford for the inspiration.

I came across an advertisement for a razor dryer last year. It seemed to be for the purpose of saving money spent on cartridge razors by extending the life of the blades by blow-drying them. I mostly used DE razors and wasn't about to spend fifty dollars to extend the life of a ten cent razor blade. But the dryer got me thinking about a way to apply the same principle to shaving brushes. Unfortunately, I have the limitation of being able to chase only one squirrel at a time so I quickly abandoned the thought and moved on to other distractions. An then this thread came along.

This is what I came up with to dry brushes.

View attachment 1096183

I didn't create the design for the brush stand; I found it online and produced some with my 3D printer for myself and a few friends. I then modified the design by opening the base for air flow when placed atop the fan. Please don't confuse what I did with innovation; I just took someone else's original design and modified it to suit my needs.

View attachment 1096184

I also printed a grill for an 80mm fan. The USB fan should arrive today. Worse case I'm out ten dollars for the fan, a few grams of PLA filament, and bit of time learning how to modify 3D files.

Why would someone "need" such a contraption? I hope to use it to speed up the break-in period of boar brushes by reducing the time between wet/dry cycles. We'll see what happens...

EDIT: Photography is not one of my hobbies, so I apologize for the lack of quality in my pictures.

There has been no small amount of discussion/argument on these very pages over the years about whether brushes dry better when stood with the bristles pointing up or when hanging on a stand. While intuitively it might seem like hanging is the obvious answer, it turns out that the physics behind capillary motion and drying of fine filaments is considerably more complex than people think it is.

 

[bjm]

It's me again...



This is the latest version of my brush drying stand. Be well and be safe...

 

[steveclarkus]

I’ve never even thought of drying my soap.

 

[allyourbasearebelongtous]

with the exception of MDC, i scoop out everything else and put in a bowl. so all my soaps remain clean like the day i first opened it