Storage and longevity

[Vicy]

Hi, 

 

I've made various melt and pour soaps (shea butter base, aloe base, clear) with essential oils in them. Ive packaged them in little muslin drawstring bags and put in a plastic container in my spare room, which is moderately cool. 

 

How long will these keep in here? I dont know of I should just give them out now, will they dry up/go bad if left for too long? 

[Shari]

I don't make a lot of MP but in my experience if they are kept in an airtight container they should last some time.  The fragrance may fade but that's normal. I have MP embeds I made for my CP soap 2 years ago and they are still fine.   The problem with MP is they need to be wrapped tightly or they will sweat. 

[Chronic_Sniffer]

I have soaps I made over 10 years ago, then got out of the business for a while. I've opened a few up, and found no loss of scent. Somehow, fragrances seem to hold up better when they are put into a product (I also have 10 year old candles that are mostly the same way - a few have lost some scent, but most are still good - but again, they've been "sealed" in a container with a lid).

 

My only issue, like Shari said, is if the packaging somehow got loose and let in some air, then there is a 'crust' across the soap surface where the air sat

 

I would suggest just taking 1 sample of each fragrance and try it out first, before selling them, but I don't think you'll have a problem.

[Vicy]

1 hour ago, Chronic_Sniffer said:

I have soaps I made over 10 years ago, then got out of the business for a while. I've opened a few up, and found no loss of scent. Somehow, fragrances seem to hold up better when they are put into a product (I also have 10 year old candles that are mostly the same way - a few have lost some scent, but most are still good - but again, they've been "sealed" in a container with a lid).

 

My only issue, like Shari said, is if the packaging somehow got loose and let in some air, then there is a 'crust' across the soap surface where the air sat

 

I would suggest just taking 1 sample of each fragrance and try it out first, before selling them, but I don't think you'll have a problem.

Technically the soaps are purely in a muslin bag, not shrinkwrapped. The container i would not say is 100% airtight, its a standard plastic storage box. I'm not selling them, but I love making them and have a tendency to stockpile just to look at them and feel proud so I dont want to do that if they are just going to spoil, so I'm trying to judge when I should give them out! 😀

[Shari]

They won't spoil but they could become damp if moisture gets in the container.  MP generally needs to be wrapped. I've put CP soap in muslin with no issues but MP draws more moisture. 

[Vicy]

4 hours ago, Shari said:

They won't spoil but they could become damp if moisture gets in the container.  MP generally needs to be wrapped. I've put CP soap in muslin with no issues but MP draws more moisture. 

 

How would you wrap? Just with clingfilm? 

[Shari]

15 hours ago, Vicy said:

 

How would you wrap? Just with clingfilm? 

I used shrinkwrap but clingfilm will work just fine.

[kandlekrazy]

Just wanted to add that as long as the bigger container is airtight you shouldn't have issues in muslin.  What may happen is the exterior of the soap loses the scent but as soon as you use it once you can smell it again.  It's same with CP soap if the exterior gets faint.  Wrapping or shrink wrapping seems to be best for keeping off dust and keeping in scent as long as you use a plastic that doesn't suck the scent out.