Curing Lush Soaps-Do you? Don't you? Lessons learned?

I recently cured a piece of Cereology and tried a piece of Mud Flats before that. The results have been pretty mixed for me because though the soap my last longer, it changes the cosistency. I noticed that once cured it doesn't lather as nice or feel as creamy as it does when it's fresh. Cereology has also seemed to have lost a lot of it's scent. Mud Flats kept it's scent, but look a really long time to cure. I had a small sample piece and left it out to cure for about two weeks. When I couldn't wait anymore to try it, I found that it still hadn't cured all the way through. I think my practice now will be to cure little sample pieces before I commit a whole bar to it. However, it's probably something that I will continue to try because LUSH soap can be so very expensive.

I don't cure my soaps on purpose. It just happens because I go on a buying spree, and then my stash builds up. I do notice they last longer that way. I do cure the buttercreams on purpose because I feel they are easier to use that way.

As a soap maker I always cure my handmade soaps at least 4 weeks, the longer the better. If the soap is glycerin soap, it will not last as long as a handmade soap as it is a softer bar. I always suggest to my customers to use a not painted, slatted wooden soap dish. This way the wood pulls the water aways from the soap and it is not sitting in water at all. They dry faster and this does help to make them last a bit longer.

After my first piece of Snowcake melted away in just a few showers, I definitely cure my soaps. I also make sure not to leave them in the shower where they'll get wet and melt away to nothingness! I think my cured pieces of Snowcake still smell beautiful and lather well.

I haven't tried curing any of my soaps yet. I do have a bar of mudflats which i think I should cure since that is what most people do. Do you usually cure the 'creamier' or softer ones?

I cured my Mudd Flats, because when I got them they were literally soft to the touch. I'd leave finger prints in them. I left a piece sitting on a soap dish in my room on a shelf for something like 2 weeks. It's hard now, and it didn't lose any scent that I can tell. I've never cured any others though, partially because I don't buy a lot of soap (although that's changing) and partially because the other soaps I've gotten were already hard.

The only one I've really 'cured' intentionally was Sultana of Soap, because it was so soft that it was just not working for me at all. I do agree with others that it does seem to decrease the lather and scent ... I think it's a compromise really. How much lather and scent you want to stay vs. how long you want it to last - you just have to find your own happy medium!

I don't usually cure my soaps with the excepion of Sexy Peel (because this one comes really soft). I haven't seen the need to cure soaps because I think that the ones I buy last pretty long anyway (I Should Coco, Bohemian, Extra Virgin Olive are the ones I use most often..). Plus, I am very vigilant about using soap savers and draining the excess water out of my soap dish after every bath or shower. I do cure buttercreams though. They just don't last that long when you use them fresh (when they are still soft). I have had good experiences with curing my buttercreams. I use Lemslip to wash my face and a cured bar lasts a pretty long time. I don't notice any difference in scent when you cure buttercreams.

I just cut the LUSH soap up before using it. Stick the pieces in a ziploc and then use a little slice at a time in the shower/bath

I prefer to use my soaps when they're creamy and soft, otherwise they just don't seem to lather well. But you're right, they do tend to go really fast, I've noticed that the shower gels (or liquid soaps) last much loanger and they lather really well too.

I let mine sit out for 2 months until they are as hard as a rock. But I only have gotten the fruity smelling soaps and I've noticed they they lose thier scent until they get when while using them. Once they are cured they are not very good at making your bathroom smell pretty. But they do retain a lot of scent once water gets on them. They dont later as well, but then again I have hard water. Curing just means that the lipids are loosing all the water trapped in them and all the air too, so thats why they strink and arent as fragrant.

My boyfriend was really upset as his huge block of Snowcake was melting away at the speed of light, so now I've cured it for him. It is lasting forever now, in fact hopefully it will last until Christmas when he can buy more so we can do it all over again ;) I don't bother curing anything that isn't limited edition or discontinued, as I love being able to chop and change what soap I use every month or so.

i don't really cure them but i do stash allot incase something gets disconned. i put the unused ones in a cabinet wich is only opened if i need a soap. keeping the out of sunlight is good too as it will discolor your soaps and possibly dry them out too. i also put my used soaps in a plastic box with drawers (i have 2 boxes). in those drawers fit thick soaps and 3 per drawer. i noticed that prolonged the life of my soaps as they don't melt and won't dry out. the boxes were cheap and the look cute too (turquoise,lime,fuschia drawers),they only cost 3.00 euro's at xenos,a dutch store.