I was gifted a hamper of cosmetics by a friend of mine who runs a small chain of stores, as they had surplus stock so they were trying to encourage business in—I’ll certainly be back for some of the products I’ve been using!
I got to the bottom of the hamper before realizing that I’d missed something, though, when I first looked through the hamper.
There was a couple of bars of goat milk soap at the bottom of the hamper.
I’d had it for a few weeks without realizing, so I was wondering if it could expire.
Milk is one of those things we think of as going bad very quickly, and of causing other things to go bad quickly as well.
This really isn’t the case with everything that it is used in, though.
Soap is made in such a way that there’s really no way it could ever ‘go bad’ in the sense that the milk simply expires.
Let’s look further into this.
How does goat milk soap not go bad?
For a few reasons, but mainly to do with the way soap is made.
Goat milk soaps don’t even need preservatives to boast this quality.
They simply don’t go bad.
First things first, though, I should say that goat milk soap will eventually go bad.
How long that takes might depend on who you ask, and your own standards.
Some would throw away used goat milk soap after a few months, even as low as a couple of months.
Some would say that you can use it until it’s entirely gone, even if it takes you 20 years.
But the essential reason is due to the curing process of making soap.
Curing is a process of preservation used in many substances, including meat.
Cured meats can be edible for decades, just as goat milk soap can be useable for decades.
It’s all about proper storage, though.
So, how to store goat milk soap?
How do you store unused goat milk soap?
Naturally, this will depend on whether or not you’re using it.
For soap that’s in use, I would store it just as any other soap—where you need it.
If you’re consistently using it, it will be gone before it goes bad.
For the bars that you aren’t using, though, it’s essential that they’re kept cool and dry, and out of the path of direct sunlight.
These are the three things that will cause it to spoil before it’s used—although it would still take a while!
So, the best bet is in a cool, dry cupboard, out of reach of any sunbeams.
Stored like this, your goat milk soap will be good for 20 years at least—if not indefinitely!
Does goat milk soap have to be refrigerated?
No, it doesn’t have to be—although many would suggest this is indeed the best way to store it.
Naturally, goat milk would be refrigerated, so why not the soap?
While refrigerating can prevent the lost of beneficial properties, it also is far from essential.
Goat milk soap is, as I said, cured, which generally means that refrigerating is unnecessary.
But if you’ve got extra space, and you can keep it dry in the fridge, it could be a great choice!
What is the shelf life of goat milk soap?
Again, it depends. Both on how you store it, and on who you ask.
Different soaps made with different, additional substances will also have a different shelf life.
For example, certain floral scents in the soap might cause it to break down more quickly.
In general, though, if you store it as I suggested above, then your goat milk soap will be good to use for at least 20 years.
I only really cut it off at this point because most of us don’t buy enough soap in one go to last us 20 years.
In other words, then, the practical shelf life of properly stored goat milk soap is infinite—it will never go bad.
But how can you tell if it is?
How do you know if soap is expired?
When it comes to anything containing milk, the first thing you’re going to notice is the smell.
The milk still has the chance to sour and spoil, so if it smells off, look out for that.
The other sign is if the soap is dry and cracked.
If it struggles to lather up when you’re using it, then the bar may have dried out and lost its ability to lather up.
If your goat milk soap is showing any of these signs, it may not have been stored properly.
So, as long as you follow the fairly simple instructions laid out here, you should never have a problem with your goat milk soap going bad.
It more or less cannot happen.
Goat milk will certainly go bad within a few days, but soap is a completely different thing.
It simply doesn’t work in the same way.
Goat milk soap can last for decades if stored correctly, and even if not, it will still take quite a few months to go bad to the point that it can’t be used.