Teach Soap

Does anyone use grapeseed extract to preserve their soap? I've been using it, but am wondering if it has any effect.
It's a bit spendy, but if it works then great, but if not I will leave it out.
Thanks

adding to the OP's question...

Isn't soap mostly salt? Would that make it a preservative? I suppose the preservative would be there to help preserve the super fating oils right?

Since oils degrade overtime and stuff.

I've heard of people using sodium lactate as a preservative, and it also helps harden the bar of soap. But the reason I read about it was that sodium lactate is a salt... But soap is a salt too. Saponified oils, are the salt version of those oils....

Rambling a bit, and trying to remember a bit of organic chemistry...

Grapeseed extract is not a preservative under any cincumstances. Besides, the lye would eat it. You do not need to preserve soap. You can, however, use ROE (Rosemary Oleoresin extract) as an anti-oxidant in your oils to extend their shelf life.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Do you think the addition of ROE is important? I'm somewhat confused about the shelf life of soap - Will it last for
two years without the addition of ROE - I don't know why it should have to last that long, but if someone kept it on
their shelf for a while I would hate for it to turn rancid.

I don't use ROE. I have sample bars of a lot of my soaps and some of them are at least 5 years old with no problems.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I also have many soaps that are years old...3-5 and are perfectly fine. They have lost their scent over this many years but still perfectly good soap.

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April

Thanks again for the great info!!! I saw a soap company that was selling their two year old soap at a premium price (I think it was $11 or $12 a bar). Extra long curing - extra hard bar. It seems odd, but there's a lot I don't know. So, glad to know I don't have to add anything to preserve my soap.

sort of like aged wine???

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.