Looking for ways to make a bar of soap last longer? These 8 tips for stretching a bar of soap are exactly what you need to save money. Simple, practical, and they work!

When the price of something goes up, I’m always looking for ways to stretch it just a bit further.
When we switched to organic chicken, we figured out a way to make it last for seven meals.
When we couldn’t squeeze another drop out of our all-natural toothpaste, we cut off the ends of the tube to make it last three more weeks.
And then we started making our own to save another 40%.
Other toiletries, like soap, are a different matter though. Thanks to my over-obsessive couponing days, I’ve had enough soap on hand to last over two years. Back then it cost me 25-50¢ per container and I never thought twice about what was inside.
So I’m thinking outside the box and trying to come up with ways to make what I have last longer – without sacrificing quality.
I’m hoping that these eight tips for stretching a bar of soap will be helpful beyond my own bathroom and budget, perhaps inspiring you to think outside the box too so we can all enjoy – and afford – higher quality items without going broke.
8 Tips for Stretching a Bar of Soap
1. Let bar soap “cure.”
If your soap comes in a wrapper, unwrap it an allow it to sit to cure for 6-8 weeks. I know, tough you need a shower STAT, but buy an extra bar and think ahead for next time.
The extra time you give for a bar to cure means it’ll be less likely to turn to mush when it hits running water.
Note: This isn’t much of an issue if you’re using handcrafted soap (like this goat milk soap) that has already cured before you got your hands on it, but still. A little bit of patience never hurt a bar of soap and could possibly help your budget.
When you’re shopping at Bend Soap Company, you can stack these with the scrap soap sales and stock up for the year! Use these codes:
- SOAP35 saves 5% on orders that are $35 or more
- SOAP65 saves 10% on orders that are $65 or more
- SOAP100 saves 15% on orders that are $100 or more
Orders that are $65 or more after discounts are also eligible for free shipping!

2. Use a washcloth, or a loofah, to lather instead of your hands
Your hands have this amazing inability to produce and retain lather. It’s the nature of the beast. So then, why do we keep trying to use them, over and over, to make lather?
- Wash smarter by using a washcloth or loofah. Get it soapy once with a couple good rubs of the bar, and then put the bar away.
- The washcloth or loofah will absorb the lather and keep it going for you, so you can keep on washing.
- All while using less soap.
That little bag in the picture above? I gave it a few good rubs of soap and it lasted me three showers worth of lather. Genius!
3. Keep your soap out of water
When you’re done smothering your washcloth or loofah, that is.
- Storing soap in the stream of water and/or steam, or on a solid ledge built into the shower, will make the soap break down quicker. Have you ever opened a bar of soap, and then mysteriously just a few weeks later it’s suddenly melted into nothing? Blame the water.
- Use something that encourages air flow like a soap dish so the water can drain off and the soap can dry. Then, keep that ledge at the opposite end of the shower so it dries faster. The key is air circulation, so skip the fancy dishes that don’t have holes. You want holes, and the more the better.

4. Let bar soap air dry, completely
If multiple people are using the same bar of soap each morning, one person right after another, the bar will always be wet and never fully dry… and therefore, continuously in the process of melting. However, if the bar is allowed to dry completely before being used again, it’ll last much longer.
Give each person their own bar of soap – and each their own ledge – allowing the bars to dry completely before using again, and your toiletry budget (what? You have one?) will thank you.
When you’re shopping at Bend Soap Company use this code, CRUMBS15 for 15% off your first order! You can stock up for the year!:
- SOAP35 saves 5% on orders that are $35 or more
- SOAP65 saves 10% on orders that are $65 or more
- SOAP100 saves 15% on orders that are $100 or more
- Orders that are $65 or more after discounts are also eligible for free shipping!

5. Cut the bar into pieces
There’s a thought that bigger bars of soap last longer. However, there is scientific evidence to the idea that a smaller surface area of soap means less soap hits the water, meaning the soap will last longer.
- My own, non-scientific explanation is this: When you start with less, there’s less to waste and less to use. That works for me.
- Take your bar of soap to the kitchen and cut it in half, or thirds if you can. Swap a smaller bar for a bigger bar and you’re done. Keep applying principles #3 and #4 above.

6. Turn soap shavings into liquid soap
Those teeny tiny pieces get annoying, but don’t let them go to waste. Don’t let any miscellaneous shavings from cutting your bar in half go to waste either. Make your own liquid soap with this simple tutorial. That method alone saves TONS of money on soap. The batch you see above is still going strong!!

7. Turn liquid soap into foaming soap
Do you know the secret to making a foamy soap? It’s the pump. Re-use an old foaming hand soap bottle and you’ll turn any liquid soap into a foaming soap. If you’re making your own liquid soap, you might have to adjust the water ratio. Just tinker with it until it’s the right consistency.

8. Buy scraps of soap to save money
So this tip doesn’t exactly stretch what you already have, but rather makes for a better deal when you’re buying it in the first place. Bulk soap scraps cost up to 65% less than the pretty bars, but they do the same thing. Plus I hear that bulk scraps are full-sized bars anyway! Reduce the price from the get go and you’re automatically off to a great start.

I have been baking my soap for decades about 180 degrees for 2 hours to help it dry out before it then ages on the shelf.
I gave been cutting my Body soap in half, keep in the wrapper and the place freezer bags and place in freezer….does not deteriorate, or lose any of the fragrance, and does not dry out and crumble. Excellent solution as prices are now on the rise, they last at least 50% longer than just leaving them unopened in the decorative basket in the bathroom.
oops ! BODY SHOP soap!
Thanks, for sharing this idea
You’re most welcome Abhishek!