How to use olive oil soap, and keep it firm
To use olive oil soap, wet the bar and your hands or a washcloth, rub for a few seconds to build a soft lather, wash, then set the bar on a dish that drains, out of the stream of the shower. Olive oil soap makes a creamy, low lather rather than a big foam, and it stays firm longest when it dries completely between uses.
How do I get a lather?
Wet the bar and your hands or a washcloth, then rub for a few seconds.
Olive oil soap makes a creamy, low lather, not a big foam. That is how soap made mostly from olive oil behaves, not a sign of a weak bar.
A wet washcloth or a loofah builds more lather than bare hands.
What is the first week like?
The first few washes round off the hand-cut edges, and the bar settles into your hand.
Every bar is cut by hand and stamped one at a time, so a new one has sharp edges and a crisp seal. Both soften with use. That is expected, not a fault.
If you are coming from a body wash or a foaming bar, the low lather can feel strange for the first few days. Give it the week before you decide.
Can one bar do face, body and hands?
Yes. Olive oil soap is traditionally one bar for face, body and hands.
Use the same bar for face, body and hands. Keep one by the sink and one in the shower if that is easier; they are the same soap.
Why does my bar go soft?
Because it sat in water: olive oil soap softens when it stays wet and firms up again when it dries.
Soap made mostly from olive oil softens in water faster than many other bars. A bar left in a puddle, or in the stream of the shower, turns soft on the outside and wears away quickly.
Let the bar dry completely between uses. If it has already gone soft, take it out of the water and stand it somewhere airy for a day; it firms up as it dries.
How should I store bar soap in the shower?
Keep it on a dish that drains, out of the stream of the shower, so it dries between uses.
Turn the bar over now and then, so the side it sits on dries too.
| Where the bar sits | What happens |
|---|---|
| A dish with slats or ridges, out of the stream | Water runs off and the bar dries between uses. It stays firm. |
| A flat dish that holds water | The bar sits in a puddle and goes soft underneath. |
| A ledge in the stream of the shower | The bar stays wet all day and wears away quickly. |
How do I store spare bars?
In their paper, in a cool, dry cupboard, away from the shower and the stove.
Kept somewhere hot or steamy for a long time, any soap made from oil can turn stale or show orange spots. A dry cupboard keeps a spare bar the way it arrived.
Can I cut a bar in half?
Yes. Use a sharp kitchen knife on a dry bar.
A Baraké bar is 2.6 inches square and 0.9 inch thick (65 by 65 by 24 mm), so a half is still easy to hold.
Keep one half by the sink and one in the shower, or keep one half dry in the cupboard while you use the other. A smaller piece also dries faster between uses.
How long does a bar last?
We have not measured our own bars yet; we will weigh bars from batch 001 in daily use after it ships in January 2027 and publish what we find here.
How long any bar lasts depends on how often it is used and how well it dries. A bar that dries well lasts much longer than one left in a puddle.
related guides
Olive oil soap on your face: one bar for face, body and hands
One bar for face, body and hands, and how to wash your face with it.
Lebanese olive oil soap, explained
What saboun baladi is, how it is made, why it cures, and how to tell a real bar.