Day 5 of Blogtober 2026, and I’m back to answer another cutomer question. “How long does soap stay in the mould for before I unmould and cut it?”
If you follow The Soap Mine on Facebook or Instagram, you’ll have seen videos of soap being poured, and soap being cut. But what happens in between those two events? How long does the soap stay in the mould before it’s ready to be taken out and cut?
Well, my usual routine these days is to pour the soap on one day, and unmould and cut it the following day. But it wasn’t always that way. When I first learned how to make soap I read somewhere that I should give soap a good 48hrs in the mould. So that’s what I did. For quite a while actually.
It was only when I NEEDED to unmould sooner, for some long-forgotten reason, that I discovered that I didn’t need to wait the full 48 hours. 24 was plenty… I guess the need had never arisen before, so I’d never tried it. Habits are strong
Nowadays I tend to make soap later on in the afternoons, between 3-6pm. Before then I’m packing website orders, wrapping soap, completing paperwork, planning social media and so on and so forth, but the end of the afternoon is often reserved for soapmaking. I then unmould and cut the soap the following day, before lunch, generally between 10.30 and 12.30. (Yes, I’m quite wedded to my routines!).
So while I’ve never investigated the absolute SOONEST I can unmould and cut my soap, I can say that my* loaves are generally ready the following morning, less than 24 hours after being poured. And quite possibly sooner.
*It’s worth noting that different formulations will have different setting-up times. Some soapmakers will unmould 48 or even 72 hours after pouring, while some will do it all within the same working day. All part of the fun!
Of course, being ready to cut doesn’t mean it’s ready to use. There are still several weeks of curing to go, but that’s a whole other blog post. 😁
Vicki x