Felted Soap

So I first heard of felted soap just two months ago from a buyer.  The young friend she was getting the rabbit for was anxious to have some angora fiber for felting soap.  And that was all I heard.

Curious, I decided to go to that impeccable source of all knowledge (well, not really, but you get the idea), the Internet. And I found a few facts, claims, and images of beautiful felted soap.  And the how-to's as well.

What exactly is felted soap?  Well, felted soap is promoted as a washcloth and soap all in one.  Basically a few layers of animal fiber are wrapped around a bar of soap and felted with hot water and agitation.  Most people use wool; I used alpaca and angora.

One or two of the webpages I looked at claimed that soap was felted in centuries past.  I did some digging but couldn't locate any actual proof of that. If anyone can point me towards anything regarding that, I'd really appreciate it.

Anyway, I decided to try it out.  I have to admit, it did sound a little odd, wrapping a bar of soap in fiber and then showering with it.

Here is what I discovered:

The claims were that felted soap lasted longer than unfelted.  The reality?  It's all completely TRUE!  I felted a bar of regular Ivory soap with some alpaca and angora over six weeks ago.  I think half the bar is still there.  And yes, as a matter of fact, I do shower everyday.

The claim is that the felted soap dries out faster after each use and prevents the glycerin from dissolving as quickly.  Not sure about either of those.  I never remember to go back to the shower and check how quickly the felted soap dried out.  And I never did it with regular soap, either.  I mean, I have other things to do besides check how quickly the soap is drying.  I just know that the felted bar of soap is lasting a really long time.  (UPDATE:  My felted bar of regular Ivory soap lasted just over three months.)

There is the claim that felting the soap makes it easier to handle and hold onto.  Also completely true.  I think I have dropped my soap three times in the past six weeks.

And a final claim is that the animal fibers used to felt the soap are anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, whatever.  I'm not sure whether any of this is true, but I can definitely say that unlike with washcloths after a couple of days of use, there is absolutely no yucky smell with felted soap.  Just the smell of the soap.

So felted soap really is a washcloth and soap all in one.  And yet, it is much, much better.  I will never look back.

One of my first felted bars.  The gray fiber is angora; the rest is alpaca.

If you can't wait until I get our own directions posted, here are two websites to check out.

http://www.sustaincreateandflow.com/felted-soap/

http://frugalkiwi.co.nz/2009/10/felt-me-up-hand-felted-soap/