Choosing a Soap Dish
A soap dish probably isn't something you spend a lot of time thinking about.
You buy one, put your soap on it, and that's the end of the story.
Except there's a small problem: some soap dishes are terrible at being soap dishes.
If your bar is sitting in a puddle of water every time you use it, it's going to get soft. And once the bottom of your bar turns into a mushy mess, you're basically watching your soap slowly disappear down the drain.
The good news is that you don't need anything fancy to prevent that.
The Most Important Thing: Drainage
Here's the big secret to a good soap dish:
Don't let your soap sit in water.
That's really the whole game.
Look for a dish that lets water drain away from the bar. Holes, slots, raised ridges, slats—there are plenty of ways to accomplish it.
The design doesn't matter nearly as much as the result.
Your soap should be able to drain, breathe, and dry out.
Bamboo Soap Dishes
I have a soft spot for bamboo soap dishes.
They look good, they're simple, and they fit nicely with the whole "let's use fewer plastic bottles" idea behind bar soap.
But don't buy a bamboo dish just because it's bamboo.
Look at how it's built.
If the soap sits flat against a solid piece of bamboo with nowhere for the water to go, you've really just bought a tiny wooden bathtub for your soap.
Look for one with slats or channels that let water escape.
And remember that the dish itself needs to dry out, too. Bamboo isn't magic. If it stays wet constantly, it's going to eventually show it.
Soap Savers
A soap saver is another simple solution.
Instead of replacing your entire soap dish, you can put a small draining insert underneath the bar. It keeps the soap elevated and gives the water somewhere to go.
They're particularly handy if you already like the soap dish you have.
No need to reinvent the bathroom.
Wall-Mounted Soap Holders
If you're short on counter space, getting the soap off the counter altogether can make a lot of sense.
A wall-mounted holder keeps the bar out of standing water and gives it plenty of opportunity to dry.
They're also nice for smaller bathrooms where every inch of counter space seems to disappear.
Just make sure the holder isn't sitting directly in the path of the shower.
There's no soap dish in the world that's going to save your bar if the showerhead is blasting it every morning.
What About Those Flat Soap Dishes?
They can work.
But I'd be a little picky.
A completely flat dish gives water nowhere to go if it gets trapped underneath the bar. That means the bottom of your soap can stay wet for hours.
If you like the look of a flat dish, look for one with raised ridges or grooves.
Even a little bit of separation between the soap and the surface can make a big difference.
Where You Put It Matters
The best soap dish in the world won't help if you put it in the wrong spot.
Try to keep your soap:
Out of the direct shower spray
Away from a faucet that splashes constantly
Somewhere water can drain
Somewhere air can get around it
And if your bathroom gets particularly humid, giving the bar some extra room to breathe is even more helpful.
So What Should You Buy?
Honestly?
Whatever you like—as long as it drains.
You don't need a $40 designer soap holder.
You don't need some complicated soap-storage contraption.
A simple bamboo dish with good drainage can work great. So can a basic plastic or ceramic dish with holes. A soap saver can work great, too.
The important part is keeping your bar from sitting in water.
A Bar of Soap Is Not a Houseplant
It doesn't need to live in a puddle.
Give it a place to drain, let it dry between uses, and you'll get considerably more use out of your bar.
That's good for your wallet, good for your soap, and—if you're trying to cut down on disposable bottles—good for the whole reason you bought a bar in the first place.
Mojave North Star makes handmade bar soap, and we think a good bar deserves a place to dry properly.
Keep the bar dry. Let it last.
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