If you’re planning on sending your homemade soap, then you need to think about the possibility that your soap might melt in transit. But does homemade soap melt in the mail? Or is this something you shouldn’t really worry about?
Homemade soap may melt in the mail if the temperatures reach extreme heat. This may happen due to the location you’re sending your soap to, or excess oil from superfatting may also cause melting. However, not all soaps have the same melting point. You can avoid this with proper packaging and including ice packs.
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Will homemade soap melt in the mail?
Depending on the mail transport it might get very hot. Most postal services allow you to send soap through the mail as long you make sure the lye is neutralized during the saponification process.
- The location where you’ll send it
- The soap types you’re trying to send
- Excess oil in the soap
All these aspects will play a key role during the mailing process.
You should also consider the location where you’re sending it. For instance, if you’re sending it to Australia, which is the 14th hottest country on the planet, it will be more likely to melt if certain conditions are met during the process.
Therefore, it is possible for homemade soap to melt in the mail, but there are a few factors to consider. Now, it is possible to prevent homemade soap from melting if you take the necessary precautions which will be discussed in this article.
How do you keep homemade soap from melting?
You can prevent your soap from melting in the mail if you know how to take the necessary precautions and package it correctly. We will go through in detail how to package correctly, however you can mostly avoid melting by correct packaging alone. That is unless your soap has excess oil as mentioned in the previous section, no packaging will be able to solve melting soap from excess oil superfatting.
Also, you can’t control if the delivery service is leaving the car on a hot day for a prolonged period outside and thus resulting in the inside of the car getting extremely hot. Therefore, packing heat-sensitive items with ice packs, shipping, and expedited option, and performing a “ship test” is the best way to ensure your packages make it in one piece.
What might also help is to write the postal service what you’re sending and how delicate it can be when it’s too hot. However, this doesn’t really give any guarantee.
At what temperature starts homemade soap melt?
What should I package my homemade soap in?
This factor depends on the type of soap you’re trying to send. Here we’ll tell you a few ideas you can use for your soap’s packaging to make sure it stays safe until it arrives at the destination.
MP soap is quite vulnerable to heat, as discussed above. However, there are a few items you can use to wrap it and keep it safe throughout the whole travel:
- Plastic food wrap works wonderfully. You don’t have to spend on inexpensive brands – the cheapest ones work better as they “stretch” more and are easier to handle.
- Cello bags are another good option, especially if you’ve made decorative M.P. soap, such as cupcakes. However, if you use this option, please have in mind that the soap may leave “stains” in the bag after use. It’s better to use bags that match the soap’s size to prevent any potential problems from happening.
- Shrinkwrap bags are another good option for this soap type. It works best with soaps with irregular shapes and extra additions, such as rubber ducks on top of it.
Cold Process Soap (and other soap types)
You can relax a little bit when it comes to cold process soap and other options because these soaps aren’t as vulnerable as M.P. soap. You can get creative about the packaging, but again, plastic food wrap seems to work best with soap, thanks to the “stretchiness” it has.
- You can wrap your soap bars in a paper or light cardstock belly band which works as a label.
- You can also try with a box made of medium-weight cardstock with a label attached to it.
As you can see, packaging your homemade soap isn’t difficult, and you can use things you have at home for it. However, the process is not done yet. Now you have to learn how to mail homemade soap correctly based on your location.
How do you mail homemade soap?
For starters, you need to be familiar with your country’s mailing laws and regulations. Each country has different procedures and requirements for it. This section will provide a few examples from big countries like the USA, Canada, Australia, and the U.K.
Mailing soap in and to the United States.
Hazardous materials are prohibited by U.S. postal regulations. If your soap has saponified to its fullest, then it should be okay. So make sure your soap-making process has saponified entirely.
Mailing soap to Canada
When it comes to Canada, the regulations are a bit lighter than in other countries. As long as your soap doesn’t have any scent, you shouldn’t have any troubles. According to the new 2020 policy, Canada will not mail items that emit odors.
Mailing soap to Australia
Certain countries are prohibited from shipping items into Australia, including Somalia, Egypt, and Bangladesh. However, there are more regulations you should know about:
- It’s only possible to send soap to Australia in wooden boxes or crates as long as a certified service has fumigated it and the certificate of fumigation is present, too.
- You can’t use boxes that have been in contact with vegetables, meats, or fruits.
- Straw and dried plant materials cannot be used for packaging.
- You can’t mail anything that was crafted in prison.
There are more regulations for mailing soap into and within Australia.
Mailing soap to the U.K.
Similar to Australia, the U.K. has many regulations when it comes to mailing soap. Here we have a few considerations you must take into account:
- If the item you’re trying to send has been crafted in a foreign prison, better pass from it.
- As soap can melt, it is necessary to keep it in strong leak-proof packaging to avoid any problem from happening.
Here you can find all the information regarding the Royal Post Guidelines.
