Q&A for How to Cut Soap

Let your soap cure for 24-48 hours before you cut it. If you cut it too early, it may be too soft, which means it won’t cut cleanly and could come out dented or misshapen. Handling lye-based soap before it’s fully cured could also cause burns, or your soap could develop unsightly soda ash deposits.

It depends on your personal preference, but most soap makers slice their soap in to bars about 1 inch thick.

Soap carving is the art of sculpting soap into various shapes, such as flowers or animals. You can do basic soap carving with tools as simple as a pencil (to mark out your design and carve fine details), a plastic knife (to cut away larger pieces), and a paintbrush (to brush away dust and fragments).

If your soap is not hard enough to cut after twelve hours, that is absolutely OK! It may need to stay in the mold for several hours or even days. If the soap is still too soft to cut, leaving it in the mold does NOT do any harm.