The Wonderful World of Soapstone

Used in fireplaces, kitchens, bathrooms, used as insulation for electrical components and a medium for sculpture, even carved into un-meltable ice cubes, soapstone is a rock revered in households for thousands of years.

Black Moon Soapstone, found on the showroom floor of Natural Stone Source, in Nipomo California

Soapstone is a great choice for kitchen countertops. This stone is not porous, nor does it stain from notorious foods such as tomatoes, fruit juice, vinegar, and wine. It is also substantially resistant to heat and will not crack nor burn if hot pots are placed upon it. Because it does not absorb water, and actually repels it, soapstone also makes for superior shower wall coverings and bathtub surrounds.

Marisol Black Soapstone, a non-porous and water repelling surface that is great for tub and shower surrounds

Soapstone gets formed in areas of the earth where the tectonic plates converge, creating great heat and pressure upon the material.

This rock gets called soapstone due to the occasional soapy feel of it's surface. Being composed of much talc, the surface of soapstone often appears chalky, even when machine polished. It is with a loving coating of mineral oil that the luster and inner beauty of a soapstone slab can be revealed.

The hardness of soapstone varies, but it is generally considered a softer stone than granite. In fact, if a slab is too hard to be scratched with a knife, it is no longer technically considered soapstone. However easy it is to scratch soapstone, it is a simple matter to gently sand and treat the stone with mineral oil to remedy the situation.

Soapstone colors range from blue to green to grey to black.

Soapstone is revered around the world for it's soft carving qualities. It had historically been made into food bowls, worshiped idols, and pipes, as well as molds in which to cast metal implements. To this day, it is traditionally carved into "whiskey stones", which are polished cubes of soapstone that can be frozen and placed into ones glass of whiskey, where they will never melt and water down the drink.

Fun fact: The outside layers of the Christ the Redeemer, the famous massive sculpture in Rio de Janeiro, are made of soapstone.