Is Soapstone Worth It? 3 Years Later, Here's What Wore Down

Why we picked soapstone in 2023

We were redoing the kitchen in our previous house and I wanted something that wouldn't make me feel like I was babysitting it for the next twenty years. I'd had marble before and the etching had broken my heart. I'd had quartz for a stretch and missed real stone. Reynaldo showed me a soapstone slab and said, "this one is supposed to look used. The more you cook on it, the better it gets." Sold.

We installed Vermont soapstone (M. Teixeira's "Mariana" finish, Vermont quarry), honed but not waxed, on about 38 square feet of countertop including a 7-foot island top. Total cost installed was around $98 per square foot — slightly above the mid-tier range but Vermont soapstone runs higher than imported Brazilian.

Year 1 — the panic phase

The first year is the hardest, and I'll be honest: I almost regretted the choice for the first three months. Soapstone is soft. A fork dragged across the surface leaves a visible line. A heavy ceramic mug set down too hard leaves a faint ring. Every mark felt like a wound. I wiped after every single thing the kids touched. The family was on edge.

Then somewhere around month four, I stopped noticing the marks. Not because they weren't there — because they were everywhere, and they had blurred into something cohesive. The countertop was developing what every soapstone review on the internet had promised: a patina. By the end of year one, the surface was a soft, even, slightly darker version of what it had been on install day, with hundreds of micro-marks too small to count.

I oiled with mineral oil maybe six times that first year. By winter, I started skipping months.

Year 2 — settling in

Year two is where soapstone reveals what it actually wants to be. The surface had darkened to a deep slate-gray with subtle warm undertones. The marks from year one had blended into the overall character; new marks happened and disappeared the same week. The material had stopped showing damage in the way it had at the start — it was now absorbing wear the way a leather chair does.

Two things happened in year two worth noting:

• The dropped skillet. A 9-inch Lodge cast-iron pan, slipping out of my husband's hands as he walked it from stove to sink, hit the corner of the island. The corner chipped about the size of a pea — a clean, visible chunk gone. Reynaldo came over with a soapstone-and-epoxy mix and patched it on the spot. Three years later you cannot find the patch without knowing exactly where to look. Soapstone is uniquely good at this kind of repair because the chemistry of the patch matches the chemistry of the stone.
• The oiling routine. By year two I had completely stopped the mineral oil routine. The countertop didn't need it — the natural oils from cooking had kept the surface looking nourished. I now oil twice a year, before holidays, mostly as a ritual.

Year 3 — settled and beautiful

This is where I am now. The countertop looks like a piece of slate that's been in the family for sixty years. It's even, it's deep, it absorbs light beautifully under the pendant fixture over the island. The scratch panic of year one is a distant memory. The marks I have are the marks of a working kitchen — and the soapstone wears them as character, not as damage.

I have had three different homeowners visit and ask where we got the countertop. Two of them have since installed soapstone in their own kitchens.

What I'd tell someone considering it

1. You have to be okay with a countertop that shows life. If you want the slab to look like install day in year five, soapstone is not your material. Get quartz.
2. The first six months are the worst. Marks are visible. Patina hasn't started. Trust the process or you'll talk yourself out of loving it.
3. Don't wax it. Some installers will offer to apply a wax finish to deepen the color from day one. Don't. The wax wears unevenly and you'll have to maintain it. Mineral oil is enough, and the natural patina is the goal anyway.
4. It's not as fragile as people say. Soapstone is softer than granite, harder than marble in practical terms. It chips on impact but doesn't crack from heat. The dropped-skillet chip is the only damage I've inflicted on it in three years.
5. It's heat-proof. Soapstone was historically used for woodstove surrounds. Set a cast-iron skillet straight from the burner on it without hesitation.
6. Picking the slab matters. Some soapstone is very soft and very dark; some is harder and lighter. Visit the slab yard. Vermont soapstone tends to be denser; Brazilian is often softer but more dramatic in veining.

The verdict

Three stars out of five for the first six months. Five stars out of five from month seven on. I'd install soapstone in my next kitchen tomorrow.