Soapstone is one of the oldest tops used...
I have several clients who have it in their kitchens, all who love it.
It uses an oil finish instead of a typical sealed granite top. It depicts a much more casual while elegant atmosphere. Consider that most laboratories have used it for years. See attached

Soap stone is a natural stone. It has beautiful green inside. It will go very well with the classical kitchen. However it is soft stone, you need a lot of maintaance to keep it in the kitchen. I will suggest use it in the bathroom.

Here is some actual information about Soapstone

Where is Soapstone from?
Soapstone is quarried from Brazil, India, Finland, Switzerland, and the USA. Brazil is currently the #1 producer of soapstone.

Does soapstone vary?
This natural stone varies in color, hardness, and purity from deposit to deposit.

What color is soapstone?
It's a darker natural stone and comes in shades of grayish to green to blues, and charcoal gray. Random markings include white veining, shades of green, amber or beige in the shape of veins or other formations.

What do I use to clean my soapstone countertops?
Any household cleaner and a damp cloth or sponge.

How much does soapstone weigh?
On average, 20 pounds per square foot.

How durable are soapstone countertops?
A soapstone countertop will last many lifetimes. It is a dense natural stone which allows nothing to penetrate it, not even bacteria. It is impossible to stain and unaffected by heat.

I agree with the above posts that soapstone makes a beautiful but labor intensive counter top. I have two clients who have it in their kitchens and they both love it. One of my clients likes the darker look and oils it often. She calls it "her labor of love" . My other client has a very rustic house and leaves the soapstone in its natural state. In its natural state it looks great with the zinc hood we used. I've attached a photo from her kitchen. We have also used slate counter tops to get the natural soft green color; however it is a softer material and can be prone to scratching, although the scratches are easily buffed out.

We concur about the use of honed slate in kitchen countertops, very easy to maintain. We have them in our own home, we use mineral oil to create a patina, and they have less tendency for the oil to absorb, so we rarely have to oil them. A we occastionally us a scotch-brite pad if there are fine scratches or watermarks, and it always looks stunning

We love our soapstone countertop. Lots of waxing (or oiling) in the first year, but now that we are into our third year I only wax it about once every six months. And waxing is a 10-15 minute job. So I don't actually find it to be high maintenance at this point. Love the patina and the matte finish. We have a dark blue-green stone, almost black when waxed, which looks great with our white kitchen. I would recommend it to anyone who doesn't really like highly polished, shiny or sparkly counters (granite, quartz, etc.), and who wants a more casual feel in the kitchen. Plus it is indestructible from heat or chemicals, so great for cooking.

Several of my clients took my suggestion of soapstone countertops for their kitchen renos and both are very happy with it. One of them has a cottage in the Canadian north and wishes they had put soapstone there when they renovated a few years before (but they weren't aware of it at the time).

It's a very durable surface but you're still advised not to put hot items directly on the counter without protection. I've never heard of waxing soapstone, feeny! That's a new one on me. My clients oil theirs. Apparently it needs it fairly often at first but then after a while it's only needed occasionally when the colour seems to lighten.

I love it when soapstone sinks are integral with the countertop but I haven't specified one yet. I've also seen pictures of soapstone cut into tiles and forming the walls and bench and floor of a shower.

Soapstone isn't installed in really long lengths because of the weight of it. There will be seams. An expert installer is going to make sure that it looks great. Some granite and marble installers will carry soapstone as a side product, but I prefer dealing with a company that specializes in soapstone alone. It's completely different in the way it's cut and fabricated.

When I first saw soapstone close up, it was at The Interior Design Show in Toronto maybe ten years ago. There was a model kitchen set up with an island. I remember standing talking to the agents and finding myself caressing the countertop! Sounds weird, I know, but it's SO appealing. It feels almost alive... When my clients are interested, I take them to see a counter in situ so they can experience it themselves. So much better than a picture!

Dorado Soapstone Wax is made specifically for soapstone counters. It is what was recommended by the stone company that installed ours. I find (and I've heard from others on houzz) that the effects of the wax last longer than the oil, so using wax cuts down on how often you need to treat the counter to keep its sheen. They are similar products, however, with similar effects.

Oh, and we too were convinced by soapstone only when we saw it installed in a kitchen showroom. In photographs the matte finish just looks dull. In person, it absolutely makes you want to touch it. Everyone who comes into our kitchen for the first time has that response.

Does anyone know where to get lighter colored--beige, white--soapstone? I know it exists, because I have some carved figures from Africa in those colors.

My understanding is that there are different kinds of soapstone and that the kind used for carving figurines is too soft to use for countertops. There are, however, lighter gray soapstones that are available, but sometimes hard to find. Example:

I still don't understand why it needs oiled... Can you explain?

It doesn't need to be oiled. It simply has a more even finish when oiled. Natural, unoiled soapstone will show temporary marks from water and oil, which many people don't like. Oiled soapstone will not show anything and will have a darker, more even finish. But oiling or waxing is entirely optional.

We just got soapstone installed in our 100 yr old small kitchen and we love it! We've had it for about 6 months and didn't keep up with the oiling until now but even when the oil evaporates, it looks gorgeous. But since it's a black and white kitchen, I just re-oiled it to achieve the dark patina that looks spectacular against the white cabinets. It's just like when you clean a countertop - no big deal. Worth it, in my opinion.

I love the soapstone counters in my beach house kitchen...have never oiled or waxed...but it's also a very casual space.

For Cynthia Taylor Luce: could you please tell me exactly what you mean about "the cut and fabrication" of companies that specialize in soapstone? How does it differ from just regular fabricators? I want to be sure my soapstone turns out beautiful and not an expensive mistake :( Thanks so much!

I have soapstone in my weekend Stone Cottage (10 yrs.) and just last week we had soapstone installed in our primary home in DC. I LOVE soapstone. #1 reason, it's chemically inert! Remember High School Science classes? all those countertops in the school lab are made of soapstone, because NOTHING will react to it. Acid won't hurt it, nor will red wine, or lemon juice or anything else!! I no longer oil the stone at the Cottage, maybe 1X a year. It's a green Brazilian soapstone. What we installed last week is a grey and it has the most gorgeous veining !! You can't go wrong with soapstone!

Does anyone know if Dorado Dry Wax can be used on any type of Soapstone? I just purchased a Mariana Honed soapstone from Spain. Any reason why I couldn't use dry wax versus mineral wax? It sounds like a much better product.

I love mine!!! My husband is also a believer now as well. He tried to talk me out of it and we are now both thrilled with our kitchen!

We had soapstone installed in our kitchen during a whole house renovation last year (2015). We LOVE it! I've been using food grade mineral oil about once a month over the past 10 months. Saw the store owner recently, and she asked me if they'd given me wax for it. They had not, so she had me come by and pick up a free jar. I haven't tried it yet but plan to use it the next treatment. Supposedly, the wax is much longer lasting. It's my understanding that the oil and wax speed the soapstone's oxidation, and it won't need to be done at all, or rarely, once that process is complete. I think it's worth the extra effort over granite, which does have to be sealed occasionally. Nothing is maintenance free. The slabs were a beautiful gray color with white veining. I coulda left it the natural color but really loved the darker and it doesn't show smudges, etc. with the oiled stone. The mineral oil turns the soapstone a beautiful black matte with just a little sheen. It brings out the pretty veining as well. It's impervious to stains so far. If it gets a ring from a wet glass or container, I keep an oiled cloth on top the bottle and just rub over the spot. It disappears. Compared to granite, it's warmer and I like not having the shine. I have leathered granite in a bathroom and like that, as well. It's kinda similar for someone who still wants granite, but it doesn't have the beautiful veining. We have French gray (Sherwin Williams) painted cabinets, Carrara marble subway tiles on the backsplash, ss appliances and sink, and medium honey colored, distressed, wide-plank hardwood floors. Everyone who sees it, loves the whole look. Super happy with the soapstone choice and would do it again in a heartbeat!

I just had my soapstone installed a few weeks ago. It's a brazilian black soapstone. But, there is a speckled brownish undertone that I'm not happy with. What is it from? And, will a wax darken it more that the oil. Are there enhancers that can be applied to make it blacker?

B Harvey we are considering the same choices for our kitchen. Would you mind sharing a photo?

The wax is amazing. It's lasting much longer than mineral oil. It's kinda expensive but a small amount goes a long way. It might help with the brown undertones. I will try to attach pics. We are still loving it a year later! Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!

Installed Brazilian Green soapstone countertops yesterday. This is unoiled, and later today we are going to put a coat of wax on it. The countertops are gorgeous and feel wonderful!