Teach Soap

My first two re-batches were in the microwave--hello, scorched soap jello!

So today I found this method online that worked beautifully. Here it is . . .
1. Cut soap base into 1/2 in cubes, put in stainless steel soap pot.
2. Add about 1/2 c. liquid to 2.5 lbs. of fresh base--older base needs more. (I let sit overnight in the water first.)
3. Cover pot and put in 250 degree oven. Check periodically--if it looks too dry, add a little more liquid and stir in gently.
4. When most has returned to a gel state, take it out of the oven and run through it with stick blender to crush any remaining chunks. (This happened after about 1.5 hours.)
5. Put back in the oven for 30 minutes. Should be completely liquid and smooth.
6. Add goodies and mix well with stick blender.
7. Pour into prepared mold and set aside to cool for 24-48 hours. Cut and leave to finish curing (count cure time from date of making).

Yes, it really does work, and it turns the soap into liquid enough to pour, with little effort (for example, I don't grate soap--too time consuming). I used a basic soap--three days old--with 30% tallow, so maybe that is why it worked so well, but I am planning to try with castile next.

Sounds great, and like something even I wouldn't mind doing! Thanks for sharing!

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

That's a lot of water for that much fresh soap. I hope your soaps don't end up with the "shrunken head" syndrome as the water evaporates out.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I hope there's no shrinkage either! The woman who uses this message says she does all her soap this way: makes a huge batch of basic soap and then rebatches it all with this much liquid, maybe a little more, and never has a problem with shrinkage. My first rebatch (in the microwave, less than ideal) was 40 oz. of soap to which I added a 15.5 oz can of coconut milk--waaaay more liquid than it needed, I'm sure!--and it is near done curing and has not shrunk at all. ??? (Probably softer than it should be, though.) Norma Coney (The Complete Soapmaker) says to use 9 oz water for every 12 oz soap--a lot! Has anyone had a problem with shrinkage? If so, how much liquid did you use to re-batch the problem soap?

Let us know howit turns out!

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~Alyssa
We ascribe beauty to that which is simple; which has no superfluous parts; which exactly answers its end; which stands related to all things; which is the mean of many extremes. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

If I have to rebatch (I hate rebatching), I shred the fresh soap and add only 1-2 TBS of water per lb. of soap.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Shrunken Head Syndrome??? Maybe I should pour some into a skull mold, color neon green and put them aside for halloween

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Shrunken Heads happen.
I have a cute little batch of them from my trial & error stage. It sort of looks like their trying to implode on themselves.
Now, since I've completed the trial and error stage on rebatching, I use between .25 - .50 oz of liquid (usually water) for each oz of soap that I'm rebatching. Again, that also depends on how old my soap is. If I'm doing a next day "save" I'll use even less liquid (.10oz per oz of soap).
I do also use Lactic Acid (I forget the rate at the moment but it's a very tiny bit) and it makes the soap very pourable & nice to work with. I do stick blend it also.

Since I discovered a good liquid ratio, that even in rebatching my stick blender is my friend, & Lactic Acid, I no longer truly dislike rebatching. Although they still aren't 100% beautiful to me, I no longer hide them from view. : )

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In this world you can be either oh so smart or oh so pleasant. I used to be smart. I prefer pleasant. You may quote me. ~Elwood P. Dowd

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Thanks Soapbuddy! It IS Sodium Lactate of course.

As you can see from my time stamp, I wasn't thinking in best form. My brain usually goes into "I can only handle picture books mode" after 10pm. This, of course, is why I never soap after dark no matter how much of an insomniac I am. Can you imagine what I'd come up with?

Thanks for catching that. : )

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In this world you can be either oh so smart or oh so pleasant. I used to be smart. I prefer pleasant. You may quote me. ~Elwood P. Dowd