# Rebatching Ivory soap?



## MrsFusion (Oct 6, 2010)

I bought a big pkg of Ivory bars today, that I was going to shred. But, when I opened the pkg they seemed very moist!!!  I don't remember Ivory being like that...but, it has been YEARS since I've used Ivory too.

So now they are sitting on wire racks "drying".  I was afraid that if I tried grating them, it would be just a mushy mess!  I guess I could be wrong though???  I was going to melt them in my crockpot, add my fragrance and pour into a mold.  This was going to be my first batch...now I'm sad I can't do it tonight.  And I have to get up early and go on a field trip with my son's class tomorrow...so I have to wait until friday to play  :x 

I do have two questions.  Do I need to add any water when it is melting?  My mold holds 64 oz. and I know that I will need 64 oz of melted soap...and can I add any oils to it?


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## Sillysoap (Oct 6, 2010)

I don't have any answers but as a newbie, why would you melt down ivory in place of making CP or HP soap?


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## MrsFusion (Oct 6, 2010)

I don't have lye yet


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## DottieF. (Oct 6, 2010)

You're not really making soap by melting down Ivory. You're just wasting fragrance on crap soap. Go to the hardware store and get some lye and make some good soap Dottie


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## carebear (Oct 7, 2010)

MrsFusion said:
			
		

> I bought a big pkg of Ivory bars today, that I was going to shred. But, when I opened the pkg they seemed very moist!!!  I don't remember Ivory being like that...but, it has been YEARS since I've used Ivory too.
> 
> So now they are sitting on wire racks "drying".  I was afraid that if I tried grating them, it would be just a mushy mess!  I guess I could be wrong though???  I was going to melt them in my crockpot, add my fragrance and pour into a mold.  This was going to be my first batch...now I'm sad I can't do it tonight.  And I have to get up early and go on a field trip with my son's class tomorrow...so I have to wait until friday to play  :x
> 
> I do have two questions.  Do I need to add any water when it is melting?  My mold holds 64 oz. and I know that I will need 64 oz of melted soap...and can I add any oils to it?



sounds like a fun activity - have at it.  but Ivory shouldn't be soft!  give grating a go, though - or if it's too soft for that then chop it into bits instead!

you can add a little oil, but not much.

enjoy your new obsession!


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## Sillysoap (Oct 7, 2010)

OH ok now I understand, I thought there was something I hadn't learned yet. Just a side note the bar being soft would make it easier to grate.  Let us know how it works out for you!!


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## tespring (Oct 7, 2010)

I tried to melt some ivory soap to make this recipe that called for soap flakes (I think it was for whipped soap) and it said to use ivory bar soap if you could not find soap flakes.  It was a mess, I microwaved it and it STUNK...omg did it stink.   It smelled rancid, I dont know if it over heated or what, but it was not good at all.  HTH!
Good luck on your soaping project.


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## Hazel (Oct 7, 2010)

There's a lady at our local farmer's market that rebatches Ivory and adds cornmeal to it. I bought a bar of it out of curiousity. I don't care for Ivory but it was quite nice and very scrubby. Rebatching the Ivory would be good practice. I wouldn't use fragrance in it but you could add some cornmeal or oatmeal for practice.

If it helps, I get my lye from thelyeguy.com.


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## ewenique (Oct 7, 2010)

I tried rebatching Ivory once - never again.  It was ugly.  Ivory doesn't have any glycerin, so would be quite drying.  You could try adding glycerin as the liquid and see what happens.


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## MrsFusion (Oct 7, 2010)

I have coconut oil, olive oil, almond oil and jojoba oil.  I would like to add one...which would be best?  Again this is just a practice run...don't want to waste my supplies...

Cornmeal...I could try that too 
When would I add the cornmeal?  When I turn the heat off or right before I put in the molds?


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## Hazel (Oct 7, 2010)

MrsFusion said:
			
		

> I have coconut oil, olive oil, almond oil and jojoba oil.  I would like to add one...which would be best?  Again this is just a practice run...don't want to waste my supplies...
> 
> Cornmeal...I could try that too
> When would I add the cornmeal?  When I turn the heat off or right before I put in the molds?



One of my BILs has severe psoriasis and he has found that Ivory is the only soap that doesn't cause him any problems. There is a new Ivory which does contain glycerin. Perhaps you have the new Ivory and that's why it is moist.

I'm not an expert but I would add almond or olive since they're more conditioning. I wouldn't add much. Maybe a teaspoon or so per pound because the oil might diminish the lather. 

Cornmeal is extremely abrasive. You might want to run it through a coffee grinder before adding unless you love super scrubs.   Again, if you add too much it might diminish the lather. I don't know how much to even suggest that you add. Maybe someone else can give you an amount. I'd add the cornmeal right before you put it in the molds.


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## donniej (Oct 7, 2010)

Heat a gallon or two of water in a big pot.  Add salt until it won't hold anymore.  Cut the ivory into small pieces and put it in the salt water.  The soap will float as curds on top of the salt water.  Most of the fragrance should stay in the water.  

After the soap curds and floats on top of the hot salt water, scoop them out and mix with a little olive oil and fragrance.  Press into molds and allow to cool.  Unmold and allow to dry.  

I'm not sure exactly what you'll end up with but it should be interesting


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## MrsFusion (Oct 7, 2010)

I started at 7pm tonight.

I grated 10 bars of the Simply Ivory(99.44 pure) into the crockpot.  I added 2T of almond oil and 2T distilled water.  

It's 10pm now and it looks like very thick mashed potatoes.  I'm going to turn off the heat at 10:30 and then press into the mold as soon as I can.  So far, so good 

Well, it was a bust.

I took it out of the mold this morning.  It's very soft and clumpy still in spots, like it didn't get melted enough???  I was able to cut it into bars, but it's a bit crumbly.  My 8 & 10 yr olds will enjoy making soap boats out of these...if they don't fall apart when they get wet???

I have pictures if anyone wants to see....not much to see though....more like what not to do...lol!

It was a good learning experience.  I'm going to go buy some lye today and give CP a try 
Just waiting for the DH to leave...he doesn't know about my soap playing in the basement yet  :shock: 

Off to look for a good soap loaf mold online!


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## Hazel (Oct 8, 2010)

I'm sorry it didn't work out for you.


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## soapbuddy (Oct 9, 2010)

Get yourself some lye and oils and go for it. We'll be here to help you trouble shoot.


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## xyxoxy (Oct 9, 2010)

Yeah I have to say if you want to do something fun and productive you just need to jump in with both feet and make soap. If you are like most of us you will have plenty of ugly batches over time that will need to be rebatched and if you are like me you will learn to hate rebatching. 

Good luck with it and have fun.


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## ewenique (Oct 9, 2010)

Aw now, I have had to rebatch aplenty, and I don't mind it a bit since I enjoy the learning process.  Usually my rebatch is nicer than the original.  One batch I redid about four times before I was satisfied with the result.


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## oreo_spud (Nov 18, 2017)

*re batching ivory soap*

I've used Ivory soap (it's cheap for a first time trial, and cautious about using lye), grating it and melting it down in a double boiler pot and adding some water to the melted soap to make it pliable.  I may have added glycerine, also... I don't remember.  It hasn't come out pretty or super smooth, but, I'be been able to add some essential oils to the mix and also earl grey tea leaves.  I've hardened the soap in moulds (washed plastic tray from a box of chocolates) in the fridge, because I must've read that somewhere.  I've used the bars of soap, and they've stored ok for quite awhile.  I kept them in a zip lock bag.  I didn't add a lot to the mixture, maybe that's why they lasted?


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## shunt2011 (Nov 18, 2017)

oreo_spud said:


> I've used Ivory soap (it's cheap for a first time trial, and cautious about using lye), grating it and melting it down in a double boiler pot and adding some water to the melted soap to make it pliable.  I may have added glycerine, also... I don't remember.  It hasn't come out pretty or super smooth, but, I'be been able to add some essential oils to the mix and also earl grey tea leaves.  I've hardened the soap in moulds (washed plastic tray from a box of chocolates) in the fridge, because I must've read that somewhere.  I've used the bars of soap, and they've stored ok for quite awhile.  I kept them in a zip lock bag.  I didn't add a lot to the mixture, maybe that's why they lasted?





This post is 7 years old. Welcome but please read the forum rules and stickies. The OP hasn’t been here in a long time.


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