Grating soap and remoulding it

[Jennfromoz]

I just made my first batch, well tried to. I had quite a few bars of hotel soap which I grated. I made a cup of gratings. I looked up the internet and was instructed to add half the amount of water and melt in a double boiler which I did. It melted but didn't quite get pourable. It got the texture of plasticine. I added fragrance and colours and mixed but the consistency didn't change.
The only thing I could do was to push it into moulds.
What did I do wrong? As I said, this is my very first time doing this.
Thanks.

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

I just made my first batch, well tried to. I had quite a few bars of hotel soap which I grated. I made a cup of gratings. I looked up the internet and was instructed to add half the amount of water and melt in a double boiler which I did. It melted but didn't quite get pourable. It got the texture of plasticine. I added fragrance and colours and mixed but the consistency didn't change.
The only thing I could do was to push it into moulds.
What did I do wrong? As I said, this is my very first time doing this.
Thanks.

Often when I re-batch my handmade soap' the amount of water varies to get soap pourable again. I've found my re-batch soap is usually not pourable but rather a plop in mold type consistency and texture. Their are many post on re-batching soap techniques here, looking in the search bar will give you great info. I've never tried to re-batch hotel soaps which I think ( just a guess) for the most part it issn't soap but a detergent' that cleans & does it's job, sorry I digress & sound like a ( Handmade Soap Snob ) so sorry I dont want to come off as sounding this way however when you make your first "Handmade" soap the feeling is truly so uplifting' you'll never forget it. I'm excited to hear all about it if you ever take the plunge. Try adding water a little at a time tell its more of a pourable consistency but don't overdo it you may end up with soap that won't set up. Happy Soaping.

 

[Jennfromoz]

Yes I thought maybe I didn't put enough water in. I want to start off with the very basics first before graduating to using lye and oils. I thought I'd start with the many hotel soaps I have which I won't use anyway, then get soap base, then when I'm confident with that, start making it from scratch. I'm looking forward to that but a bit nervous about working with lye, as I know I'll need to get the measurements exact or it can be volatile. Anyway thanks for this.

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

Yes I thought maybe I didn't put enough water in. I want to start off with the very basics first before graduating to using lye and oils. I thought I'd start with the many hotel soaps I have which I won't use anyway, then get soap base, then when I'm confident with that, start making it from scratch. I'm looking forward to that but a bit nervous about working with lye, as I know I'll need to get the measurements exact or it can be volatile. Anyway thanks for this.

Yes understandable' I was so scared & nervous on using "lye" for the first time. If you review the safety guidelines using lye you will come out victorious. . Bramble Berry has some wonderful videos for "Lye Safety" & first time soapers with step by step instructions & recipes too. Youtube does as-well. the more videos you watch the more you'll become comfortable in designing & creating your first soap...

 

[Babyshoes]

I understand the concerns about lye, and of course safety precautions need to be taken, but it's not really as scary as it's made out to be as long as you're careful.

Respect the lye, don't fear it.

You may even have used it to clean your drains without realising what it was.
If you can cook food or use bleach to clean, you can use lye. The level of risk is similar.

Wear gloves and goggles, and cover your arms, legs and feet. If it gets on your skin, don't panic but rinse it immediately with cool water, as you would for a burn. Clean your surfaces afterwards with plenty of water or vinegar. Don't put your face over it when it's producing fumes, and give those fumes a way to escape, such as an open window or cooker extraction fan.

 

[Relle]

Yes I thought maybe I didn't put enough water in. I want to start off with the very basics first before graduating to using lye and oils. I thought I'd start with the many hotel soaps I have which I won't use anyway, then get soap base, then when I'm confident with that, start making it from scratch. I'm looking forward to that but a bit nervous about working with lye, as I know I'll need to get the measurements exact or it can be volatile. Anyway thanks for this.

It is easier than you think as everyone has said. If I were you I'd start making your own from scratch, that way you know how it's made and you won't have any trouble trying to do it with guess soaps. Make it without any colour and scent, that way to get to know the process. I noticed you used a cake tin, with a silicon patty, it's best to stay away from aluminium. Just get a milk carton, cut the top off and pour your soap in that, then you can cut it away to slice it. You can get oils you need from Coles as well as the lye ( in the cleaning isle). Don't use the drain cleaner, use the one that says for soap. Have a good read in the beginners section, you'll glean a lot of info there.

 

[AliOop]

You mentioned the possibility of getting soap base, which I'm guessing is Melt & Pour (M&P) soap base. If you don't feel up for messing with lye just yet, M&P can be a whole lot of fun. You get to add colors and scent, and pour it into nice-shaped molds if you'd like.

M&P won't be quite as luxurious for your skin as fully hand-crafted soap, but it can still be a very fun and enjoyable hobby. I actually never tried it till after I'd made hot processed, cold processed, and liquid soaps. At that point, I wanted something I could do with my grandkids, who are too young to be around lye solution. M&P is the perfect solution, and they always love making soap with me when they come to my house.

 

[Jennfromoz]

Yes I was thinking of using melt and pour, as you can do alot with it. I remembered that I had an ice cream container worth of hotel soap so I thought I'd start with this.

Also when you do grate up soap and remelt it, how much water do you need to use? I used 1 water to 2 soap gratings, which the internet instructed, and it didn't work. I know if you put too much water with it it won't set. What is the magic number for water? Or how do I know I have used the right amount?

 

[AliOop]

Grating up hotel soap was also my very first soaping attempt many moons ago. What I didn't know then is that commercial soap has had the glycerin removed and detergent ingredients added. Then it has been milled to make it very, very hard.

All of those factors makes it very difficult to melt and reconstitute most commercial soap. Grating it into very fine shreds will help, but even then, it's not very meltable. Because each bar is made from a slightly different recipe, and has cured for different time periods, there is no way to know how much water will be needed.

Yes, many websites post tutorials for this "easy" process. One has to wonder if the author simply made up the whole thing, or perhaps just fudged the results. Then other bloggers republish it as gospel truth, causing the urban legend to grow.

I'm not trying to discourage you from continuing to try, as long as you are comfortable with realities of re-melting commercial bar soap. It can be a high-frustration, low reward project, to be sure.

 

[Jennfromoz]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I don't think I'll try this again. My next assignment will be using melt and pour soap and making something artistic.
I thinking of a "seaside soap" where I'll start with glycerine, blue coloured soap, then put a small shell and fish moulded soap on that and finish with the "sand" white soap coloured beige/yellow with oatmeal added.
Has anyone done something like that?

 

[AliOop]

That sounds beautiful! You can find some nice YT tutorials for something similar to what you have described. Here's one by Dean Wilson. He has a lot of nice M&P tutorials on his site.