Liquid for Re-batch ...

[alisondmurray]

hello every one

I make a lot re-batched extra scrubby bars from old shavings, old soap etc. What I do is weight out the amount of shreds I need and pour over a some liquid, and let them sit overnight to start softening up. I am talking enough to kinda coat the shreds not let them sit in liquid. When re-batching I use liquid castile or any of my liquid soap I have on hand. I find it helps facilitate the melting down and makes a harder bar by the next day. I am not saying do this and take to market, but it makes quite a difference in the hardness of the rebatched soaps. Even my hubby notices the difference. Sometimes I still add in some yogurt, milk, water, etc but I always use some LS. Sorry I do not weight out my liquids I just go by how the soap is melting down.

 

[dixiedragon]

That is an interesting idea! By liquid castile, are you using something like Dr. Bronner's or something you've made yourself?

 

[cmzaha]

Why would you not take them to market I do. I have been using LS for melting down shreds for several years. My re-batched scrubby mud bars are a great seller for me

 

[amd]

I have 6lbs of soap scraps that I was going to resume my cream soap experiments with... after making a couple of confetti bars anyways. It never occured to me to rebatch them. I may have to try rebatching with some liquid soap. My usual rebatch process is to melt in the crockpot without any additional liquid. Once it gets to a mostly melted state then I start adding in water until it becomes fluid enough to get into a mold without huge air gaps. @cmzaha or @alisondmurray do you think I would be able to do it this way adding in the liquid soap instead of water? I could add water upfront when I start melting, I just never found a need for it.

 

[cmzaha]

Sure you could ^^^ I actually started using LS because it just does not sell for me, my daughter quit her end and I hate throwing out product. My daughter also used my Castile is some of her products such as whipped frostings

 

[amd]

Sure yo could ^^^ I actually started using LS because it just does not sell for me, my daughter quit her end and I hate throwing out product. My daughter also used my Castile is some of her products such as whipped frostings

I have about 30 ounces of liquid soap paste to use up from various attempts at making LS. (I can't for the life of me get a good dilution rate, it's either paste or water...) So for rebatching it really would be ok to use an over diluted LS. I'd take care of two of my problem children at the same time. I just can't throw out soap, and this would help use up some of the paste stock.

[side note: my next LS attempt is going to be following the GLS thread to the letter and see if I can get a good result, but I have to get rid of evidence from my failures first...]

 

[madison]

Looks good idea to me, I have LS but not castile, I like to try it with my soap scrapes.

 

[cmzaha]

You can use any liquid soap you have. It really is not magic, mainly a way for me to use up a bucket of LS

 

[amd]

So last night I was tinkering in my soap lab - I had a batch of soap to cut, some embeds to work on, soap on the cure rack to fondle.... and this rebatching thread was stuck in my head. So I measured off 20 ounces of soap scraps into the crockpot and added 5 ounces of water, popped the lid on and am letting it soak until I get home tonight. There was no rhyme or reason to my numbers other than 20 ounces of scraps filled my crockpot to a bit more than half full (5/8 full if you want to be technical, lol) and then 1/4 the scrap weight in water seemed to coat all the scraps nicely with a bit of folding. I'll post more after it is done.

I'm really curious to see how this changes a rebatch. I have some rebatch bars that just came off the cure rack so I am going to take some pictures of the lather and make notes, so that I can compare when this "new" rebatch comes off the cure rack. I imagine there will be some differences, just based on the differences of soap used in the rebatch - the cured is a beer soap that was 5 weeks old when I rebatched it, the scrap experiment is a mixed bag of coconut milk, beer, aloe vera soaps with some scraps being as old as 3 years and as new as last night. After typing all that out... I realize my comparison is going to be skewed so much, now I'm wondering if I should just make some new soap and rebatch into two separate methods, or just hang it all and not worry about the differences. I really need to get rid of my tote of scraps and excess liquid paste. (I'm rambly today, sorry. No grownups to talk to at work.)

 

[Zany_in_CO]

This is the method I use to rebatch failed batches -- 60 oz oils batch; 90 oz soap shreds.

250°F OVEN REBATCH

Grate soap (I use a Presto Salad Shooter) into a large stainless steel pot and add liquid, if necessary.

Soap made with ANIMAL fats - Use distilled water.
Soap made with VEGIE oils - Use milk.

FRESH, less than a week-old - No added liquid.
OLDER than a week - Add liquid.

Add up to 9 oz. liquid maximum for 16-24 oz. grated soap.

Vegetable oils need animal fats to melt down more completely. So use MILK instead of WATER to wet down the grated soap. ANY kind of milk...from skim to goat's milk to wet the soap. ICE COLD from the fridge.

It's not necessary to add lots of liquid in order to melt the soap down. The fresher the soap, the less liquid you'll use. The older/drier the soap, the closer you'll get to the maximum 9 oz. liquid per 16 oz. soap.

Usually, you’ll only need enough liquid to dampen the gratings. The fresher the soap is, the easier it is to melt because there is sufficient liquid trapped INSIDE the soap to allow it to melt easily.

METHOD

Preheat oven to 250°F (120°C).
Lower oven rack to accommodate a large stainless steel pot.
Add grated soap to large stainless steel pot.
Add liquid, if needed. Toss lightly to wet all gratings.
Cover and cook 1 hour, undisturbed.

At the end of the hour, the soap should be almost completely molten. Give it a stir. You can add any additives now. An ounce of sunflower oil will make it more workable. Return to oven for another 5 minutes or so. Give it another quick stir and mold up.

NOTES: If the soap isn’t completely molten after an hour, continue cooking another 20 minutes. Repeat as necessary until it is.

If none or very little soap is melted after an hour, add more liquid, give a quick stir, and cook for another hour. How much liquid to add and how long to cook depends on how old and how dried out the soap is.

HTH

 

[amd]

I melted down my 20 oz. of scraps on Friday night. It took about 8 tbsp of liquid soap to get it to the consistency I like for plopping in the mold - compared to the 4-5 tbsp water that I usually use. Although, to be fair, that is also for very young soap that needs to be rebatched, and these scraps were a mixed bag of new and old (years old). I also added 1 tbsp pumice powder to it, I figured if it was going to be ugly it should at least be useful! I tried a scrap right off the end, and I was rather impressed with the feel! I was worried that the liquid soap would lend a drying feel to it. I don't know if this is something I will do with all 6lbs of scraps, but it will help make a dent in the bucket at least.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

(I'm rambly today, sorry. No grownups to talk to at work.)

Not rambly at all. Thoughtful and interesting!

Re: Post #11:

 

[cjisler]

It never occurred to me to use LS! I’ve always just used something with lactic acid in it like buttermilk or whey. It makes it more fluid.
Thank you for starting this thread.
Carol in SC

 

[amd]

Ugly but functional "Everything but the kitchen sink" soap. If I were to sell this I don't even know how I would label it...

 

[BattleGnome]

If I were to sell this I don't even know how I would label it... View attachment 30173

Chocolate funfetti came to mind. I think you could pull it off with a strong enough fragrance

 

[amd]

It's really more of a concrete gray than the picture shows. (There's no light over the cure rack, so colors look out of whack. Interesting that I just noticed that it appears to be the same brown as the soap next to it. IRL the two aren't even close to the same color.) The smell is interesting... it's such a mixed bag of fragrances in the scraps, I wasn't sure what I would get. It's definitely not a "soap" smell that you would get from an unscented soap. It's kind of floral and candy like. I don't know if adding a fragrance would improve it or not. I'm leaning towards "not", but I'm the first to admit that I'm not the best at fragrances either.

 

[Steve85569]

Another brick in the stall?

 

[amd]

Ugly but functional "Everything but the kitchen sink" soap. If I were to sell this I don't even know how I would label it... View attachment 30173

I should have been more clear... I don't know how I would list the ingredients on the label. There's beer, coconut milk, apple cider, pumpkin, avocado, potato, and aloe vera soaps, some with fragrance, essential oil, oatmeal, apricot powder, I'm sure there's some in there from my early experiments with natural color (chocolate, tomato paste, rosemary powder, cinnamon, AC, calendula), and oils... I have played with a lot of oils. It gives me a headache just thinking about all the possibilities. Probably confirms that I will never try to label it for sale and just make it for personal use. I need to make friends with mechanics and gardeners who do not need a pretty soap, just a nice scrubby soap.

 

[Lin19687]

What do you all Scent with for a rebatch of already scented soaps.
Do you smell it first?
I tried but obviously picked the wrong FO to add and ended up tossing it all.

 

[madison]

I melted down my 20 oz. of scraps on Friday night. It took about 8 tbsp of liquid soap to get it to the consistency I like for plopping in the mold - compared to the 4-5 tbsp water that I usually use. Although, to be fair, that is also for very young soap that needs to be rebatched, and these scraps were a mixed bag of new and old (years old). I also added 1 tbsp pumice powder to it, I figured if it was going to be ugly it should at least be useful! I tried a scrap right off the end, and I was rather impressed with the feel! I was worried that the liquid soap would lend a drying feel to it. I don't know if this is something I will do with all 6lbs of scraps, but it will help make a dent in the bucket at least.

amd, you used the diluted LS not the paste, right? I want to be sure before I start making mine.