Nobody's favorite topic: Rebatching

[volya]

I am wondering, when you add fresh fruits, do you need to add some kind of preservative so the fruit doesn't mold?

I think all the water from fruits will evaporate leaving only the fibers which are fine. But I am new to soapmaking and would love to hear opinions of old professionals

 

[DWinMadison]

Any reason not to use strong espresso for liquid in rebatching? I'm thinking it would moderate variation in color and may even leave some residual scent. ???

 

[houseofwool]

I think the scent wouldn't stick (but that is based on my one batch of coffee soap). I am doing a rebatch this weekend and will be using coffee for the liquid and adding cocoa powder for the scent. The batch currently has peppermint EO added, so it will be a peppermint mocha after I am done. Hopefully.

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

Any reason not to use strong espresso for liquid in rebatching? I'm thinking it would moderate variation in color and may even leave some residual scent. ???

You absolutely can use espresso...and it may leave a faint scent (depending if the soap you are rebatching is scented and with what) since its rebatch and doesn't have to go through saponification like straight up CP. I would use a really strong brew.

 

[lizflowers42]

I think the scent wouldn't stick (but that is based on my one batch of coffee soap). I am doing a rebatch this weekend and will be using coffee for the liquid and adding cocoa powder for the scent. The batch currently has peppermint EO added, so it will be a peppermint mocha after I am done. Hopefully.

You will love it. I posted my similar experience here http://www.soapmakingforum.com/f22/peppermint-mocha-cake-rebatch-rebatch-soap-31159/

 

[whitetulips]

Doesn't cookie dough or pureed berries possibly cause it to go rancid? I've heard people talk about this, but wonder if soap gets hot enough for that not to be a problem.

 

[Jerry S]

Daryl....here is a suggestion that you might want to try when rebatching soap. It's a little out of the norm but then this method seemed to work with me after experimenting with it. Your rebatched soap won't have that grainy brown look because all the shreds are incorporated into oils of a new CP batch of soap, and you can color it. You can also add an FO but stay away from any FO that contains vanilla because it will turn the bars tan to brown...
The link is:
http://soapsnlotions.forumotion.net/t7895-mixing-rebatched-shreds-into-cp-soap-batter

 

[DWinMadison]

OK...here we go. I took my ill-fated dalmation soap..the one where I added water to lye causing the lye to clump and form crystals in my soap...ran it through the grater on my food processor, and added to the crock pot along with some strong espresso w/ the grounds intact. Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[DWinMadison]

It looks like german chocolate icing, and I'm on a diet

 

[houseofwool]

Okay - I am in the middle of melting my rebatch and it is taking so much longer than I thought. It has been a couple of hours and there are still shreds visible and no matter how much liquid I add, it isn't getting glossy looking.

I started with 2 pounds of shredded soap. I added 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and close to 1/4 cup of liquid (mostly strong instant espresso. At this point, I cannot smell any chocolate scent at all, just the overwhelming scent of the peppermint. The texture/consistency reminds me of cooling candle wax.

Should I be adding more liquid or sitting on my hands trying to have patience?

 

[DWinMadison]

Search me. This is my first attempt too. I started with about the same amount of soap as you and added probably 1/2 cup espresso by the time it was all said and done.

The rain forest scent from the original scent was still so strong that I didn't add any other fo or eo. I can, of course, smell the espresso. I just piped it into the cylinder mold...which went surprisingly well. I snpped the corner of the crock pot liner (thanks whoever suggested that) and squished it right in. The cylinder is lined with freezer paper, and I'll probably set it sit over night. Hopefully cut pics tomorrow.

 

[DWinMadison]

Okay - I am in the middle of melting my rebatch and it is taking so much longer than I thought. It has been a couple of hours and there are still shreds visible and no matter how much liquid I add, it isn't getting glossy looking.

I started with 2 pounds of shredded soap. I added 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder and close to 1/4 cup of liquid (mostly strong instant espresso. At this point, I cannot smell any chocolate scent at all, just the overwhelming scent of the peppermint. The texture/consistency reminds me of cooling candle wax.

Should I be adding more liquid or sitting on my hands trying to have patience?

Mine took longer too, and yes I still had some shreds. I actually thing it would have looked better if I had left more of them in for contrast.

 

[houseofwool]

I've switched over to the boil'n'bag method that someone else mentioned because the stuff in the crockpot looked like it was burning...

I still can't get it to soften beyond the texture of a stiff cookie dough, which is much to firm to consider piping, or even glopping into the mold.

I am so frustrated by this. I know the soap itself is fine, but the aesthetics were meh. Now? It looks like poo with lice in it.

 

[DWinMadison]

I've switched over to the boil'n'bag method that someone else mentioned because the stuff in the crockpot looked like it was burning...

I still can't get it to soften beyond the texture of a stiff cookie dough, which is much to firm to consider piping, or even glopping into the mold.

I am so frustrated by this. I know the soap itself is fine, but the aesthetics were meh. Now? It looks like poo with lice in it.

Sounds like we are making the same soap. We'll corner the market on Poo-Lice soap! If your liquid is fully absorbed, add a little more.

 

[houseofwool]

I finally gave up and shoved it all in the mold. It never really got any thinner than playdo consistency. I give you, in all its poo-larval glory, my first rebatch. Unfortunately, I have another batch to try and I am feeling a bit sick about doing it again since it was such a failure this time around.

Actually, I think it reminds me of head cheese now. Which isn't exactly the look I was going for. And that bag of yellow shreds is what I started with (which means I have another batch to do).

I am hoping for some guidance on what I could have done differently to prevent it from looking like crap. I wasn't able to put my hands on the beaters for my hand mixer, so I will be making a trip to goodwill to see if I can find another set.

 

[DWinMadison]

Actually, it looks quite good for poo.

 

[Badger]

A nice fibery poo indeed ;-)

 

[DWinMadison]

Here'y my first re-batch. I call it "Lipstick on a Pig"

 

[lizflowers42]

DW it looks great-you have a knack for staging your soaps too!

Houseofwool, I really like the rustic look of it! You might be surprisedat how much you will like it! What about making a fresh batch of soap and adding your yellow shreds for a confetti look?

 

[houseofwool]

I actually love the soap. It has a touch of castor oil in it and the creaminess is delightful. However, the scent still doesn't coordinate with the appearance.

As for the rustic look, it doesn't bother me in the least, but I do need what it looks like to at least give a hint as to what the scent is. Neither the coffee or the cocoa powder made it through rebatching to add anything to the new version.

I have no idea what to do with orange shreds that smell of peppermint...