Rebatch to add scent

[Ugeauxgirl]

I have a nice batch of soap that has completely lost its scent. I want to rebatch to add scent (I'll look at the maximum IFRA scent amounts before I add any). Is one method of rebatching better for this? I was thinking about milling it as I'm not in a hurry...

 

[AliOop]

I am a huge fan of oven rebatching. Cover it in a pan and leave it alone in the oven (or on a heating pad) until it is all melted. Then stir in fragrance, and into the mold it goes.

Sometimes I do stick-blend it a bit to get it more uniform, but even when I don't, the mosaic or terrazo look is kinda cool. Would love to see how yours turns out.

 

[Iglenn]

I am a huge fan of oven rebatching. Cover it in a pan and leave it alone in the oven (or on a heating pad) until it is all melted. Then stir in fragrance, and into the mold it goes.

Sometimes I do stick-blend it a bit to get it more uniform, but even when I don't, the mosaic or terrazo look is kinda cool. Would love to see how yours turns out.

Thanks for that tip! I've never rebatched and wanted to try it. I have soap I made that smells really good, but I must've used too much colorant since the bubbles are a lovely blue. Gonna see what I can do with it. Fingers crossed!

 

[DianaMoon]

I am a huge fan of oven rebatching. Cover it in a pan and leave it alone in the oven (or on a heating pad) until it is all melted. Then stir in fragrance, and into the mold it goes.

Do you first grate or chop it up or just let the oven do the magic? Add water? I have some ugly but promising stuff that's screaming "rebatch me! I have such potential!"

 

[AliOop]

I grate if it is soft enough, and chop if it's too hard. I definitely add some water and then leave it alone in the oven.

 

[DianaMoon]

I grate if it is soft enough, and chop if it's too hard. I definitely add some water and then leave it alone in the oven.

Do you put a cover on? 300F OK? I gotta do this.

Update: it's grated & in a 300 oven, covered (with one of those tempered glass things that has a tiny hole).

It was still softish so I added only 2 TBSPs of water.

 

[AliOop]

Do you put a cover on? 300F OK? I gotta do this.

When I rebatch in my turkey roaster pan, I definitely cover it. I've done it both ways in the oven, and prefer covering it so that it doesn't dry out.

 

[DianaMoon]

When I rebatch in my turkey roaster pan, I definitely cover it. I've done it both ways in the oven, and prefer covering it so that it doesn't dry out.

See my update. I used my food processor & didn't use the grater attachment this time. I used the regular blade & guess what happened: since as we all know soap loves to stick to everything except itself, the soap will coat the inner surface of the processor bowl very finely, and will not stick to it. Awesome! It doesn't really clump up either. This is a keeper. The fine soap film isn't hard to clean off at all.

 

[AliOop]

Yes, the food processor is great as long as the soap is not super hard. That's the same thing with water: you don't need much unless the soap is super hard. Some folks use a mister-sprayer bottle to wet the shreds, and others soak them. Mine are usually soft enough that I only need a few T of water to loosen it all up.

 

[DianaMoon]

This worked great. I'm not sure I improved the look of the soap - we'll see - but at least I got to add more fragrance... when I added the FO the batter became a nicer consistency, more pliable.

This is helpful. I did mine at 350, but if I'd read that I'd have done it at 200-250. Next time

 

[Zany_in_CO]

OVEN REBATCH

PRETTY IN PINK REBATCH WITH PICS

 

[DianaMoon]

OVEN REBATCH

PRETTY IN PINK REBATCH WITH PICS

Replying here because that thread is old - I did 350 for 15 minutes and my soap was melted. Two TBSPS water - when I took it out I added a sprinkle more water. Then the FO added some more pliability. Next time I'll go lower & slower but it all goes to show that with rebatching you are in the land of improvisation. There are no hard & fast proportion rules, it seems. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

There are no hard & fast proportion rules, it seems. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Nope. You're not wrong. Spot on, actually. There are "no hard & fast rules" but the above referenced thread offers guidelines that generally apply to most soaps.

 

[AliOop]

Replying here because that thread is old - I did 350 for 15 minutes and my soap was melted. Two TBSPS water - when I took it out I added a sprinkle more water. Then the FO added some more pliability. Next time I'll go lower & slower but it all goes to show that with rebatching you are in the land of improvisation. There are no hard & fast proportion rules, it seems. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Wow, 350F and melted in 15 minutes? I'm definitely going to try that next time!

 

[DianaMoon]

Wow, 350F and melted in 15 minutes? I'm definitely going to try that next time!

Hold on - I wouldn't do that if I were you. I think it went too fast. I have a small electric oven & the vessel I batched in was big so I put it on the lowest shelf, which I would have rather not done. I'd continue to do what you've done so far.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Deleted.

 

[DianaMoon]

@AliOop Yes, it's like @DianaMoon said -- "it's all about proportion". For example,

Actually, I said, "There are no hard & fast proportion rules, it seems."

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Actually, I said, "There are no hard & fast proportion rules, it seems."

Sorry. I hate it when I do that. I stand corrected.

 

[AliOop]

Well, I like pushing the boundaries, and I like getting things done quickly. So I don't mind potentially sacrificing a pot of rebatch by heating it on higher heat for shorter time. Worst case scenario, the oven gets really, REALLY clean.

 

[DianaMoon]

Well, I like pushing the boundaries, and I like getting things done quickly. So I don't mind potentially sacrificing a pot of rebatch by heating it on higher heat for shorter time. Worst case scenario, the oven gets really, REALLY clean.

Go for it, then! But if I do another rebatch, I'm going lower & slower. This rebatch didn't turn out quite as smooth as I'd have liked & I think low & slow would have accomplished that but try a batch & see how it goes. Someone on the other thread gave up on a rebatch when it was hard, and was told that she gave up too early. I think I did that. I'm not only impatient, I sometimes lack the courage of my soaping convictions. I have to work on that as I worked on my lye anxiety.