Soap not melting

[Grizzly]

Hi,
I am new to making soap and this forum and I have run into a bit of a problem.
I have made some CP soap that I am now wanting to colour and add scent to.
I have watched numerous you tube videos on melting the soap in the microwave to make it into a liquid so that it can be coloured, scented and remoulded, however, when I have tried to do this the soap never melts it just sort of foams for a while (pushes the lid off the container) and turns into a kind of jelly state.
I have tried it several times with several different CP recipes and have added a small amount of water to some, a dribble of olive oil to others, and still others nothing but the soap only to obtain the same result ... jelly and not liquid.
I have even tried to do M&P in my slow cooker, a process which also produces jelly.
The soap resets fine and is useable but it does not get liquid enough for me to be able to add colouring and scent, nor ever to be able to pour it into a mould.
Any advice of what I am doing wrong, or what I am not doing that I should be doing?

 

[sperry]

I'm new too... have used the microwave and double boiler to melt it. Do you chop it up before putting in the microwave? Is your microwave old and maybe going on the fritz? Or set on a low temp? I can't see how it CAN"T work... but... like I said, I'm new too. I'd try the double boiler. I prefer it to the microwaye.

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

Are you trying to melt CP or MP in the microwave?
CP will NOT return to a liquid state once saponified. It will return to a jelly "Vaseline" state, which you CAN color, scent, and remold. It's called rebatching. I do not recommend rebatching in the microwave. Have you tried a crock pot or double boiler? Grating or chopping the CP soap and putting it in a crock pot on low works great. A double boiler works fine too with the same method. You can also use a boil-in-bag in boiling water, too. You can add a SMALL amount of liquid (milk, a superfatting oil, a hydrosol) if you want, but it usually isn't necessary. It's really difficult to get rebatched (or HP soap) to pour into a mold, however, if you put it in a ziplock bag and cut the corner, you can squeeze it into the mold and it may look smoother.
MP can be done in the microwave, crock pot on low-medium or double boiler and WILL return to a liquid state. Keep it covered so it doesn't loose it's moisture and zap it for a minute or so at a time. MP should not be "jelly" like, so if it does turn to jelly, you are seriously overheating it and its lost its moisture.

 

[Grizzly]

The microwave is new and I put it through a grater first.
I run the microwave for a minute at a time and stir in between each minute.
At the moment I have a slow cooker filled with some soap I made a month ago ... it currently looks like gum from a tree

It is a CP soap I made from olive oil

 

[heatherg23]

I just found out to about the fact that it won't melt. You can use a cheese grater. That's what i'm going to do.

Here's an idea....
http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/soapmakingbasics/ss/rebatchingsoap_3.htm