What to do with Ugly Soap

[Arky]

What do you do with soap that doesn't turn out well visually? I have several batches of soap that accelerated too much on me (seized, I think). I ended up squishing them into a mold, but they came out with odd shapes and pockmarks because I wasn't able to get them into the mold evenly. What techniques do you all use to avoid having oodles of odd-looking soap to use up yourself?

Alternatively, what can I do with seized batter so the soap doesn't come out ugly in the first place?

Pictures of some of my unsatisfactory soap for reference:


Monster 'Mojis & Ugly Rose

 

[KristaY]

When I have soap I'm not happy with I either shred (grate) it or chop it up and use it as embeds in another batch. If you do it, it's easiest to grate, chop or shred as soon as possible while the soap is still soft. But it can certainly be done at any time.

One thing you can try when you get an FO that causes your batter to seize is to let it start to gel in your mixing container. Once it starts to heat up it'll become a bit more fluid so you can get it into a mold a little easier. I had a particular FO that caused the batter to seize so quickly it went from batter to too hard to move to HOT in about 1 minute. Luckily it happened so quickly I didn't have time to give it much thought so just mashed it into a mold. The soap was a bit scary since I couldn't get the FO completely mixed in due to the major seize so I pitched it to be safe.

I've also gotten into the habit of having my DH help when I'm going to use a known accelerator like florals and pine tar. I SB the batter to emulsion then have him pour the FO while I'm whisking my butt off so it all incorporates, then pour quickly. This method has really helped me with those lovely but bad behaving scents!

 

[Dawni]

If it's just visually ugly, I use it in the kitchen for washing hands, like if it's crumbly or pockmarked.

Sometimes I still use em in the shower if everything went well and just the swirls or colors went wrong. I think I make good soap, even if they're not all good looking.

I have a batch that I shaved into thin slices and I carry those around with me for using in public toilets.

Or I just rebatch it, incorporating it into raw CP soap batter. I've gotten good results with those, especially if they're fresh and/or the colors are uniform. The rest are confetti, still waiting to be used.

Thankfully I don't have a lot of any of the above lol

 

[dixiedragon]

Confetti soap - mixing chunks and shreds into a new batch. I think it's more visually interesting to have a mix of big and small pieces, of long thin strips and squarish chunks. Roughly 50/50 new soap batter to old soap bits. Gel - this will get the soap chunks a bit melty so they will meld with the new soap.

In the future, you can put your soap pot back on the stove (this is why I soap in a pot and not in a bucket). Turn on the lowest heat setting to gently push it to gel. Google Hot Process soapmaking to see pictures of the process.

 

[Obsidian]

Just use them, doesn't matter how they look. I used to try and fix soap, I don't bother anymore.
I'd either end up with really ugly rebatch or a excess amount of soap trying to confetti it all.

If I get seize, I wrap the bowl in a towel until it gels. Then it will be fluid enough to stir and pour.

 

[Nanette]

I have chopped soaps into smallish squares to add --they really are cute. I usually use my trimmings for confetti soap..you can layer a solid color with a confetti line of soap--I think it was Kiwimoose? who did that and looked really nice. I once cut up a bar of annatto infused soap which was a lovely gold, mixed the cubes with a white soap hoping to have a contrast....all the color migrated out of the cubes so the bar was even white-ish, including cubes. I give up.

 

[Arky]

When you do confetti soap, how strongly do the original scents come through? Should I keep different scents separated to make sure I add a complimentary FO to my rebatch? Or does it not matter?

Thanks everyone.

 

[dixiedragon]

The original scents come through pretty strong. If you do a rebatch (melting the soap down to a liquid again), then that does tend to kill off or weaken the scent.

Personally, I like to make the new batch in a different scent that I think will complement the shreds. But you can use the original scent as well.

 

[earlene]

Some scents are stronger than others. I once had a scent that was so strong (and I hated it, making it even worse) that re-batching twice (mixing with new soap) did not sufficiently diminish to my satisfaction. I doubt I will ever bother trying to diminish a fragrance in that fashion again, though.

 

[dixiedragon]

@ earlene - IMO, if you hate a scent that much, it's better to give it away. SOMEBODY out there will love it.

 

[dixiedragon]

When you do confetti soap, how strongly do the original scents come through? Should I keep different scents separated to make sure I add a complimentary FO to my rebatch? Or does it not matter?

Thanks everyone.

To expand on this a bit, I have several empty lard buckets that I sort my shreds into, by scent category. A floral bucket, a green bucket, etc. My little scraps, etc, go in there.

 

[earlene]

@ earlene - IMO, if you hate a scent that much, it's better to give it away. SOMEBODY out there will love it.

As a matter of fact I did give all of it away, but only after I subdued the scent. Perhaps I should have given it away sooner, but it was so strong it was making the whole upstairs of my house unbearable to me. But you are right, next time I come across one that bothers me that much, I'll donate it somewhere fast rather than trying to subdue it. Even subdued, I couldn't bear it in the same room with me.

 

[dixiedragon]

I'm nosy, what was the scent? I can't think of a scent that I hated that much, lol. I've got a sample bottle that I think I would dislike that much but that's why I've never used it.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Use them with your eyes closed

 

[earlene]

I'm nosy, what was the scent? I can't think of a scent that I hated that much, lol. I've got a sample bottle that I think I would dislike that much but that's why I've never used it.

I am not at home to look at my notes. It was some sort of holiday spiciness, that was just way too much for me. I may even have mixed two together, but just don't really recall the specifics without my notes.

 

[glendam]

When I have soap I'm not happy with I either shred (grate) it or chop it up and use it as embeds in another batch. If you do it, it's easiest to grate, chop or shred as soon as possible while the soap is still soft. But it can certainly be done at any time.

One thing you can try when you get an FO that causes your batter to seize is to let it start to gel in your mixing container. Once it starts to heat up it'll become a bit more fluid so you can get it into a mold a little easier. I had a particular FO that caused the batter to seize so quickly it went from batter to too hard to move to HOT in about 1 minute. Luckily it happened so quickly I didn't have time to give it much thought so just mashed it into a mold. The soap was a bit scary since I couldn't get the FO completely mixed in due to the major seize so I pitched it to be safe.

I've also gotten into the habit of having my DH help when I'm going to use a known accelerator like florals and pine tar. I SB the batter to emulsion then have him pour the FO while I'm whisking my butt off so it all incorporates, then pour quickly. This method has really helped me with those lovely but bad behaving scents!

What do you do with soap that doesn't turn out well visually? I have several batches of soap that accelerated too much on me (seized, I think). I ended up squishing them into a mold, but they came out with odd shapes and pockmarks because I wasn't able to get them into the mold evenly. What techniques do you all use to avoid having oodles of odd-looking soap to use up yourself?

Alternatively, what can I do with seized batter so the soap doesn't come out ugly in the first place?

Pictures of some of my unsatisfactory soap for reference:

View attachment 40511 View attachment 40512
Monster 'Mojis & Ugly Rose

 

[glendam]

Today I experimented with chopping similar colors together and making shapes that I will use as top embeds. I added water to some and alcohol to others, and let them soak for a few minutes so I could smash them together. It sort of looks like a messy mosaic. I could only do so much confetti soap.