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nats
Joined: 12 Jun 2007
Posts: 796
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 Posted: Sun Nov 08, 09 10:36 pm Post subject: |
 
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maybe an oldfasioned grater that you wind the handle with (what do you call those things?) would work for grating soap not nuckles? Especially for little bits but less good for big bits I guess... |
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sean
Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28908
Location: North Devon
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| Posted: Sun Nov 08, 09 10:40 pm Post subject: |
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A Mouli grater?
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nats
Joined: 12 Jun 2007
Posts: 796
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| Posted: Sun Nov 08, 09 10:41 pm Post subject: |
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that be it that be |
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marigold
Joined: 02 Sep 2005
Posts: 8115
Location: West Sussex
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 09 8:22 am Post subject: |
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I've got one of those, but I think it might grate the soap too fine? |
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sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 13934
Location: sunny wales
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 09 9:12 am Post subject: |
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You'd have to try pretty hard to grate you knuckles, this is a workshop I do with small children and have also run a couple of times for profoundly visually impaired people, and none of them have ever yet grated their knuckles, just grate until you can't safely hold the soap any more, then if you want, you can use a sharp knife to dice whats left into little cubes, which add another texture to the final soap. |
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nats
Joined: 12 Jun 2007
Posts: 796
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 09 1:00 pm Post subject: Re: Rebatching Soap |
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| sally_in_wales wrote: |
My favourites: Rose and Almond washballs, herb washballs, pumice and mint scrubby soap, oatmeal and lemon kitchen hand soap. |
Destructions and quantities please!!
Oh and could one use silicone muffin moulds?? how else would one shape them? Told you I didn't have a clue... |
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colour it green
Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 2947
Location: Devon, uk
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 09 1:04 pm Post subject: |
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any suggestions for essential oils suppliers?
and i know some EOs are less ethical than others.. which are OK ? |
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sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 13934
Location: sunny wales
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 09 1:40 pm Post subject: Re: Rebatching Soap |
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| nats wrote: |
| sally_in_wales wrote: |
My favourites: Rose and Almond washballs, herb washballs, pumice and mint scrubby soap, oatmeal and lemon kitchen hand soap. |
Destructions and quantities please!!
Oh and could one use silicone muffin moulds?? how else would one shape them? Told you I didn't have a clue... |
By eye, about 10% dry ingredients to soap works well, I usually just model them into conveniently sized balls, but yep, muffin moulds would work great. |
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Cathryn
Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 13228
Location: Ceredigion
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 09 1:44 pm Post subject: |
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| judith wrote: |
| ros wrote: |
| grating soap sounds like a good way for me to grate my knukles? Anyone tried using a food processor grater for soap? |
You beat me to it - I was going to ask the same thing. 
And is there any way to increase the "hardness" of a soap by rebatching if you happen to have produced something that disintegrates into a soggy mess as soon as it comes into contact with water? |
I had this problem as well when I tried rebatching. Even leaving it to dry for a long period didn't help. Any ideas? |
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sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 13934
Location: sunny wales
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 09 1:48 pm Post subject: |
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filler ingredients should help, I find that olive oil castile alone can be very humectant and go soggy, but the oatmeal washballs are very robust and hold up well to repeated use. Its very important to make sure homemade soap doesnt sit in a puddle though, its much more prone to absorb water than shop soaps. Wrap finished soap in tissue paper or paper bags for storage too, they will continue to dry out slowly and that will help harden them up. |
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nats
Joined: 12 Jun 2007
Posts: 796
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 09 3:03 pm Post subject: |
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How do you add pumice? (grind a stone down? Sorry I know I'm useless!) what sort of oatmeal? Porridge? Can you add colouring? How do you make an oatmeal washball? What's in it?? Is the mint an oil or mint leaves?
Questions questions questions....  thanks |
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sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 13934
Location: sunny wales
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| Posted: Mon Nov 09, 09 3:31 pm Post subject: |
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I use pinhead oatmeal, the fine stuff. I think its a neater texture than porridge oats. Pumice I buy in as a powder, you don't need much, just a coupel of teaspoonfulls in a batch of a mixing bowl full. The mint I put in as essential oil, but a sprinkling of dried mint would be fun as well. I usually calculate oils on a basis of no more than 10 drops per bar of soap when rebatching, usually I find about 5 or 6 drops is about right. |
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Midland Spinner
Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 492
Location: Under a green roof
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| Posted: Tue Nov 10, 09 10:11 am Post subject: Re: Rebatching Soap |
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| sally_in_wales wrote: |
then moistening with boiled water or with rose or orangeflower water and squidging it all up into soap playdough.
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Sally, do you use hot or cold water? (i.e. do you let the boiled water cool first)
If you use hot water, do you have to warm the rose water?
Do you warm the mixture - or does it dissolve all by itself?
Can I use biscuit moulds as moulds for the soaps?
How long does it take to dry out to be useable (should I start now to be ready for Christmas, or does it dry more quickly than that? - I'm thinking of using the Pure stuff you mentioned earlier - I have some in the cupboard because it's the soap we usually use. |
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sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 13934
Location: sunny wales
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| Posted: Tue Nov 10, 09 1:43 pm Post subject: Re: Rebatching Soap |
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| Midland Spinner wrote: |
Sally, do you use hot or cold water? (i.e. do you let the boiled water cool first)
If you use hot water, do you have to warm the rose water?
Do you warm the mixture - or does it dissolve all by itself?
Can I use biscuit moulds as moulds for the soaps?
How long does it take to dry out to be useable (should I start now to be ready for Christmas, or does it dry more quickly than that? - I'm thinking of using the Pure stuff you mentioned earlier - I have some in the cupboard because it's the soap we usually use. |
I use cold water, boiling tap water is just to make sure its as sterile as practical before starting. Once you damp down the soap, a few minutes will soften eveerything enoughto let you squidge it all into a manageable consistency. Personally, I don't warm it up, but some people do and it works fine for them.
Biscuit moulds shoud work, but you'll need to experiment to check you can get the paste back out again, very fiddly moulds can sometimes be a pain. I've had good results freezing the soap in the mould briefly if this happens to allow be to bang it on the worktop to release it.
You should be dry in abouot a week, I like to then wrap loosely in a paper bag or tissue paper and leave for a week or two more to be certain its dry before packaging in cellophane. Make it in the next couple of weeks and you'll be spot on for Christmas |
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Midland Spinner
Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 492
Location: Under a green roof
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| Posted: Tue Nov 10, 09 3:30 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks Sally!  |
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