| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| sally_in_wales |
Rebatching SoapPrompted by another thread, Ithought it might be nice to start a thread on how to rebatch soap and things that work well in it. Soap made this way is a really good project for kids you might not want playing with soap from scratch, and can be used to make nice presents.Rebatching soap usually just means grating down ready made soap (home made or a bland unscented bought soap), mixing in ingredients such as herbs, oatmeal, honey, essential oils, then moistening with boiled water or with rose or orangeflower water and squidging it all up into soap playdough. At this point it can be pressed into moulds or rolled into balls or other shapes. Allowed about a week to dry, its then ready to use. Good things about rebatching are that you can make one batch of plain unscented soap, keep some for laundry and household use, then rework small amounts of the rest to give a range of scents and textures. You can also add smaller amounts of essential oil than you would need to when hot or cold processing soap from scratch. Because the soap has already cured, the volatile oils remain less affected by the soap chemistry and you get a clearer fragrance with less oil. You can take a 'strong' laundry soap and add extra fats, a little almond oil for example, to make it into a more pleasant hand soap. So, I thought if people might like to report back on their favourite recipes for rebatching soap, I could cook the whole lot up into an article in a week or so, would be a good addition to the soap articles we already have. 
My favourites: Rose and Almond washballs, herb washballs, pumice and mint scrubby soap, oatmeal and lemon kitchen hand soap. |
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| sally_in_wales |
Tip: The finer the grate, the more uniform the final soap. It can be interesting to use both fine and coarse grated soap in a batch, gives a knobbly texture. | ||||||
| ros |
grating soap sounds like a good way for me to grate my knukles? Anyone tried using a food processor grater for soap?
I do like the idea of doing the caustic bit myself and then letting daughter do the arty rebatching bit she makes lovely bath bombs and soap to go with them would be nice
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| judith |
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? |
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| mochyn |
O like dried and ground orange peel in my soap, with something like nutmeg oil.
Also oatmeal, lavender and honey. |
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| alison |
I have a box of soap oddments, that I save from the rooms, when people use them once, before they get theri own soap out.
When you grate the soap do you have to add the water, on heat, or just hot water, in a bowl. I made a huge mess last time I tried it. Also I would be interested in the processor part too. |
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| Angel |
Odds and ends, all grated and microwaved then with lavender added, then squished with old tights to make nice solid lumps... The OH is put off though, he thinks they look like testes 
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| marigold |
Could I do this with bought soap like Simple brand? My neighbour likes oatmeal soap and I'd love to make her some for Christmas, but I'm not up to the fulll soap-making Monty. | ||||||
| judith |
Yes, I'm pretty sure you can. | ||||||
| marigold |
Thanks judith 
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| sally_in_wales |
Yep, we do this at work with the kids. The best soap for this I've found so far is a cheap on in Tesco, (I think they call it 'Pure', its in a white and green packet) but its really just a plain unscented vegetable oil soap, works really well, has no smell of its own and grates very nicely |
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| sally_in_wales |
I never go one well with soap in the food processer, but it may just be my machine being a bit feeble. Personally, I just grate the soap, damp it down with cold water (I like rosewater myself) and squidge it up, but its perfectly possible to melt it. You need far less water than you think, aim for a playdough consistency, not a sludge
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| marigold |
Thanks Sally - I'll have a look in Tesco's tomorrow. Just grate, add water and oatmeal, and squidge? |
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| sally_in_wales |
yep, I would grate, sprinkle in any dry ingredients, then add water, squidge, wait 5 minutes, then model into the shapes you want. | ||||||
| nats |
ooooooooh this looks interesting. Let me know (I guess by updating this!) when you have a full article. Christmas present project for the kids here we come! Please make the article OK for soap virgins IE what to add, which oils, etc etc etc. I haven't a clue! | ||||||
| nats |
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... | ||||||
| sean |
A Mouli grater?
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| nats |
that be it that be | ||||||
| marigold |
I've got one of those, but I think it might grate the soap too fine? | ||||||
| sally_in_wales |
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. | ||||||
| nats |
Re: Rebatching 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 |
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 |
Re: Rebatching Soap
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 |
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 |
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. | ||||||
| nats |
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 |
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. | ||||||
| Midland Spinner |
Re: Rebatching Soap
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 |
Re: Rebatching Soap
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 |
Thanks Sally!
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| Midland Spinner |
I've just grated up a bar of soap and now have a rose-scented heart, an oatmeal & rose wash ball & an oatmeal & rose swirl shaped soap.
Now I'm off to make supper (with really clean hands!) |
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| sally_in_wales |
excellent
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| nats |
i'M GOING TO HAVE (to take caps lock off and) have a go at this! I might have a go myself first, and then let the children loose....
How can one colour soap? I guess food colouring would become hand/body colouring....... 
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| gardening-girl |
How long should I leave the home-made soap before re-batching?
I,ve just cut up my soap, 48hrs after making, and I have the rounded end bits to play with. |
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| sally_in_wales |
if it was hot process, so already cured, then you can do it right away. if it was cold process and still curing, I'd give it a couple more days just so that the residual chemical reaction that goes on for a few days after making cp soap has finished, just in case it affected any scents I put in when rebatching. |
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| gil |
Sally, was there a reason why the Soap-Making Challenge was for cold process rather than hot process ?
Which of these results in a harder, longer-lasting soap that doesn;t go soggy and gloppy ? How long should I mature soap for if I want it to be very hard ? And which recipe would be best for that ? The one in the challenge or the olive Castile in the article ? |
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| nats |
I've just suggested this to my husband for an enterprise project with his 17 yearolds with learning difficulties - thanks you may have actually given him a craft he can do!! | ||||||
| sally_in_wales |
I think its just that for complete beginners, cold process has less stages and is easiest, but its more to do withe th oils you use than anything as to how hard a soap you get. A lower level of superfat will help too. Hard fats make a hard bar, very roughly speaking. |
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| sally_in_wales |
Excellent! One point though, if its for enterprise, rememer its illegal to sell soap or any cosmetic item without some moderately complex paperwork. I can talk you through that if it turns out to be something they want to persue having mad some for fun/gifts. |
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| gil |
Thanks, Sally. I was thinking of doing the hot process because of it using less essential oils and not altering the smell as much as cold process soaps. Cold process soaps seem to smell a bit odd, IMO. Which oils do you mean by 'hard fats' ? I have olive, coconut and sunflower.... And another question : waxed paper - would greaseproof do ? If not, can you get waxed paper in supermarkets ? [I'vbe never looked..] |
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| sally_in_wales |
hard fats are the ones that set at room temperature, so coconut from your list. A mix of all three oils would make a lovely soap, just remember to crunch the numbers when you know what weight of each you wish to use to give you an accurate lye amount.
Greaseproof should be fine, anything to stop the soap sticking to the mould, some people work without but I always end up fighting to get the soap out of the mould if I don't line it |
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| gil |
Thanks, Sally - I'll report back when I've managed to get rubber gloves, and actually make some. | ||||||
| mochyn |
Just realise I didn't line the pan the soap's in, but I was going to rebatch it anyway. that'll be fun, then... |
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| nats |
Oh right didn't realise.... could you point me/him in the right direction please?? They have a young enterprise group at college and all having learning difficulties and him being non-craft orientated it's always really difficult to work out what to do and this sounds easy enough for them to manage. Though paperwork is a problem - half of them can't read or write very well..... |
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| sally_in_wales |
Ok, the short version. Any soap or other product that can be applied to the body comes under the cosmetics regulations
http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file25422.pdf The really really short version- to sell soap, you must have your recipes certified by a qualified cosmetic chemist, then not change them even a fraction, use stamped for trade scales and follow the weights and measures regulations, and register as a cosmetic manufacturer with the DTI. Its certainly do-able, I managed it after all but its a headache and can be expensive, expect to pay £60 to have a recipe certified then about £250 for the scales. There is a lot of links on this site http://freespace.virgin.net/michele.jack/index.html that will take you through the process in more detail, but it does rule out 'casual' commercial soapmaking, there is no leeway at all for a one off sale, young enterprise etc, it all comes under the same rules as the big companies. |
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| tahir |
Bum, was going to suggest this to the sprogs for their easter fundraiser |
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| sally_in_wales |
annoying isnt it, its such an easy idea for this type of use, but the regs are really strict, and in recent years Trading Standards have become very clued up about soapmakers and are known to come down hard on 'craft' soapmakers selling without the paperwork.
Doesnt stop you making them to give away, its the selling bit thats the problem. |
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| ***merlin*** |
adding loofah to soap is also good
i made these, and lovely in the shower, but great for getting hands clean after being in the garden i used a 6" loofah, and my mould was tube, a certain snack, once you pop....... 
I also made oatmeal milk & honey bars these are easy wrapped, and additions in our "our house to yours christmas baskets" this year 
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| sally_in_wales |
those are lovely, transparent soap is a real pain to make, you've done brilliantly. What sort of alcohol did you use to convert the raw soap to transparent? | ||||||
| ***merlin*** |
i didnt i cheated i used clear soap and made it green |
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| wellington womble |
What about re-batching bought soap (the loofahs look like a good idea) - would that be OK to sell? Or selling re-batching kits containing bought soap and other bits and pieces? Can they knit? - you can do very simple knitting with sisal string that makes really good exfoliating wash mitts. I guess lip balm and moisteriser and so on would also need certifying? Pity, as they're really easy. |
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| sally_in_wales |
basically if you add 'anything', and that will include tap water, you have changed the original recipe and its certification will be invalid, so sadly not.
The repackaging bars in scrubby sacks sounds like it might be ok though, that doesnt alter the original soap recipe at all from what I can work out |
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| nats |
What did you use to make it green?? |
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| ***merlin*** |
made these icy wintermint bars by cutting shards of blue & green
and embedding them in clear peppermint scented soap 
again nice for presents |
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| wellington womble |
I guess that precludes felted soaps, as well? They could do felted soap workshops and kits, maybe? (How many girls has Tahir got?  )
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| tahir |
3, 4 if I include the missus
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| sally_in_wales |
I think felted soap again is probably ok, you arent changing the 'recipe' of the soap at all, even though you'll be damping it down to make the felt, its external and temporary. I've not heard of anyone having problems with the TS people with felted soap. Stacey might be able to confirm more there though, I'm sure that was a line of hers when she was selling a lot of felt
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| Frewen Feltmaker |
So "Pure" would make decent felting solution soap I guess? |
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| sally_in_wales |
should do
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| Frewen Feltmaker |
I don't believe it - tempted back into Tesco's by soap
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| mochyn |
I suspect Mrs T would say 4 if you count Tahir... |
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| alison |
Splutter!
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| gardening-girl |
Where on earth can I buy a small amount of ground pumice? The smallest amount I,ve found for sale is 350g.It might be easier to bash a pumice stone with a hammer.
Also, in the rose and almond soap, did you use ground almonds Sally? |
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| sally_in_wales |
I think my pumice came from the Soap Kitchen You could also try coarse sea salt for a scrubby effect. Yep, ordinary culinary ground almonds work fine
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| nats |
Did Cab or someone suggest Gin and Tonic soap with lemon oil and Juniper berries somewhere? I can't find it... I've got them but need to know rough quantities and how fine to grind the juniper.... before I do this tomorrow morning! |