|
|
|
|
 |
Author |
|
| Message | |
|
sally_in_wales
Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 13027
Location: sunny wales
|
 Posted: Fri Nov 06, 09 9:41 am Post subject: Rebatching Soap |
 
|
Prompted 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.
Last edited by sally_in_wales on Fri Nov 06, 09 9:45 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
|
|
 |
sally_in_wales
Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 13027
Location: sunny wales
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 06, 09 9:42 am Post subject: |
|
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
Joined: 19 Jul 2005
Posts: 1346
Location: Beds
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 06, 09 10:03 am Post subject: |
|
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 |
|
|
|
|
judith
Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 16128
Location: Montgomeryshire
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 06, 09 10:08 am Post subject: |
|
| 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? |
|
|
|
|
mochyn
Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 12601
Location: mid-Wales
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 06, 09 10:23 am Post subject: |
|
O like dried and ground orange peel in my soap, with something like nutmeg oil.
Also oatmeal, lavender and honey. |
|
|
|
|
alison
Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 7022
Location: North Devon
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 06, 09 10:26 am Post subject: |
|
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. |
|
|
|
|
Angel
Joined: 14 Jan 2009
Posts: 134
Location: Scotland
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 06, 09 6:14 pm Post subject: |
|
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  |
|
|
|
|
marigold
Joined: 02 Sep 2005
Posts: 7690
Location: West Sussex
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 06, 09 6:20 pm Post subject: |
|
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
Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 16128
Location: Montgomeryshire
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 06, 09 8:45 pm Post subject: |
|
Yes, I'm pretty sure you can. |
|
|
|
|
marigold
Joined: 02 Sep 2005
Posts: 7690
Location: West Sussex
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 06, 09 9:23 pm Post subject: |
|
Thanks judith  |
|
|
|
|
sally_in_wales
Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 13027
Location: sunny wales
|
| Posted: Sun Nov 08, 09 4:47 pm Post subject: |
|
| marigold wrote: |
| 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. |
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 |
|
|
|
|
sally_in_wales
Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 13027
Location: sunny wales
|
| Posted: Sun Nov 08, 09 4:49 pm Post subject: |
|
| alison wrote: |
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. |
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 |
|
|
|
|
marigold
Joined: 02 Sep 2005
Posts: 7690
Location: West Sussex
|
| Posted: Sun Nov 08, 09 5:49 pm Post subject: |
|
| sally_in_wales wrote: |
| marigold wrote: |
| 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. |
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 |
Thanks Sally - I'll have a look in Tesco's tomorrow. Just grate, add water and oatmeal, and squidge? |
|
|
|
|
sally_in_wales
Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 13027
Location: sunny wales
|
| Posted: Sun Nov 08, 09 5:57 pm Post subject: |
|
yep, I would grate, sprinkle in any dry ingredients, then add water, squidge, wait 5 minutes, then model into the shapes you want. |
|
|
|
|
nats
Joined: 12 Jun 2007
Posts: 542
|
| Posted: Sun Nov 08, 09 10:34 pm Post subject: |
|
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! |
|
|
|
|
|
Archive
Powered by php-BB © 2001, 2005 php-BB Group
Style by marsjupiter.com, released under GNU (GNU/GPL) license.
|
View Latest Posts