Rebatch Soap-How do you make a smooth bar?

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SoaperBee

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Hi everyone,
I have rebatched some CP soap I made..What is the secret to make a smooth bar ???
Also, I am interested in making soap balls, I made 2 and they are a little bumpy!!
Anyone have any suggestions?? or can lead me a tutorial on soap balls ?

Thanks for your help~~

Deb
 
soap balls

I have the same question (sorry- but no answer!!).

My only experience with rebatching was with a batter that was was heavy on hard oils (mango butter, shea butter, cocoa butter), which I poured too warm. I literally shoveled the seized glop into the mold, packed it down with gloved hands, and threw my hands up in the air in disgust. It's taken me a few months to want to be anywhere near that batch again, but I decided to grate it, add some water, and warm it up. It never got very fluid or smooth, but I was able to shape it into lumpy balls. The soap is wonderful, but they sure win the ugly award. Does rebatched soap ever get smooth and creamy, or is lumpiness the norm?
 
I don't rebatch because you will never get the same smooth texture that you had with the original batch. Not to say you can't get good soap... but it's not worth the effort to me.

That said... I've found that if I make a NEW fresh batch of HP soap and then add shredded CP to that I get very nice results without the headache. 50% is about the limit for me. Meaning if I make a 2# HP recipe I can add 1# of shredded CP to that before it starts to get unmanageable. And the fresher your CP is the better. Doesn't have to be cured.
 
rebarth 1/2 and 1/2

That's actually a really really good idea! I bet it would work for CP too, except that your shredded soap would end up being like embeds... just more crazy confetti looking. If you had a bunch of different colors, I bet it would look pretty fun! Thanks- now I know what I'm doing this weekend!!! :wink:
 
I have never used Sodium Lactate but have read that it makes HP more pourable....................so..............

would the addition of Sodium Lactate to a rebatch not have a similar effect ?
 
Re: rebarth 1/2 and 1/2

Best Natural Soap said:
I bet it would work for CP too, except that your shredded soap would end up being like embeds... just more crazy confetti looking.
Click to expand...

Yep! I do that too. You can use a cheese grater to get different shreds for different looks. Some really ugly soaps I've made looked amazing as confetti soaps.
 
you can get a smoothER product if you finely grind the soap, and if it's fresh. I don't rebatch, but when absolutely MUST then I put it through the meat grinder attachment on my Kitchen Aid mixer - twice.
 
Re: rebarth 1/2 and 1/2

Best Natural Soap said:
That's actually a really really good idea! I bet it would work for CP too, except that your shredded soap would end up being like embeds... just more crazy confetti looking. If you had a bunch of different colors, I bet it would look pretty fun! Thanks- now I know what I'm doing this weekend!!! :wink:
Click to expand...

If you stickblend the shreds into the soap they do integrate - but depending on how you do it, you can get a mottled look (which can be very lovely). If you want the old soap to disappear, SB it into the oils until it's all smooth - before adding the lye solution. If you want to see them somewhat then SB less or add later. It only works well with fresh soap, though - dry stuff not so much.
 
my best results for smooth texture is to soak the shredded soap in a bit of milk overnight (goat, cow, cream, buttermilk, coconut, all good)

the rebatched soap is best young, and I have noticed that my soap with lard melts down much better than all-vegetable bars

alternatively, if the soap is older I grate it, then dry it completely, then whizz it up in a coffee grinder (gets boring but I only do this about once a year or so, so I can suck it up) I store that powdered dry soap until I feel like adding it to a batch. I drop it into the oils, begin to stickblend, then add the lye solution once the soap powder has fully integrated into the oils.
 
don't use much liquid, though, or you get shrinkage of the bars which isn't pretty either.
 

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