Need help/advice re: Rebatched/Handmilled Soap - Too Soft

I just made my first batch of soap a couple weeks ago (the recipe, process and picture is here: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=22421). I used the cpop method. It came out nice, hard bars with good lather...didn't smell great though. The oil blend I used just didn't smell anything like it did in the bottle, but I have much to learn.

A few days ago I read about handmilling and thought I'd give that a try as it's supposed to make a harder, longer lasting bar. I did three different batches.

I grated all my soap and the first batch I melted 12 oz soap with 9 oz water and added a cup of blended oatmeal and about 50 drops (the bottle said 5-6 drops per oz) of essential oil and used a pringles can for a mold.

The second batch I melted 12 oz soap with 9 oz water, split the batch, added a little dye and about a tsp of fragrance oil and poured it into a plastic mold.

The other half I added more dye and about a tsp of fragrance oil and poured it into a plastic mold.

I put all the molds in the freezer for about 4 hours, took them out, unmolded the soap and set the bars on a brown paper bag to harden, I've been turning them over every day.

It's been three days now, and all the bars are still super soft. Like, if I squeezed hard my fingers would go all the way through the bar. And when I flip them there are still wet spots underneath the soaps without the oatmeal. The oatmeal soaps are also very soft, but no wet spots underneath them.

Can someone please help me figure out what I did wrong? Was it too much water? Will they eventually harden given more time? Should I bake them on low heat? Should I just throw them out?

Any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you.

These are the re-batched bars:

Re-batching most will agree is a pain. So if everything else is okay try not to. Yes it was likely too much water. Most only use a couple tablespoons,very little stiring. If you get some air in they will be spongy for well "forever" in my experience but I hear they float

Yep, you added too much water.

fresh soap needs none or almost no w added liquid. maybe a few drops.
older soap - up to a tablespoon per pound. Maaaayyyyyybe two tablespoons, but I've never needed anywhere near that much.

you can just let them cure for a long while. they should still be ok for you to use, just might need a long time to dry out.

yeah seems like to much water to me I use maybe 1 oz for that much soap but my soap is much older. I would let it sit for couple weeks and check it again.

You could also try to force them to dry out a little fast by letting a fan run over them for a few days, but after using that much water, they may not ever harden up completely. When rebatching (which I try to do as little as possible), think of the process as a salad. The soap shavings are your lettuce, the added liquid is your dressing. You just want a *little* dressing (or water/milk/liquid, as the case may be). I know I've read this somewhere and now I can't remember where, but it's worked well for me without getting the soap too mushy.

I've only rebatched when I've absolutely had to - not my favorite thing. I don't find that the bars are any harder or longer lasting than my regular CP bars that go through gel. Next time I'd use more fragrance - measure it out by weight instead of drops as fragrances and essential oils can vary with respect to weight/volume. Depending on what it is, .7 oz PPO is pretty typical and you could go up to 1 oz PPO if you like stronger scents. Go lower for EOs like cinnamon or clove which can irritate the skin, or peppermint, which is very strong.

agree -- i f it's fresh soap, you don't need any more than a tiny amount of water/other liquid. i expect yours will be fine but will need weeks, maybe many weeks, to completely dry out. when i use fresh soap to rebatch, esp with the boiling (cooking bag like you'd use for a turkey), i find it almost never needs the glycerin, powdered milk, etc. that you might need for a much older batch.

jerry s. offered the most useful advice i've heard for rebatched soap. add the amount of liquid you think necessary, stir, and let sit overnight. the texture by then will tell you if you need to add more liquid. i'm too tired to look up jerry's advice right now, but try searching this forum for rebatching, with jerry. his advice was GREAT.

good luck, hope you keep us posted on how it turns out!!! which i expect will, in time, be just fine

Fresh soap needs no water for a rebatch. If you add to much water, your soap will end up with the shrunken head syndrome.

Thanks for all the advice. Makes sense. The soap is still soft, but I can tell it is getting harder little by little. And the shrinkage...wow! The soaps, as they've hardened, have shrunk over 50%. Think I'll stick to just making cp soap 'til I have a little more experience!

Last time I follow that particular recipe! I went back to check that I hadn't screwed up, but every handmilled recipe in this particular book (Beautiful Handmade Natural Soaps by Marie Browning) calls for 1-2 c of shredded soap to 1/2 c of water and sometimes 1/4 c of oil. That does seem a lot after most of you saying a tsp or two! And the results definitely back up what I've read here.

No wonder! She uses way too much water. That's why your soap ended up with the shrunken head syndrome.