Mission Rebatch

[jennyannlowe]

I am undertaking a huge rebatch project.

For the past few months, I've been on a soap binge. I've been setting aside the batches I wasnt happy with and now I'm ready to do something with them.

Most of these batches, the soap is fine and I marked it for rebatch due to aesthetic reasons...such as....I didnt have good molds for awhile and I was using cling wrap lined cardboard. So when the batch was done, I had to trim off a bunch to get rid of the creases the cling wrap left.

Or another reason is that I mixed titanium dioxide with water then set it down and when I was ready to mix it with the batter, some of it settled to the bottom and I didnt remix it good enough so the soap has white speckles, too much to trim.

or batches that got too thick as I tried to mix color. Or silicone molds with to much detail. Like i have spongebob cavity molds and I none of my batches work well in that mold. And the shape is too awkward to trim.

Then I have melt and pour base pieces and trimmings leftover that I wont use, soaps I took out of the mold too quick and messed up, soap i tried to do swirls and didnt use vanilla stabilizer...etc, the fragrance faded or didnt smell good.

So..... I have a bunch of soap that is mostly perfectly good to use. I've been shredding it with a cheese grater. I dont use a lot of dark colors, so most of it is pastel or not colored at all. So, i'm shredding it all, gonna mix it all up very well and use my crock pot to melt it.

I wanted to ask for tips and tricks. I know the basics of rebatch. I was just thinking that the best way might be to use a strong colorant and fragrance to mask and cover up anything else that might linger. Maybe use oatmeal or clays? I was thinking that oatmeal or another exfoliant might be good in....bring it all together?

basically I know how to 'rebatch'. i wanted to know any tips you might have. I wouldnt add any oils, probably no water.

what about adding aloe juice instead of water if it needs any hydration? I've used aloe juice, just not in rebatch.

what do you think?

thanks all!

 

[IrishLass]

If it were me, I would not add any oatmeal or clay. If your aim is to add things to help bring it all together, liquids are your best friends. Rebatched soap batter is of such a thirsty consistency that adding things that absorb water such as oatmeal or clay will only cause problems in being able to create a softened/moldable enough batter that will hold together well. If you do add either of them, be prepared to add a goodly amount of extra water.

As for adding more scent, that depends on how much scent is already present and what the safe usage rates are .....i.e., you don't want your soap to be unsafely over-scented as to cause skin sensitivities.

I'm not sure how old your scraps are, but the older they are, the more water they will need during the cook. The trick is in using the least amount of water that will enable the scraps soften and melt up enough to be moldable, but not so much that you end up with grossly misshapen bars after the water has evaporated.

The best way I've found to do that is to administer water via a spray bottle.....

Before I start cooking, I spray the scraps and toss them (like a salad) until all the scraps are moist, but not so moist as to be swimming. Then I start cooking (covered).

About every 20 minutes or so, I'll give things a stir, and if it ever looks like things are too dry, I'll spritz with my spray bottle until things look moist enough again.

Once things have become soft/fluid enough, I pour/glop. The best pouring consistency that I've found is when the batter is somewhere between really thick jam and soft mashed potatoes.


IrishLass

 

[penelopejane]

The other alternative is to make confetti soap.
You just make a normal batch and mix in the grated soap to the section you want it in at a rate of 400g of new batter to 200 g of confetti soap. You don't have to heat or treat the grated soap in any way no matter how old. Just mix it with the new batter at a fairly light trace. Like the attached photos but you can do the whole soap or whatever you want. You can use a dark base and add light gratings or a mixture of light and dark in a light base.

The scent from the old soap doesn't come through - either it gets overwhelmed by the new scent or grating dissipates it, not sure which.

 

[jennyannlowe]

Thanks for the tips!

 

[Susie]

I intensely detest rebatching. I would make confetti for soaps also.

 

[TeresaT]

confetti soap = happy soap

PJ, I love your soaps.

 

[doriettefarm]

I would also vote to save some for confetti soap. Even if your shreds aren't brightly colored, I've seen others toss the soap shreds in mica to make them more vibrant. I think this technique could be used both on the inside and on top of fresh soap batter.

 

[DeeAnna]

Oooh -- toss them in mica -- great idea I'm going to file away for future use!

I've rebatched scraps, and done salted-out soap, and made confetti soap. My vote is for the confetti method as well. You don't have the shrinkage and softness problems with confetti soap that you do with rebatch or salting-out due to the extra water you need to add. And I think the soap looks a lot nicer. It's less hassle overall. The only downside is you can't get rid of as much scrap in a batch of confetti soap as you can in a loaf of rebatch or salted-out soap.

I also use 1 part grated scrap to 2 parts fresh soap batter (by weight). From experience I've found that I really shouldn't mix more scrap into the fresh batter that this 1:2 ratio. The times I have, I've gotten air pockets and loose shreds falling out of the cut bars and the whole batch is much more difficult to mix and mold. It's just a mess.

 

[dixiedragon]

I am also a big fan of confetti soap. I use roughly a 50/50 ratio of old scraps and new soap. It is helpful to oven process confetti soap, b/c gelling really helps the old soap scraps melt a bit and bond with the new soap.

If you decide you want to rebatch, here's what I do - I don't add FO because I am also concerned about having too much FO. Even if the fragrance cooks off during the rebatch, there could be chemical components left behind? I actually had one batch scented with WSP Black Raspberry Vanilla that the scent was still potent after rebatch. The reason I rebatched was that I had added waaaay toooo much FD&C blue, which made the soap a gorgeous dark royal purple, but I am pretty sure it was going to stain wash clothes, so I mixed it up with a bunch of other pale scraps. The rebatched soaped ended up a milder purple and still had a good scent.

If you have a mish-mash of a bunch of colors, the soap will probably be brown. What I do is add coffee grounds and ground spices - cinnamon, clove, nutmeg - to give the soap an interesting look, rather than muddy brown. I like to rebatch with coconut milk.

 

[Obsidian]

Another vote for confetti but if you do decide to rebatch, I would go for a brown soap and a discoloring FO. Using vanilla or dark chocolate works really well. I also like tossing in some very finely ground coffee for a scrubby bar, just make sure your grounds are wet.

 

[SuzieOz]

The two times I've rebatched using all different kinds of soap with various scents and colours, they ended up smelling awful even though I tried to mask the scent with something similar. I'd never do it again. Both soaps looked really pretty though.

I vote confetti also.

 

[LisaAnne]

I do a lot of rebatch and I prefer the chunky over confetti, I like confetti, but I think chunky pieces are more fun and unique. The ones I take more time with and watch what colors I use are even better than when I'm just tossing them randomly in. But that is just my opinion. Others prefer confetti. We all have our preference.

 

[dixiedragon]

I actually use the blade for my soap shutter that makes curls. It's a balance - shreds and smaller bits are easier to get mixed in well. You want your old soap to be thoroughly coated with new soap. But bigger chunks are more interesting.