Finally an easy and good rebatch!

[Dana89]

Hi, I tried a Rebatch method I saw on Youtube, tweaked it just a little. I know you have all heard of this and some have done it, but I wanted to share if you are hopeless at rebatching.
1. I grated 32oz of soap, they were just bars that the scent disapeared in.
I added the soap and 1/4 cup of water to my crockpot. I put it on low and stirred often until it was melted.



2. I added 9oz of 91% of Isopropyl Alcohol that I got at HEB, covered and let it sit on low for 45 minutes.

3. I measured out 6oz of sugar and put in just enough water to cover it. I had to put it the microwave in 30 second burst to completely melt the sugar.

4.I added 6oz of Glycerin to the sugar water, stirred well and put all that in the crockpot. I let that mix and stirred occasionally for 30 minutes.

5. I turned off the crockpot and let it cool for 15 minutes. I added color and fragrance and poured. What you see on top is bubbles and a skin forming, that can be planed off.

I could not believe how fluid it was. I am used to only adding 1/2 cup of water to a rebatch.
The batter was not translucent, it was white and I added purple mica and it came out gray.
I have never used melt n pour but I understand it sets up pretty fast. Although this is not MP I expected it to set up fast but it took several hours.

I unmolded and it is smooth as glass. Yay!
Again this is not my method, there are a couple of videos on Youtube and a couple of blogs I looked at, but I just wanted to share this with you if you are as hopeless at rebatching as I am.:wink:

 

[afbrat]

Well that looks really easy. I do have a question, though. What does adding all that stuff to the rebatch do to the soap? I have never tried to rebatch soap, but I did have a batch of soap not turn out right and I am looking for something to do with it.

 

[Dana89]

All these ingredients are used to make homemade Melt n pour. They also add PG. Some people have just been using the MP recipe to rebatch. Since its less sudsy than I would like, next time I am going to try just a little alcohol and glycerin to see if that gets it to a pourable consistancy. From What I understand the alcohol evaporates off better than water.
DEEANNA we need your help!

 

[Obsidian]

sugar and glycerin are solvents, they would help melt the soap so its smoother. I too have to wonder about the quality of the soap rebatched like that. I also worry about warping bars from all excess liquid. Seems like it would be easier and cheaper to just add a more water until you get a thinner consistency if thats what you want.

 

[afbrat]

Thank you for the replies. Cleared up some of my questions. And does rebatching always have a detrimental effect on the lathering quality of the soap?

 

[Obsidian]

No, in fact I've found that rebatching often improves lather, especially if you use beer as your liquid. Does this rebatch of yours have reduced lather?

 

[Dana89]

Mine does have reduced lather. That is why next time I think I will use Alcohol and a little water and a small amount of Glycerin for the smoothness. The alcohol evaporates a lot. I think maybe the sugar water was overkill. I will let it sit for a couple of weeks so more water can evaporate and let you know if the lather is improved.

 

[afbrat]

Thanks you two! I have hesitated to rebatch mainly because I didn't know what it would do to the lather. I may just have to try it now, since I have a batch that did not turn out quite right.

 

[Dana89]

No, in fact I've found that rebatching often improves lather, especially if you use beer as your liquid. Does this rebatch of yours have reduced lather?

Although the lather is reduced, I like the feel of the bar. I think if I use half the alcohol, half the glycerin and no sugar water I could still get a smooth pour and better lather.
The reason I don't like using a lot of water for a smooth pour is because the bars warp so bad and they stay squishy.
So after 2 weeks I will let you know if these warp and if the lather gets better.
I might try beer. That has alcohol, sugar and water in it, can you get a smooth pour with it?

 

[penelopejane]

If you spray the top of the batter with a tiny amount of isopropyl alcohol as soon as you pour it it will get rid of the little bubbles on the top.

 

[Dana89]

Yeah, don't do this.

These rebatch bars have been sitting for over 2 weeks now and they are crap. They are rubbery and don't lather well. I should have waited to see how they would turn out before posting. Now on a good note I have rebatched since then and used 1 tablespoon of glycerin ppo and those came out great.

I will take my crow with some white wine please!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

It's always good to try new things - it might well have worked.