How much new soap do you make if you are adding confetti to it?

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gigisiguenza

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Since I have a batch of perfectly good but very unattractive soap sitting here, and I'm off tomorrow, I think I'm going try to do a confetti batch. I think it will be pretty if it's shredded and added to a nice white soap batter - and since I know I won't use up all that soap in the confetti batch, I am thinking about trying my first actual rebatch. Maybe.

So, my questions are:

1 - For the confetti soap, how do I calculate how much new soap batter I need to make if I am adding shredded soap to the batter? I don't want to end up with a ton of extra batter if I don't have to. Do I measure the amount of confetti by weight and subtract that from the mold size? I am unclear on this and could find no clear answer in my searching.

2 - I have watched a bunch of videos on rebatching, and found one that looks like my cup of tea. It is a method that uses a crock pot and has you add a 1/4 cup of castor oil and a 1/2 cup of water to 3lbs of shredded soap. It creates a more fluid batter that's easier to manipulate and mold. As I've never done an actual rebatch before, is there anything I should be cautious of when I do it? I've watched a dozen or more videos different ways to rebatch, so I do know which method I would like to try and basics of what I should be doing, but I figured it couldn't hurt to check with the experts and get feedback on this method.

TY for any assistance offered :)
 
I am going to address these in reverse order:

2. If you add set amounts of oil and water to a rebatch of soap that you don't have a lye heavy issue with, you are going to have soap that does not harden for what seems like forever. Use a little at the time(of water only unless you know it is lye heavy) and as little as possible. Your drying time will thank you.

1. Rule of thumb is 1 part grated soap to 2 parts new soap.
 
I am going to address these in reverse order:

2. If you add set amounts of oil and water to a rebatch of soap that you don't have a lye heavy issue with, you are going to have soap that does not harden for what seems like forever. Use a little at the time(of water only unless you know it is lye heavy) and as little as possible. Your drying time will thank you.

1. Rule of thumb is 1 part grated soap to 2 parts new soap.

Such concise answers, TY Susie :) In the video with the added oil and water, she specified it had to set up for a couple of weeks to harden, but if it's going to be a flippin PITA I may stick with the confetti method LOL
 
Susie - a quick question about the 1 part confetti 2 parts new soap

If my mold needs 63oz of oils (as an example)
Would I need 21oz of confetti and use 42oz oils to create the new soap for the confetti soap batch?

I dunno why I didn't think of the question before, but I wanted to check before I start shredding soap LOL
 
I am horribad at math, sorry, this answer is going to be vague and wander. I know that my mold holds 3 lb total soap. That means 2 lbs oil. I use 1 1/3 lbs oil (21 oz), and 2/3 lb (10 oz) confetti. I don't get fiddly with the small stuff, and it fits into the mold without running over. Confetti takes up a bit more space than regular soap. Allow for that.

I do make it look like I meant to do that, though. I use a high contrast color for the new soap so that people say that it is pretty. They just don't need to know that I am fixing a mistake, LOL.

I also use my grated soap to kick start my trace on liquid soap, and even bar soap when I am in a hurry. I just add 14 g. Works a charm.

I also save a bit of a bar to rub onto old fashioned wooden drawer sliders to make them slide easier.
 
I do make it look like I meant to do that, though. I use a high contrast color for the new soap so that people say that it is pretty. They just don't need to know that I am fixing a mistake, LOL.

LOL I plan on doing that same thing with the confetti for the same reason. And I understood the math part, TY.

Do I need to use the same soap recipe that I used on the confetti or can it be different?
 
It can be different or the same -- doesn't matter, Gigi.

Just don't do what I did once -- ignore Susie's suggestion to use 2 parts new batter to 1 part confetti. Adding a lot more confetti than that soooo does not work! :)
 
It can be different or the same -- doesn't matter, Gigi.

Just don't do what I did once -- ignore Susie's suggestion to use 2 parts new batter to 1 part confetti. Adding a lot more confetti than that soooo does not work! :)

Hahahahaha duly noted... I have a very vivid mental image of how that might go wrong hahahaha
 
This was back in the days when I didn't have as much restraint with my stick blender as I should have. I didn't stop SB'ing when the soap batter was at LIGHT trace, so the batter was more at a medium trace by the time I decided to put the SB away. Urgh!

And what I didn't know at that particular moment, but I quickly learned a few minutes later, is when you add dry shredded soap to soap batter, the shreds thicken the batter even more, no matter how fluid the batter is before you start. Which is why, I finally realized, you don't want to add too many shreds. Double urgh!

I dumped the confetti in, mixed like mad, and dumped the now-very-thick mess into my mold. Some of the confetti shreds didn't get properly mixed into the batter in my haste, so the bars had cavities filled with loose shreds. The loose shreds fell out, leaving holes. Still usable soap, but just not very pretty. Smelled nice, however, so all in all it worked out okay for personal use. But certainly nothing I'd give away.

Learnt that lesson the hard way!
 
This was back in the days when I didn't have as much restraint with my stick blender as I should have. I didn't stop SB'ing when the soap batter was at LIGHT trace, so the batter was more at a medium trace by the time I decided to put the SB away. Urgh!

And what I didn't know at that particular moment, but I quickly learned a few minutes later, is when you add dry shredded soap to soap batter, the shreds thicken the batter even more, no matter how fluid the batter is before you start. Which is why, I finally realized, you don't want to add too many shreds. Double urgh!

I dumped the confetti in, mixed like mad, and dumped the now-very-thick mess into my mold. Some of the confetti shreds didn't get properly mixed into the batter in my haste, so the bars had cavities filled with loose shreds. The loose shreds fell out, leaving holes. Still usable soap, but just not very pretty. Smelled nice, however, so all in all it worked out okay for personal use. But certainly nothing I'd give away.

Learnt that lesson the hard way!

Considering my SB mania issues I could totally see myself doing the same thing LOL. TY for the warning :)
 
Confetti soap - if the confetti soap is fresh, I've done pretty close to half and half.
1) Use full water.
2) Gel. The gel will melt the old soap a bit so it bonds better with the new soap.

Same batch - the round bar did not gel, the rectangle did.

IMG_0824.JPG
 
Confetti soap - if the confetti soap is fresh, I've done pretty close to half and half.
1) Use full water.
2) Gel. The gel will melt the old soap a bit so it bonds better with the new soap.

Same batch - the round bar did not gel, the rectangle did.

Hmmmm it's not uber fresh (the green one) but the one that went muddled dark on me is very soft still, so perhaps I'll do half n half on that one and gel it. Thanks :)
 
If you are using chunks or large shreds that aren't very fresh, it helps to dunk them in water and drain the excess off - that makes them meld better with the soap batter.
 
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