How to rebatch to make a harder bar of soap

[SchenckOrchard]

My soap is basically the consistency of of dough. Anyone know if I can just melt it down and add more palm oil or something? How can I rebatch it to make it hard when it cures?

 

[judymoody]

Adding more oil in rebatch is not going to make it harder; it would likely make it even softer.

Either your soap has too much water or perhaps not enough lye and too much fat was left unsaponified. Without seeing your recipe, I can't say for sure.

Rebatching might make it harder due to the heat causing some evaporation. But in my limited experience of rebatching, the soap tends to be softer than CP.

You might do better just waiting for a week or two to see if your soap firms up. JMO.

 

[Fragola]

Yes, wait. If after waiting, the soap is useable and still too soft, maybe something can be added to make it harder.

 

[SchenckOrchard]

Hmm, if everything was done right, it should not be. What is your recipe?

You don't want to start adding things, I don't think that will get you anywhere.

If you post the recipe some can give you an idea of what went wrong.

What part of San Diego are you from, I am too.

4 oz castor oil
4 oz canola oil
4 oz coconut oil
15 oz olive oil
10 oz palm oil

12 oz water
4.8 oz lye
0.3 oz EOs

I think I just over did the EO for the amount of castor oil I used. It was my first time using it. Im in La Mesa, how about you?

 

[judymoody]

The amount of EO you used is really small. I can't imagine it made any difference in your finished soap.

For 37 ounces of oils, I'd have used about an ounce and a half of EO, maybe more since one of them is citrus. .3 ounce isn't that much and neither patchouli or orange are prone to acting up.

I wonder if there was a measurement issue. Even with castor at that %, your soap shouldn't be like dough. Sticky, yes. But if it gelled properly it should be firm.

I suppose you could make a separate HP batch with harder oils and then shred this batch and add it during cook and it might work out OK. But it also might amount to throwing good materials after bad.

ETA: I assume you haven't cut it yet. Is it possible it overheated for some reason? In the few times that I've experienced overheating to the point of separation, the soap has been mushy and spongy in texture. Just a thought.

 

[For-U]

Good Morning! The same thing happened to me. My very first batch didn't happen thisway. but the last two soap batches did. The sexond one, seized really quickly because added cold milks. The second seized for what ever reason. I can't figure out why. the recipe for my last soap batch is:

50% Olive Oil
14% Palm Kernal Flakes
14% Coconut Oil
12% Sunflower
10% Castor Oil
10.6 Water
3.9 Ly

It didn't seem to go through the gel phase either. I ended with an glob of dough. Even when I porued my oils it started excelerating. So, I have a soft batch of glob.

 

[shunt2011]

Good Morning! The same thing happened to me. My very first batch didn't happen thisway. but the last two soap batches did. The sexond one, seized really quickly because added cold milks. The second seized for what ever reason. I can't figure out why. the recipe for my last soap batch is:

50% Olive Oil
14% Palm Kernal Flakes
14% Coconut Oil
12% Sunflower
10% Castor Oil
10.6 Water
3.9 Ly

It didn't seem to go through the gel phase either. I ended with an glob of dough. Even when I porued my oils it started excelerating. So, I have a soft batch of glob.

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