Rebatching questions

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wbocrafter

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I just had some soap fail on Friday and was going to rebatch it. I have never tried to rebatch so I have a few questions. I understand I grate the soap, put it in a slow cooker, & add some water until it is melted enough to blend. If that is not the correct process please let me know what I need to do. My question is the failed soap batch doesn't have fragrance even though I added fragrance oil so can I add more fragrance oil in hopes of getting some fragrance out of it? If I can add fragrance oil when do I add it? Also, the soap is green. Will it change color when I rebatch it?
 
I will say that when I tried rebatching, I did not enjoy any part of it- not the mixing, the cooking, nor the look of the finished soap. I know some people really like it, though. If I had green soap, I would grate it up and us it as confetti in a brand new batch. Depending on the shade of green, you could use some kind of piney fragrance and have a cute soap for Christmas.
 
I don't rebatch but I do make confetti soap and add it to part of a new batch. Start by using 2 parts new batter to one part of grated confetti soap by weight at fairly light trace and mix in well.

You can add it sandwiched between layers or anyway you like. Add scent to the new batter.

It makes a very nice soap without the hassle and look of HP.
 
I don't rebatch but I do make confetti soap and add it to part of a new batch. Start by using 2 parts new batter to one part of grated confetti soap by weight at fairly light trace and mix in well.

I shredded some soap in my cuisinart about 10 days ago but the shreds are very long. How do you get it to the size of confetti? Should I worry about putting these in my cuisinart again, this time with the chopper? I'm concerned it will get all smeared and ball up into bigger soap chunks. Thanks for all your help!

Scooter
 
I use a Salad shooter to shred my soap. I usually find them for $5 or less at thrift stores, etc. The motor is pretty weak, so I tend to buy them as I see them so I have one in reserve.

Your description of the process is correct. Are your long shreds thin? If they are thin, I think they'll be okay. Are your shreds one color or a mix of colors? IMO, confetti soap is WAY better than rebatching. I would only recommend rebatching if your soap recipe was off - if it's lye heavy or if it's too oily, or if you just hate the scent and want to cook it off and try again.

Every year or so I get a wild hair (or hare?) and rebatch. And every year I realize that it's a big pain and the soap is ugly and brown.
 
I shredded some soap in my cuisinart about 10 days ago but the shreds are very long. How do you get it to the size of confetti? Should I worry about putting these in my cuisinart again, this time with the chopper? I'm concerned it will get all smeared and ball up into bigger soap chunks. Thanks for all your help!

Scooter

You could just cut the longer bits with a knife if you are concerned but I'd probably leave them and see what the effect is like in soap.

I use a cheese grater and do it by hand so I can separate out colours for certain effects.
 
Did the soap set up. I am assuming this is the soap you posted about that separated with floating oil. If it is still smooshy just smush it up in a crockpot set on low, to melt down. It still could separate but sb it with a quick burst or two. Soap that has separated would not make a good confetti soap for shredding up and adding to a new batch.
 
I use a Salad shooter to shred my soap. I usually find them for $5 or less at thrift stores, etc. The motor is pretty weak, so I tend to buy them as I see them so I have one in reserve.

Your description of the process is correct. Are your long shreds thin? If they are thin, I think they'll be okay. Are your shreds one color or a mix of colors? IMO, confetti soap is WAY better than rebatching. I would only recommend rebatching if your soap recipe was off - if it's lye heavy or if it's too oily, or if you just hate the scent and want to cook it off and try again.

Every year or so I get a wild hair (or hare?) and rebatch. And every year I realize that it's a big pain and the soap is ugly and brown.

Ha. Thanks for the advice. Yes, I have decided against rebatching.

Basically my original soap seemed too oily, like maybe it had separated. I was trying to make a soap that was about 72% OO with the rest palm/CO. I had poured the batter into 5 oz silicone cavity molds and immediately CPOPed them. The reason I did that was I had had to CPOP a 5-lb loaf mold the week before... but these smaller silicone cavity molds led to a lot of overheating, I think, and messed the more recent batch up.

So now I am shredding it and making more batter so I can throw the whole thing into the loaf mold and make confetti soap. I had no scent or color in the first batch and neither will I in the second... but this next redone batch will be with a batter that has more hard oils. By the way, I waited six weeks to shred the original soap so it could have a little cure on it and it has been curing for ten days since. It will probably be 14 days post shredding when I make the new confetti soap. I want it to dry out and cure a little more.

Scooter
 
If you wait that long, you might want to spritz the shredded soap with a bit of water so the shreds are slightly damp when you stir them into the main soap batter. That may help the soap batter adhere better to the shreds. I have made confetti soap and had some of the shreds (older, very dry) not mix into the main soap better very well. I think a bit of moisture in the shreds would have helped.
 
If you wait that long, you might want to spritz the shredded soap with a bit of water so the shreds are slightly damp when you stir them into the main soap batter. That may help the soap batter adhere better to the shreds. I have made confetti soap and had some of the shreds (older, very dry) not mix into the main soap better very well. I think a bit of moisture in the shreds would have helped.

D'oh! My bad. I thought I was doing things right. :-( Thanks for the tip.

Scooter
 
When I rebatch, I have bunch of shreds. A gallon or more. I put them in a crockpot with a can of coconut milk. As the shreds melt and make room, I add more, and when it's melty enough, I pour it in the mold. This is very imprecise so I don't recommend it, lol. If I have a bunch of colors, that means I will end up with brown soap. So I add coffee grounds and ground spices - cinnamon, clove, whatever - to give the soap a scrubby texture and to make the brown more interesting.

My crock pot is 3 quarts. So I have enough shreds to fill it, plus about half again more.
 
My soap set up right away. It did not go through the gel process. However, it's not very smooth looking or pretty like some I've made. I forgot to add that this is a recipe given to me by Brambleberry. I purchased their beginning soapmaker kit and loved the soap and asked them if they could give me the oils & percentages they used. They were happy to oblige. It is supposed to be the same formula as the oils they give you in the beginner's soap kit but they only gave me percentages. I've made several batches of soap and this is the first time I've ever had any problems. I guess I can consider myself lucky. I'm only making the soap for my own use because I love the lather & the feel of it. No intent to ever sell. Of course if the other batches turn out like this one did no one would want to buy it anyway. Thanks for all the suggestions. I always learn something new on here.
 
Last edited:
This thread is from 2016. You'll probably need to start your own thread to get the answers you're looking for.
 
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