Making new bar soap using existing soap flakes involves a process of remelting and reforming the soap. This technique, often called rebatching or remelting, allows you to repurpose soap scraps or flakes into new bars, potentially adding new ingredients like oils or scents.
Here's how you can make bar soap from soap flakes based on the provided method:
Steps for Making Bar Soap from Soap Flakes
The core process involves gently melting the flakes with liquid and incorporating desired additives before letting the mixture harden into new bars.
Step 1: Prepare the Soap Flakes and Liquid
- Gather your soap flakes. If the flakes are large, you may want to chop them into smaller pieces to help them melt more easily and evenly.
- Measure out your hot water.
- Add the prepared soap flakes and the hot water into a saucepan.
Step 2: Gently Melt the Soap
- Place the saucepan on low heat.
- Gently melt the mixture while stirring occasionally. This melting process can take a significant amount of time, typically over 1–2 hours.
- Continue to stir for a few minutes while on low heat, but be careful not to let the mixture boil. Boiling can negatively affect the soap's quality.
Step 3: Add Oils and Essential Oils
- Once the soap flakes have melted into a thick, gel-like consistency, take the saucepan off the heat.
- While off the heat, add your chosen oil (such as a carrier oil) and any essential oils for fragrance or other properties.
- Stir thoroughly to ensure the oils are well combined with the melted soap base.
Step 4: Mold and Cure (Implied)
- While not detailed in the reference, the next step in making a bar would be pouring the mixture into a mold.
- Allow the soap to cool and harden in the mold.
- Once hardened, unmold and let the new bar cure further if necessary, though rebatched soap requires less curing time than cold process soap.
Here is a summary of the main ingredients and process steps:
| Ingredient/Material | Action | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Soap Flakes | Add to saucepan (chop if needed) | Provides the soap base |
| Hot Water | Add to saucepan | Helps melt the flakes |
| Saucep an | Heat gently, stirring occasionally | Melting vessel |
| Chosen Oil | Add after taking off heat | Can add moisture or conditioning properties |
| Essential Oils | Add after taking off heat, with chosen oil | Provides fragrance or benefits |
This remelting method is a simple way to create new soap bars using existing soap material, making it great for using up scraps or customizing plain soap flakes.
