I have remelted the same kind of soap and repoured (rebatched) the bars before. I do that usually because I don't like the color, or there's not enough scent.

With scraps I usually cut them up into chunks and make chunky soap. I put the chunks into my mold, then when my base is cool enough, I pour it over the chunks. It looks really neat when there's clear (colored) chunks with white base poured over. You can also make soap noodles out of them with a cheese grater. This is my next project - I have three bags of clear/colored bars that I've grated down. You do the same as the chunky bar.

I'm not sure what to do if you have an assortment of very different bars--say goat's milk, honey, white base etc...with all different frangrances. I never scent mine enough, so once they are remelted you can't really smell them anyway and you can always add more base. I did see, in one of my soap books, where they chunked up all the mistakes and saved them...then overpoured a white base but they did in in a big pail. They took the pail of hardened soap to a shelter with instructions on how to cut off chunks as needed. I thought that was a great idea.

I've attached a link to a thread I started about mistakes back in December.

HTH
Jill

Here is a link that might be useful: What do you do with soap mistakes?

Liz-

If you are trying to be economical and use the leftovers from mostly used store bought bars I suggest a netted soap saver bag. You can find these at most dollar stores or at places such as Walmart, K-Mart, etc. I keep one in the shower and throw all the small soap pieces in it.

To my knowledge, commercial bought soap is very different from M&P - so I don't think that you could re-melt that.

As Jill said, you can remelt M&P. You lose color and scent the more it is remelted, so you would have to add more of both for the final product.

HTH
Heather

Yeah, I'm talking about bars of soap like Zest, Irish Spring, Lever 2000, etc.

I had one of those net bags, but the darn thing fell apart after just a couple of months.

Hubby just walked into the room & asked about my post & the responses & said the docs he works with said this isn't a good thing to do anyhow because of the bacteria, etc., that's on your body stays in/on the bar of soap & would cross-contaminate whatever it's being remelted/reformed with. He said that's why you'll find liquid soap in restrooms & kitchens of restaurants, restrooms & treatment rooms in clinics & hospitals, & in stores, etc.

Oh well, I guess it was good to think thrifty while it lasted! LOL

Sorry--I dunno why I thought you were referring to scraps you end up with when making M&P soaps.

What's M & P?

M&P = melt & pour glycerin soap base, used to make soap.
check the soap test thread for a picture of a bunch of bars...

Hazel

Also, just an FYI, the reason you can't melt & remake the "soap" from the stores, is that it isn't soap at all.....

What you buy in the stores, the commerically produced "soaps", are really detergent, NOT soap. The same basic ingredients are used to make comercially produced "soap" that are used to make laundry & dishwhasing detergent.

That is why the comercially produced "soaps" have all those ingredients on the label-all chemicals- & why those products leave you with dry skin-all the benificial things like glycerin aren't there, or have to be added, but in such small quantities that they do no good.

Once you have used good cold process soap, or M&P glycerin soap, you will see a trememdous difference in how your skin looks & feels & won't ever want to go back to store bought soap again.

Okaay, time to step OFF the soapbox now.......

Hazel

I was just coming on to post that to you Liz. That is, post exactly what Hazel taught us all several months ago. Store bought is detergent.

Have you used the M&P soaps yet? Do you love the difference?

HEather

I use M&P then, and shower gels, so you all are jumping on the wrong person! LOL :-P

I was wanting to save the scraps from HUBBY'S Zest, etc., soaps for his reuse. I won't use them because they're too drying to the skin like what was said (& manly smelling). He refuses to use shower gels or so-called 'froo-froo' soap.

I just wanted to say that all of your posts helped me a-lot reguarding melting and re-using soap. I have been pondering the re-use of my Dove soap for awhile with the bag of scraps sitting around. I can really appreciate the imput of the medical side. Thank you.
Daniel

Hi all. Hazel said it best. I will never use store bought soap again! I have noticed the smooth,soft feeling of my skin, since using my homemade soaps. I want to make all of my own body products now. Like lotions,bath gels,body butter, oatmeal facial bars, body glitters, body bronzers, lip creams,foot creams,makeup removers, etc.
I am always gathering information & researching recipes.
My huge binder, will soon be volume #1 & #2 & #3 & so on.
My daughter keeps looking at it saying''wow''! Then she will ask, for more soap & stuff for her family. My little grandson loves it when I make a ''cool soap'', just for him!
He loves to use the soaps too! By the way, Hazel can you make any suggestions on my Q - about powder colorants & micas? I just posted it. Thanks - Tina_2

Sorry Daniel,

You won't find the word "soap" anywhere on the box/lable of Dove. It's all detergent.

You may find "real" soap on store shelves, I just haven't looked for years.

Tina,

I haven't used any bought colourants (I only use natural ones), but I would add the colourants by eye, only after asking first who you may have bought the colourants from.
Labcolours are supposed to be good colours for soap.