You can do a lot of fun things with melted soap. Additionally, it’s a great way to save money on liquid hand soaps and other personal care products.
If you have leftover soap that you wanted to throw away, don’t! You can use them to make your own inexpensive hand or body soap. With a few very simple steps, you can melt the soap and use it for whatever you can think of.
Method 1 Remove soap residue in the kitchen
Collect any old bars of soap that you find. They must add up to 100 grams. (4 ounces), which is about the weight of a regular bar of soap. If you want, you can also use a whole bar that you like and customize it to your liking by changing the color, shape, aroma, etc.
Any bar you have on hand is fine, whether whole, in pieces, or as leftovers!
Finely chop the soap with a cheese grater. The idea is to break up the large pieces and break them into smaller pieces so the heat melts them more easily.
If you don’t have a cheese grater handy, don’t worry! You can use a citrus peel grater or even a potato peeler to reap the benefits, even a very sharp knife that slices very thinly.
First you need to heat the soap bars in a saucepan with about 8 to 9 cups of water. Place the saucepan over medium-low heat until the soap has melted. If you want to make a creamier body cream instead of a liquid hand cream, use less water. The more water you add to the product, the more watery it becomes.
Don’t worry if you want to reuse a saucepan and don’t want to mess up your food with soap scum. One option is to pick an oldie specifically for melting your soap, or you can even buy a cheap, used one from a thrift store. This way you stay calm and financially smart.
Remove the pot from the heat when it has already melted. Leave covered for 12 to 24 hours to thicken overnight. If it’s not the consistency you want, you can reheat and adjust as needed.
If you still can’t be sure it’s even, try using your blender or immersion blender to mix it better. So you will have no doubt!
Method 2 Soak soap in the microwave
You need to cut the soap into cubes and put them in a glass jar, not a plastic one. Glass jars are a better choice as plastic ones can allow the aromatherapy oil to leach out of the soap and fill your microwave oven with odors.
If you’re thinking about making your own bars of soap, make sure you weigh out just the right amount beforehand so it fits the exact mold you intend to use. You don’t want to run out of space or have too much soap!
If you don’t know how much fits in the pot, simply fill it with water and then pour it into a measuring cup. So you know for sure which amount is the right one.
The truth is that it would be ideal to add a little more than will fit in the mold so you can make sure you have enough to make your recipe perfect. Don’t worry about overdoing it a little, in this case more is always better!
Wrap the glass jar in a suitable plastic wrap and place in the microwave. Covering is key to protecting against moisture. Heat in 30-second intervals to ensure you get the consistency you want and just right.
Be careful not to overheat or it may ruin it! Better to proceed slowly and with good lyrics so as not to spoil everything.
Flip the soap a few times to make sure it’s completely melted. Look over the whole thing to see if there are any lumps. If you find any, simply reseal the soap and microwave for another 30 seconds.
Method 3 Melt the soap with boiling water
To crumble the soap, you can use a cheese grater or even a potato peeler. Cutting off the large bars of soap beforehand will make it much easier to melt later. Try it out!
Oh, you can also roll the soap bars if you have any. It’s a convenient way to use them.
Take a saucepan and fill it with water. Put it on the fire to cook. If you know how to do it, you can go for the water bath method. If not, a medium-sized pot can work as well.
Place the pieces in a glass jar and set the jar over a saucepan of hot water. The heat of the water will gradually melt the soap.
If you’re using goat milk soap, I recommend adding 1 tablespoon of water for every two cups of soap. This will prevent the soap bars from sticking together. This greatly facilitates hassle-free use!
Move it every now and then. Do this often so the pieces start to melt. But be careful, if you shake it too hard, bubbles may appear. It’s best to give him a good mix, more or less, from time to time.
If the pieces don’t melt, gradually add another tablespoon of water, but don’t exceed the total of 3.
When you find that the soap is very soft, remove it from the heat. But don’t worry if it’s not completely smooth, some texture is normal.
Finish…
Once you’ve melted the pieces using either of these methods, you can add color with vegetable dyes for baking, or buy special dyes for soap making.
You can also add aroma with essential oils like lavender for a relaxing effect, refreshing lemon or invigorating rosemary. They know how to choose the aroma according to your taste and needs.
The shape of the mold also gives the finishing touch. You can just make a bar and slice it thickly, or get silicone molds of all different shapes.
So, from now on, save every bit of soap and get to work!
With information from: