I’ve had this batch of goatsmilk soap getting in the way for a few months now; being too ugly to sell or even give away, but too good to throw away. I decided to rebatch it using a method I’d read about on soap forums. I’d done it once before with a messed up batch of shampoo bars with good results so I chose to use the “Half and Half” method again.
Half old soap added to half new soap.
I also decided to take pictures and keep notes, so when I do this again, I’ll know what went right and wrong.
I hand chopped the goatsmilk soap then ran it through the food processor.
Killing my ancient Hamilton Beach, which wasn’t a bad thing because it was dying anyhow. Afterwards I weighed the soap (24 ounces) and added 16 ounces of water. I let it sit on the counter for a few hours while I worked on my webpage for dance classes and drank a few glasses of Swamp Water (half and half sweet tea and lemonade).
I also wrote my recipe based on 30 ounces of product. 
A little more than half of the rebatching soap, but I prefer working in numbers ending in zero. Then I ran it through a lye calculator (this one is from Soapcrafters.com). As you can see- 30 ounces of these fats need 4.2 ounces of lye and 12 ounces of water. I didn’t super fat or take a water deduction. I had enough problems just rebatching.
I prefer doing HP (hot process soap) because it’s easier for me, less frustrating and its pretty much a What You See Is What You Get kinda proposition. Here is what I use:
An ancient crock pot that is absolutely fabulous for everything from soap to stew. A stick blended I got for 2 bucks at Good Will and a stainless steel spoon. There is also a rubber spatula involved but it was in the dishwasher at the time of the photos.
After the chopped soap had softened considerably, I put it in my crock pot, turned on HIGH (is there any other speed?) to soften more while I weighed out my ingredients.
Anytime I make soap, there will always been certain ingredients in it; some based on convenience, some based on quality and outcome. To me, my best soaps will always have no less than 20% lard, 25% olive oil and 5% castor oil. The other hard, soft and emoilent fats will vary. But to me, this is the best soap combo I’ve found.
My recipe for this rebatch was:
24 ounces Goatsmilk Soap- Chopped and ground
16 ounces of water for soaking (Next time, I’ll use 10 to 12 ounces)
7.5 ounces shortening
6 ounces lard
7.5 ounces olive oil
6 ounces coconut oil
1. 5 ounces castor oil
1.5 ounces grapeseed oil
4.2 ounes lye
12 ounces water
Extras added were:
2 ounces Nestle’s Quick
1 ounce Swiss Chocolate FO
I weighed and measured out my fats, my scales don’t ‘do’ odd numbers, what they do do is flash between the two even numbers. So don’t freak at the numbers you see.
And I added them to the soap in the crock pot.
It actually started to look like Rice Krispy Treats and very yummy!
Next came measuring the lye.
Now, at this point, I need to add the usual disclaimer. When working with lye, you need to use precautions. Protect your eyes, wear sold toe shoes and leave no skin exposed. So I swear on my Granny’s chamber pot I wore this when mesuring the lye.
Really. (OK, I was wearing flip flops and a sun dress. Feel better?)
I measured my water with a few ice cubes to cool down the reaction of the lye.
I opened the kitchen door for ventilation and I added the lye to the water.
It stunk as usual.
Then I measured out my Nestle’s Quick. It does three things to the soap. Makes it smell like chocolate, makes it dark brown like chocolate and the sugar increases the foam of the soap. I’ve done this before with goatsmilk soap because it already has a deep orangey tan color and it doesn’t take much brown to push it into a nice chocolate color.
I added it to the lye mixture and stirred until it was disolved, and yes, it looked nasty.
While my fats were melting along with the soap, I prepared my molds, using the wax paper from the weighing portion to grease the drawer liner I use as a mold. 
Then I lined it with butcher’s paper, wax side up. The grease in the mold makes the paper adhere and lie flat. Here are a collection of molds– A cheap plastic drawer liner, PVC pipes left over from my house construction, a 3 D clear plastic mold and 3 silicone molds (That I LOVE!) Everytime I get paid, I buy more.
I’ve been using the stick blender throughout and now the soap has disolved into the hot fat mixture.
I added the chocolate lye and stick blended for minute or two until it was as uniform as possible and I allowed it to cook for about another 30 minutes or so. I did the ‘zap’ test as well as checked the pH. This batch got to neutral very quickly.
On stirring, I see that it has a glossy sheen and is a bit on the thin side for HP soap, which I attribute to the water I used in the soaking process. If I do this again, I’ll reduce the water by a few ounces in both soaking and disolving the lye. However, it looks GORGEOUS! Like dark carmel. At this point I add the Swiss Chocolate FO and mix well.
I pour/ sloppy spoon the mixture into various molds.
I will say that it poured perfectly into the 3D mold, so there was a plus to the thinness.
I stick everything in the freezer to cool. (I’m impatient that way).
This is what the silicone mold soaps looked like.
This is what my big slab soap looked like also. BTW, the chucks out of the edge of my counter? I have a Moluccan Cockatoo. NOTHING wood is safe around her!
And here is the finished produce ‘stonehenged’ to dry out a bit. They’re a bit rubbery feeling, but even less so than CP soap. My guess is a few weeks will dry them out and harden them up.
Hard to believe this started with this.
