Question about melting soap to make soap shapes

[ajrsmom]

Can I melt down a regular bar of soap --anything off the shelf, say Dove and then use this to pour into molds to make new shapes?

What kind of homemade mold can I use to make kids glycerin soaps that have things stuck inside them?


Thanks for any help!
Tami

[ajrsmom]

Bumping up to see if anyone has any new ideas.

[apricot]

I've melted down the glycerin type of soaps to make some with shapes but haven't tried Dove or regular soap yet.

[ajrsmom]

Thanks! This was actually an activity that I wanted to work on with my kids to give out as gifts for Christmas.

I'd still like to know if other soaps would work, too.

[danstigerangel]

Tami----ANna (OSI) may be able to help. She is on the frugal thread and makes soaps and also candles.

[AnnaInOhio]

Tami

Yes, when you melt soap it is called "French Milling" sounds fancy doesn't it, LOL!

Anyways, yes any soap can be melted down and reshaped.

For small batches of soap as a consumer would have, cut it in smaller chunks add just a little bit of water and put it in a crockpot on very low setting. Let it melt and stir every once in awhile. You will want to have on hand some jello molds of some kind, once the soap is melted it shouldn't take more than a h our or so for small batches of soap, use a ladle and ladle it into your soap mold and let it harden back up... should take about 24 hours. To un pop it I would suggest putting it in the freezer for about a half hour and it should pop right out of the mold.

Now: For safety standards, if you are using reused soap, it might not be considered sanitary to give as gifts but for your own family it works just fine.

French Milling isn't as pretty as a Melt and Pour Soap or freshly made soaps but it is definitely functional and a good way to recylce instead of throwing away.

You can also add a lot of water to the melting soap and make laundry detergent out of it. It looks like a gloppy mess but it does work.

Hope this helps.

Anna