Thread: melting williams mug soap

Hello I tried this today and it worked well. Williams mug soap as you know is a hard soap that does not melt well. I was getting tired of it moving around in my large mug, so I melted a glycerin soap, I used col conk, put it in the microwave for 15 to 20 sec, then cut up a bar of williams mug soap into small pieces but them in the melted col conk, put in the microwave for 15 more seconds, mixed well and let stand overnight.

This was a great mixture for me and no more wobbling around.

Crom

Originally Posted by cromagnum

Hello I tried this today and it worked well. Williams mug soap as you know is a hard soap that does not melt well. I was getting tired of it moving around in my large mug, so I melted a glycerin soap, I used col conk, put it in the microwave for 15 to 20 sec, then cut up a bar of williams mug soap into small pieces but them in the melted col conk, put in the microwave for 15 more seconds, mixed well and let stand overnight.

This was a great mixture for me and no more wobbling around.

Crom

Can you do this with any type of mug soap? I have col conks and i would like the whole thing to be melted in my bowl instead of having to load the brush on the small puck...

Originally Posted by shorynot

Can you do this with any type of mug soap? I have col conks and i would like the whole thing to be melted in my bowl instead of having to load the brush on the small puck...

You can melt glycerin based soaps(col conk's soaps are glycerine based so is ok to melt), but Not milled soaps.

If you try to nuke milled soaps in the microwave it will scorch and burn.

I personally do not think that shaping the soap to you lathering bowl is a good idea. Not only you will end up wasting a lot of soap if you use it that way, but more importantly, it would make it harder to find the peak of the soap. When you load and lather in the same bowl, you would continue to get soap from the puck into your lather and likely, the result would be pretty lather that is too dry. If you like to lather in a bowl, the best way to do it is to load the brush on a separate bowl, which is usually small, and then transfer it to a larger lathering bowl. Again, you have the last word on how you should go about this ;-).

Having said that, any soap would melt under the right conditions. For some, it takes longer heating times, slightly higher temperatures, and some times, a bit of water is required after you grate it. This is basically the process of milling or rebatching. Rebatching soap may lead to loss of scent but you can always add more at this stage. Many good quality shaving soaps are milled, often 3 times. I think that you may find this video useful:

rebatching soap - Google Videos

One thing to keep in mind is to make sure that your soap has completely melted before you add your additional ingredients. The other thing to keep in mind is that there is so much your soap can take so avoid adding too much or too many things that could affect performance. Finally, stay away from the microwave as heating is not even. A double boiler takes longer but works better.

Al raz.

I agree with the post above that if you lather in the bowl with the soap it will be too dry or you will get a lot of wasted soap, however, using a melted soap to load your brush then going to lather bowl works good for me, or go to your face and lather right on your skin, you will need to add water to your brush or the lather will be too dry.
The main reason of this post was how to get a small puck of soap that does not melt into a larger mug without it wobbling around. Use what you think is best and works for you, and have fun.

Crom

Originally Posted by cromagnum

I agree with the post above that if you lather in the bowl with the soap it will be too dry or you will get a lot of wasted soap, however, using a melted soap to load your brush then going to lather bowl works good for me, or go to your face and lather right on your skin, you will need to add water to your brush or the lather will be too dry.
The main reason of this post was how to get a small puck of soap that does not melt into a larger mug without it wobbling around. Use what you think is best and works for you, and have fun.

Crom

Yeah, this is what i do...load the brush then move over to a mug to make lather. So if i wanna melt down my col conks soap should i just put the whole puck in there, or cut it up first? The microwave is really a no go...dont exactly have access to a double boiler

col conk melts easy, I did not cut mine up, just put it in for 15 to 20 sec to start and see how it melts, less time is better because you can jut add a few more seconds, if you go too long it may boil over and you will have a big mess.

crom

Originally Posted by cromagnum

col conk melts easy, I did not cut mine up, just put it in for 15 to 20 sec to start and see how it melts, less time is better because you can jut add a few more seconds, if you go too long it may boil over and you will have a big mess.

crom

Just just short concentrated microwave zaps? The whole thing will really melt away? Thats a pretty big chunk o soap lol

Yep, you guys were right...col conk melted with ease. I wont be doing this with my tabac once it gets here

how about melting down kent luxury soap? i ordered it on it's own wanting to save some money but i would like to fit it to a plastic tuperware container i have, the container is a little wider than the puck. is kent's soap milled? or would i have no problem melting it down? i'm afraid of ruining it. is it likely improper melting will change its consistency, scent?