Thread: Melting Soaps to Transfer/Pour into larger Bowl

Hey everyone,

I just got some soaps from SRD (can't wait to try them!). The plastic bowls/containers they come in are a little small. I was wondering if any of you had any good techniques for liquifying the soap into a state where it can be poured into a larger bowl and then allowed to re-solidify. Thanks!

I've never been too fond of melting soaps, I prefer to grate them (I'll explain this in a bit)

I've found that, with the SRD soap, a separate container isn't the best approach (due to difficulty of transfer from container A to container B) I use a stiff badger brush (soon to be replaced with a quality boar brush) and then get a good lather going on top of the soap, then transfer that to my face, since the badger isn't the best at soap loading (it's a 20$ Amazon brush) When I get the Boar, I'll go with loading that to the brim with soap, then purely face lathering.... Another method I use is to load as much as I can from the soap onto the badger, then whip up a lather in a separate mug with that... Continually loading and whipping until I get enough lather in that separate mug...

I'm also quite fond of the lidded SRD tub as it allows me to pour some really hot water on top of the soap, then lid it off. This keeps the water hot, and makes the soap even softer than other open soap containers. Keep it capped and hot while I'm in the shower, and it's easy lathering once I'm out and ready.

However, if you must take it out of the container, I recommend either cutting the container with a utility knife, or just cracking it with a hammer... Unless you want to keep the container, then you should probably use a chisel to break the soap out :P

Once you get it out, take a dollar store cheese grater (don't ruin your wife/mother's, trust me) and grate the soap up into small pieces, scoop those into your new container, mix it with a small amount of glycerin, then use your thumbs to push it down and pack it tight... I've found that grated soap, mixed with glycerin, and then pressed gives great results. Melting soaps, you can sometimes end up burning them, or melting the container too!

Good luck!

Cheers,
Jeremy

Originally Posted by jseitz76

Hey everyone,

I just got some soaps from SRD (can't wait to try them!). The plastic bowls/containers they come in are a little small. I was wondering if any of you had any good techniques for liquifying the soap into a state where it can be poured into a larger bowl and then allowed to re-solidify. Thanks!

In general there are two types of soap. Easy to melt glycerin based soaps
that melt at temperatures lower than boiling water (double boiler) and
harder milled soaps that do not melt as easy so don't try to melt them.

Most hard milled soaps are cast in a mold that matches the size of
the container. These just fall out at first and later get stuck by water
softened soap ofter time. You can drop them in any cup or mug that
they will fit in and in no time they will be stuck well enough to not wobble
when brushed.

For the glycerin soaps go for it. You can always reverse the melt.
Just use a chopstick or something to keep it well mixed.

BUT I would not bother.

I like to have each soap in an individual container with a label as
these already do.

Recall you are going to wet the surface. Take a quick shower then
use a brush to pick softened soap up from the surface and work into a lather
on your face, in a mug or however you like... One trick is to turn the
cup of soap upside down (thanks mantic).

I used to think that a lather was built on the soap in a mug because of
silly TV/ Movie images. It turns out that this makes it harder to get
the water soap ratio correct.

As others posted, It is a good trick to take a hard soap and grate it.
The micro-planes that are in all the cooking stores
work well. It does give you the opportunity to add a little of
this and that and then dampen it and tamp it into your
favorite container.

Assuming good water...
Most good shaving soaps do not need tinkering...

Never ever try to melt milled soaps (T&H, Trumper, Tabac etc.).
It will completely ruin them. The cheese grater method is perfect for those, although I wouldn't add glycerin to milled soap; just press the shavings in & you're good to go.

Thanks for the help and advice. I think I'm going to go with the approach of using the brush to pick up some soap and then work into a lather in a bowl.

Originally Posted by jseitz76

Thanks for the help and advice. I think I'm going to go with the approach of using the brush to pick up some soap and then work into a lather in a bowl.

If this is your approach, might I recommend a Boar Bristle brush? The Omega lines are all very soft on the face, but great backbone for lathering of a hard puck (most milled ones are hard, glycerin just needs fair stiffness from badger) My first Omega was 26 bucks, and, once broken in, passed a good deal of badger in my rotation. They are great for loading off of a puck, and very nice for face loading, soft, not prickly at all, and firm, it's like a face massage, and great exfoliation (killed my acne )

Just my .02$

Cheers,
Jeremy

Ok, here's a question...how do you know if a soap is milled or not?

Would love to know how you can tell which ones you can met, and those you can't.

Glycerin soaps are soft, hard milled soaps are hard
The sure fire test for meltability is a knife and a microwave just slice off a sliver and zap it,,,, it will either melt or burn LMAO but true...

You might want to browse this old thread I put a ton of tips and tricks in there so did many others...

http://straightrazorpalace.com/brush...den-again.html

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Glycerin soaps are soft, hard milled soaps are hard
The sure fire test for meltability is a knife and a microwave just slice off a sliver and zap it,,,, it will either melt or burn LMAO but true...

You might want to browse this old thread I put a ton of tips and tricks in there so did many others...

http://straightrazorpalace.com/brush...den-again.html

Also, most Glycerin soaps are labeled as such... And a good few of the milled ones also say that they are milled... However, the microwaved sliver is the best test.. Also, when you've tried enough soaps, a good boar brush tells you the difference... If you put the layer of hot water on the soap for a few minutes, then go for a whirl with the Boar, a Glycerin soap, you can just push the bristles straight in... most milled soaps take a bit of whisking before the boar cuts into the surface noticeably.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Jeremy

Originally Posted by OLD_SCHOOL

Indeed, because milled soaps will never melt.

Not true. Milled soaps are simply plain old cold or hot processed soaps that have been reprocessed at least once. Reprocessing involves milling (grinding, grating) the soap, adding water, heating to melt the soap and drive off some of the water and then letting the mixture set. There are triple milled soaps that have been through this process three times, so clearly milled soap can be remilled and reprocessed.

Reprocessing can be used to correct problems with the original soap. or it can be used to add additional material ingredients such as glycerine, fragrences or fats.

You can also make clear glycerine soap by reprocessing with alcohol and glycerine instead of water.