Thread: Rendering Pucks

I've only done it once and it was kind of a mess. I grated the soap and added some distilled water (just so it was wet), I melted it until it was uniform (like mashed potatoes) with no discernible grated pieces left and it was sort of ropey or stringy, I put it in a mug to cool with a weight on it to get it more compressed.

Here's what I tried

How to Make a Shaving Cream for Men - wikiHow

I just took a pearing knife and removed a layer around the outside and it sat rather well in the dish. It slid around a bit, so I microwaved a few thin shavings for 9 sec and put it in the bottom. Then smushed the puck down on it to hold it in place.

Thanks rodb for the hint on meltable soaps. +1!

For tallow based soaps I run them through a cheese grater then press the shavings into their container. It works well.

Originally Posted by steveg

Can I render my Van Der Hagen shaving soaps pucks in a double boiler to transfer them to another (travel) container? Will the rendering alter the chemistry or consistency of the puck?

Yes --
There are two types of soaps.

• melts easy
• does not melt easy.

Anytime you heat a soap some of the fragrance will
cook off so keep the heat low and the time
that it is hot a minimum. Heat will also mess
with some of the "good stuff" additive oils
in some products and again minimum heat
and minimum time....

So fifteen seconds in the micro or some time
in a covered but not sealed container in a double
boiler....

For both types of soap....
A number of people grate soap from a larger puck
and press the bits into a travel container. A grater
can shape a big puck to fit a small container. Keep
the shavings as they make a quick lather and with
a light spray of water pack nicely into an odd shaped
container.

Originally Posted by FacialDirt

In my brief experience with melting soaps, the only ones that melt are those without any type if wax in them. Maybe I'm wrong? Please tell me why some won't melt.

I just bought L'Occitane En Provence soap called Cade. Will it melt down nicely, or need a shaving like my Tabac puck did?

Cade will have to be grated if you want to put it in something that it won't fit into.

Originally Posted by rodb

Tallow based soaps can't be microwaved, they can be grated and slowly melted (called rebatching), glycerin based soaps like VDH, Colonel Conk, Mama Bear can be microwaved

It's not just tallow soaps. Only melt-and-pour soaps can be melted in a microwave. These soaps usually have high amounts of non-lathering, liquid at room temperature substances such as glycerin and/or propylene glycol in them.

Traditional hard French, English and German soaps will react the exact same way as a soap that contains tallow. Tallow is not some magical ingredient.

Originally Posted by bkfist

It's not just tallow soaps. Only melt-and-pour soaps can be melted in a microwave. These soaps usually have high amounts of non-lathering, liquid at room temperature substances such as glycerin and/or propylene glycol in them.

Traditional hard French, English and German soaps will react the exact same way as a soap that contains tallow. Tallow is not some magical ingredient.

I know that the soaps I mentioned will microwave safely along with a few other clear glycerin types. Thanks for the info!

General rule of thumb is any glycerine based soaps can be melted in the microwave... and cold and hot processed (or tallow as most on here call em) soaps should be done in a double boiler I have even had issues with a crockpot and melting "tallow" soaps when I have had a failed batch and was trying to fix them.... both should be grated down with a cheese grater and they will melt nicely... personally even when I have to re-batch glycerine bases I use a double boiler because fragrance and essential oils will actually vaporize at a relatively low temperatures. In some cases you can microwave either but it's best to do it at a lower power. I am a traditional soaper so I stay away from the microwave.. but there are plenty of other soap makers that use it when making soaps with glycerine based melt and pours.. they are easy to do too..