Hi folks,
I thought I'd say hello, having discovered Fresholi a few weeks ago, but not having had chance to get into the forum yet.

I've been making soap and bath stuff for the last few years, more as a hobby than anything, and am now trying to start my own little business, having decided at 40 that being in accounts for the rest of my life is just too horrifying a prospect!   I've got two willing helpers and guinea pigs, 1 is 8 and 1 is 50!   

The reason I got into soap making was because I'm one of those people who comes out in a rash just by looking at most soaps and gels, and I haven't bought commercial soap since I started making it!   

Can anyone point me in the right direction for help with re-batching?   It's something I've not really had anything to do with, but recently one of my batches of soap came out very unsatisfactory, so I thought, good time to try rebatching.   However, I've tried following instructions in a hitherto good book that I have, and what I ended up with was in no way 'pourable'!   Just looked like a lump of gloop!   I slapped it into a mould anyway, and it seems to be hardening up very slowly, but it's just not what the book said.   

Any help and ideas gratefully received!!
Thanks,
Amanda

Hello and welcome Amanda.

There's a Rebatch tutorial here in resources (use the same login as you do for the forum) if you can't see it yet (may have to have "Author" or Jr Member status give me a buzz.

(Something seems to have happened to the Chocmint pics BTW - blue in the mould and no finished pic.)

Enjoy yourself around the forum and beware the Naughty Corner!!

Hi Amanda

Welcome & enjoy it here.
I'm rubbish at rebatching but others have the hang of it.
Oh, and enjoy the naughty corner 

Hi folks,

Thanks for the advice, I'll have a go at the rebatching method in the resources, its slightly different to the one that I've tried, so fingers crossed!   If that doesn't work, then I don't know what to do.  Maybe I'll be someone who can't rebatch as well!!!  The one I have tried told me to add 340g water for every 454g of soap I was trying to melt - this one seems to use less.  I don't want to add extra ingredients, just sort out this batch of soap gone wrong!   Oh well, I'll let you all know what it turns out like!   

By the way, what's the naughty corner, cos I wouldn't know? 

Another little fibber methinks  :mwaha:

Good luck with the rebatch.  I've done 2 lots now and I can't get the hang of it AT ALL.

hello . . . i've not tried re-batching yet !! it sounds scarey !
you will have to show us some piccies of the soaps youv'e made . . . we love piccies 

Hello & welcome to probably the best site in the uk :mwaha:
I have had a go at rebatching but not good enough to show.
Kim

Hello Amanda
Welcome to the forum, hope you'll stick around 
Rebatching freshly made soap, you shouldn't need much extra liquid at all, certainly no where near 340g  Do you use sodium lactate? That can help a HP batch more pourable so would prob work with a rebatch too.

No, I don't use Sodium lactate, when would I put that in?  (sorry if that sounds dense!)  And I did think that 340g water seemed excessive!    The soap I've just tried to rebatch is only about a month old but I just ended up with this big gloop, had to be dollopped into the mould!

Pictures?? Dunno about that!   My soaps are nothing fancy, more the, errr, natural blocky looking things.   Am just about to do some new ones for my website, so when I've done that, I'll maybe post a few!

Glad to see that I'm not the only one who seems to have trouble with re-batching, thought it was just that I was rubbish!

Thanks
Amanda

You could add sodium lactate dissolved in the extra water. It does need to dissolve first before adding it though. It really helps fluidity and also hardens your soap (so I've found), great if you don't use palm.
For a month old soap I wouldn't add a lot of water but I can't day how much, suck it and see is my advice 
BTW we like all pics of soap, fancy or not 
You could let us have a nosey at your website if you like 

Hi there- I love natural blocky soap when I see pictures of it I always want to run a bath-straight away there and then! If you showed us pictures we would lOVE it!  By the way is it ok if I join the non-rebatcher club as I have tried it once and got purple gloop.
And WELCOME! :buttrf:

Hello Soapwitch!!

A very warm welcome to the forum - lovely that you have joined us.  I can't help on the rebatching I'm afraid but Elaine is the rebatching queen - her tutorial she kindly did for us is available on the main site for registered users (so you don't have to have author status to see it). Just make sure you are registered and logged in on the main site 

Welcome again and I look forward to chatting with you around the forum 

The website if anyone wants to have a nosey is www.jm-soaps.co.uk - very much a work in progress!   I'm in the process of adding bits and some of the pics that are in the shop are old ones from my first trial batches, so need to be updated now I have products I'm happy with (cept the rebatch!!!  )   

It all seems very inadequate now I've seen some of the wonderful creations that some of you make!

You do some beautiful things and the swirls on some of those soapies are just lovely  :buttrf:  What a contrast in careers!!  From number crunching to bathbomb pressing  :mwaha:  Congratulations on your escape from the rat race SW 

Nice goodies Amanda!