Fresholi | Melting Pot Café

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!   ;D

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 (http://www.fresholi.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=446&Itemid=39) (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  ;D

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?  :anglll:

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  :hap3: :hap3: :hap3:

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  :D
Rebatching freshly made soap, you shouldn't need much extra liquid at all, certainly no where near 340g  :o 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  :D
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  ;D

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  ;D

Nice goodies Amanda!

Balls is all I can say.  :mwaha: I rebatch my soaps into balls. Hard, shiny balls. And enjoy the naughty corner. I drop in occasionally to see what they get up to but am not a regular attendee.  :angl:

 ::)  SW, do NOT be fooled by Mrs Soapballs - she starts most of the trouble that gets things sent to the naughty corner  :mwaha:

H, you fibber.  :angl: I am.  ::)

She tells massive porkies does that Joy btw.  The naughty corner was invented for her dontcha know.

PS We're off.  We've already hijacked a newbie's thread.  We'll be bunged off to the NC before long.

OK mod hat on. 8)

Now gals be good and stop hijacking newbie's threads. (I am trying to set a good example here bytheway)  :mwaha: You know I'd never hijack a thread so why can't you be a bit more like me and EJ?

Sorry SW.

Oh honestly, Joy, you haven't brought your balls into play on a newbie thread?? How could you?? What sort of impression is this poor woman gonna get? TOTALLY THE RIGHT ONE, TEEHEEE, you 4, you, JJ, Corrie and Helen are baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad girls. Now someone put this in the naughty corner before mum tells you lot off.

Hello Amanda!

Welcome to the board, ignore all the naughtiness and you will actually find a lot of very good information and inspiration on here.

I was just going to say we were straying from topic here. LLL hush your mouth, I am not naughty  ;)
Amanda, your soaps look great. You'll fit in well here.
Do you only use EO's?

Stuff looks lovely SW and LLL how dare you. I didn't see your name on that list. Any way SW welcome to the mad house.
Hmpf

Ah, now I understand about the naughty corner!!! :mwaha:

Yes Corrie, I do only use EOs, don't want to use artificial stuff, even though some of them smell delicious!  

Thanks everyone for making me feel welcome and for all the nice comments and yes, soap and bath-bomb making is SOOO much more fun than accounts!   Can't wait until I can hang up the abacus for the dreaded employer and start crunching my own profit figures!
Am off now to do some packing, going to Whitby for the weekend, gonna hang out with the Goths for a couple of days!    :hap3:

Speak to everyone soon
Amanda

Have a nice weekend SW.
Some of this lot will no doubt be naughty so there'll be lots to read when you get back.

Yup, this part of the thread will probably be in the NC by the time you get back  :mwaha:

Have a great weekend!!!  :buttrf:

Enjoy yourself! Just make sure you tell us all about it when you get back, preferably accompanied by pics  :mwaha:

OOO SW, Mr S and I just went to Whitby for our hols. I've never been before and to be fair I / we weren't very well. I was looking for Goth shops etc and didn't find too may. Maybe I was looking in the wrong place. I did walk up to the abbey though. Nearly killed me. And I didn't get my Whitby jet that I wanted.  :'(

I walked up to the Abbey once Joy- it nearly killed me too I remember and i was only 19!!!

Hello! Welcome to the forum!  ;D

Hello Amanda, I am a newby as well, but they seen a lovely lovely :hap3: bunch of people
michaela