How To Make Hand Milled Soaps

If you like the look, feel and texture of processed soaps but
don’t want to have make them from scratch then hand milled soaps,
also known as rebatched soaps, might work for you. The essential
instructions are actually fairly easy to follow and with a little
practice you can make some gorgeous hand soaps. This method can
also be used for leftover scrap pieces of soap too.

Q: What is hand milled soap?

A: Milling is a standard term in the soapmaking industry meaning
grated or ground, so hand milled soaps are hand grated soaps that
are re-formed into new bars.

The most important thing you can do to make this process go
smoothly is to gather all of your supplies before you begin.
Having everything you need at your fingertips makes it a lot
easier because later in the process you have to move fairly
quickly as the soap begins to thicken up.

Once you have all of your supplies it’s time to begin:

Step 1: Grate your hand soap. A food processor can be
used in addition to hand grating the soap in order to achieve
a finer texture.

Choosing your base soap: A soap that is made with lye and cold
processed works best for hand milling. Castile soaps also work
great for hand milling as well. Choose hand soaps that do
not have added fragrances, scents or dyes.

Step 2: Place all of your grated soap into a pan, bowl or large
measuring glass that will be placed in a larger pan with water
in it. Be sure to leave enough space in the pan to gently stir
your soap.

Step 3: Add any oils and then water, called for in the hand
milled recipe. Add about 2” of water to the larger pan and place
on a medium to medium-high heat. Sit the smaller pan with the
grated soap, oils and/or water into the larger pan and begin
stirring while the water heats. When the water begins to boil,
turn down the heat so that it will stay at a simmering boil.
Continue stirring through the melting process.

Tips for the melting process: At first the soap will clump
together. Use your spoon to break up the clumps and continue
stirring until the oils and/or water are completely mixed in.
It will begin to look sort of like a watery cottage cheese mixture,
continue stirring. The soap will eventually become smoother. The
final phase of the melting process is when the soap looks
‘stringy’. The soap must reach the string phase of the melting
process in order for it to set up correctly later.

Step 4: The soap will begin to thicken very quickly at this point.
Remove your hand soap from the hot water and work quickly
to add any dyes or fragrances the recipe calls for. Once the dyes
and scents are added, add any herbs, botanicals or additional
ingredients your recipe calls for. Stir these additives in until
they are thoroughly combined.

Step 5: Once the additives are completely mixed through the soap,
spoon the melted soap into the mold. In order to eliminate any
potential air bubbles, gently tap the mold on the counter. If you
prefer soap balls to molded soaps, as soon as the soap is cool
enough to handle, begin working into balls with your hands.

Step 6: Your molded soap should be ready to be removed from the
mold within four to twelve hours. Once the soap is hard enough,
remove it from the mold and set it out to cure for up to three
weeks. In the first few days it’s imperative that you flip and/or
rotate your soap so that it doesn’t become mis-shaped or warped.
Tips for the molding/curing process: If you having difficulty
getting your hardened soap out of the mold, pop it into the
freezer for a about 30 minutes or so and then try removing it
again. If you don’t want to wait the four to twelve hours for
your soap to harden, you can also freeze it.

Be sure to allow adequate curing time or the soap will dissolve
very quickly when it’s used.

If you shape your soap into balls, as they cure they may shrink
or even collapse. If this happens simply reshape them by hand
into balls again.

If your soap doesn’t get good and hard after about three days
or so, it most likely didn’t reach the proper stringy temperature
all the way through the soap during the melting process. You can
either re-melt and re-mold it, or try shaping it into soap balls.

Layered hand soaps can be created by scooping in the first
layer and letting it set up to a soft but solid form, then scooping
in the next layer and repeating the process.

Content copyright © 2001-2005 by Cheryl Lewis. All rights reserved.