How Do You Rebatch Homemade Lye Soap?
Saponification is the chemical reaction that occurs when fats and oils, lye and water are mixed. The end result is soap. Rebatching is essentially melting down soap a second time to add ingredients, pour into fancy molds, or make it last longer. Rebatching soap and hand-milling soap are two phrases that mean the same thing. Good, usable soap can be hand-milled. Usable soap that is perhaps misshapen or ugly can be hand-milled and poured into fancy molds. Caustic batches of soap that are not usable, however, must be thrown away. Start with a finished batch of soap. Cut into smaller blocks with a sharp knife. Grate with a cheese grater. Place the cooking pot on your kitchen scale and set it to read 0. Place the grated soap in the pot and weigh it. For every 12 ounces of soap, fill the measuring cup with 9 oz. water and add it to cooking pot. Place the pot on the stove over medium heat. Heat the soap until it melts and reaches between 150 and 160 degrees F. Stir gently with the wooden spoo
