Can all soaps be melted down?

[strohman]

I bought some neat little wide mouth mason jars today to store some soap. I put a puck of Col. Conk in one and put it in the microwave and it melted quickly and filled in the jar perfectly.

Then I tried an older puck of Old Spice. It basically expanded and looked like something from a high school chemistry lab. It is softer, but has not turned into any form of a liquid. I pushed it into place and left it alone to firm up, but I'm not sure what to expect.

Do some soaps not melt? How are you supposed to transfer them to a different container?

(Can you tell I'm new at this?)

 

[RichGem]

Only glyrcerine based soaps can be melted successfully. Tallow and triple-milled, as you discovered, tend to "explode" and to be ruined. In the case of non-glycerine soaps, best to grate it up with a cheese grater and press the threads into whatever container you like. Somewhere around here there's a guide to "milling any soap" which will be helpful to you.

edit: fixed to say "non-glycerine" not "non-tallow above

 

[Fairchild86]

Glycerin based soaps can be melted down and poured into a new container. Soaps made with tallow need to graded down and pressed into the new container. This can easily be done by grading the soap down on a cheese grader. Hope this helps.

 

[Fairchild86]

Only glyrcerine based soaps can be melted successfully. Tallow and triple-milled, as you discovered, tend to "explode" and to be ruined. In the case of non-tallow soaps, best to grate it up with a cheese grater and press the threads into whatever container you like. Somewhere around here there's a guide to "milling any soap" which will be helpful to you.

You beat me too it...

 

[strohman]

So does that mean that the soap I tried to melt is now ruined? I hope not since I never got to use it.

I didn't understand what was meant by milled down into a new container. I should have looked at that thread and learned before I jumped in without enough information. I guess that's how you learn!

 

[RichGem]

So does that mean that the soap I tried to melt is now ruined? I hope not since I never got to use it.

I didn't understand what was meant by milled down into a new container. I should have looked at that thread and learned before I jumped in without enough information. I guess that's how you learn!

Possibly yes. Or, possibly damaged. Give it a try and see what happens; that's really the only way to tell. But, if you nuked it then chances are, it's a goner.

 

[michiganlover]

<--- That is me crying, that you have just destroyed a very good vintage tallow based soap, that usually sells in the $20-$25 range (sometimes more). So if you are looking to replace it, it won't be cheap.

 

[Luc]

Tallow and triple milled need to be grated or chopped to be fitted in a new container.

Grating them is the safest way.

 

[breadstick]

If you are melting a glycerine soap (in the future, it looks like) be mindful of the container you're pouring it into. I was reading about the empty shaving stick containers that a few sell and they warn that the melting point of glycerine soaps is roughly the same as the temperature the containers start to warp, making it very difficult to get the soap to "push up" out of the container.

 

[strohman]

I got it very cheap at a flea market, but I really feel terrible for destroying it! I was looking forward to using it. Luckily I still have the mug, but I hate to see something that old go to waste.

I'll try it out to see if it is still any good.

 

[SliceOfLife]

All soaps can be melted, just not in the microwave.

 

[hathela]

what are some examples of Tallow and triple-milled soaps ???

 

[Luc]

Tallow:
Williams
Cella
Wilkinson Sword (the shave stick)
Arko

Triple milled
Art of Shaving
L'Occitane Cade

 

[hathela]

what category does taylor of old bond street falls into??

and what is the significant difference between Tallow and triple-milled soaps??

 

[Luc]

what category does taylor of old bond street falls into??

and what is the significant difference between Tallow and triple-milled soaps??

Can't remember if TOBS has tallow or not. If it doesn't, I'm fairly sure it's tripled milled.

 

[mparker762]

Do some soaps not melt? How are you supposed to transfer them to a different container?

All soaps can be melted. Glycerin soaps are trivial to melt, just nuke them till they flow then pour into your favored container. Traditional hard soaps (often referred to as "triple-milled" around here though they aren't always milled three times) can also be melted, but they require much more care when doing so. You need to heat them slowly and evenly, or any hot spots will begin to burn before the rest of it has melted. You may also need to add a bit of water to it before heating it up - soap needs some water in it, and those three milling steps the factory gave it has already dried it out considerably, making it perfect to use but not to melt. If you're melting it in a double-boiler then you may not need to add water as the inner pot won't get hot enough to burn the fat. But if you're using a simple pot on the stove, or the microwave, then you *must* grate the soap and add some water to it before heating it up.

It's also best if your first try at this is done with something like Mitchell Wool Fat or Williams, instead of something valuable like vintage Old Spice or Yardley.

 

[mparker762]

and what is the significant difference between Tallow and triple-milled soaps??

Traditional soaps are made with fat, water, and lye. Different types of fat create different types of soap. Olive Oil, for example, lathers very poorly, Palm Oil lathers well even in hard water, etc.

Tallow is simply a type of soap that many around here feel produces a superior shaving lather, and which is being phased out by many traditional manufacturers. There are still tallow-based soaps being made, Williams Mug Soap is probably the most popular shaving soap in the US and is tallow based. It is also roundly reviled on this forum, FWIW. Personally I don't think there's anything particularly special about tallow, I think the reason the new reformulated soaps suck is a combination of poor product development, cost-cutting, and the newness of the soaps means they haven't quite cured enough. We saw this latter problem with the reformulated creams came out, they were terrible until they'd aged a few months. The last tallow-based soaps from Penhaligons, TOBS etc had probably been sitting in their warehouses for years while they depleted their stock before switching to the new version.

Triple-milled soaps are traditional soaps that have been milled three times. This is orthogonal to the type of fat used. This milling process involves shredding the soap, drying it, and melting it back together. This helps dry the soap out, increasing its density and hardness which in turn increases its longevity, and also helps ensure that it has a very even consistency with no fatty lumps or lye pockets. Typically the perfume is added during the last milling step, which is also the step where it receives its final shape.

The traditional high-quality English soaps (Penhaligons, DR Harris, T&H etc) are triple-milled, but the term "triple-milled" is used pretty loosely around here, it seems to be used as if it means "traditional fat, water, and lye soap" and doesn't necessarily mean that it was really milled three times.

 

[wimbouman]

All soaps can be melted. ...

It's also best if your first try at this is done with something like Mitchell Wool Fat or Williams, instead of something valuable like vintage Old Spice or Yardley.

Oh oh...
No messing with MWF!

 

[Catseye]

This thread sort of goes along with something I was thinking.

Back story...
I tried VDH for the first time the other day and the minute it hit my face, it started to burn (not temperature as it had cooled). Tried a second time the next day, same thing. Now, my Col. Conk is irritating my face. Anyway, I was thinking that if I could melt down a bar of Dove face soap and mix in a little Fuller's Earth or Bentonite clay powder, I might be able to have a gentler product. Any thoughts?

At this time, I'm not able to afford any of the more expensive soaps (just in case any of you were going to recommend that) as I'm getting married next month and gotta put back the $$ for the rings.

 

[Mr. Igg]

I can't help with your amping-up-the-Dove idea, but another option is to consider that VDH and Conk are made by the same company. You might be sensitive to something in those soaps particularly, or to fragrances in soaps generally.

Lots of makers have non-fragranced soaps and creams you can try; they will likely run a bit more than VDH or Conk, but honestly, not much. I'm thinking particularly of boutique/artisan makers like Mama Bear, Honeybee Spa, SCS, and so forth. As one example: I just checked Honeybee Spa's site and you can still get 6 pucks of her highly non-trivial soap (i.e., really good) for $22 + shipping. At $3.50/puck, that's absolutely in sync with Conk soaps, which I typically see at $3-5/puck. Other makers also have unscented soaps (and creams), but they'd run to higher prices (and might last longer).

EDIT TO ADD: Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!