I've read about people grating a stick into a bowl or cup. Do you just use a cheese grater from the kitchen? And do you then Pop it into a microwave and melt it to form a solid conformed soap to the bowl or mug bottom? Or just leave the chips float all around?
Grating shave stick/soap
- Thread starter flyingfool
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Rotary cheese grater from the kitchen, I purchased one from Walmart specifically for soaps. Take the gratings and compress them into a bowl or container. The pressure will form them into a puck. It helps putting some soaps in the freezer for 20 minutes prior to grating, so they don't start to heat up due to friction while grating.
Never microwave a soap that isn't melt and pour, it will ruin the soap. Sticks such as La Toja, Palmolive, Speick, Valobra, Arko cannot be melted in the microwave.
Here are some instructions:
http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/How_to_mill_any_soap_into_a_container
Never microwave a soap that isn't melt and pour, it will ruin the soap. Sticks such as La Toja, Palmolive, Speick, Valobra, Arko cannot be melted in the microwave.
Here are some instructions:
http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/How_to_mill_any_soap_into_a_container
Flat grater works fine. Press them with your thumbs into the bowl, use a little water to smooth the surface if you want.
I just grated my Speick stick into a small round bowl. Curious to try it for the first time.
Not all soaps are compatible to being melted in the microwave or on the stovetop. I grate MWF into a paper plate. I grab handfuls of it, squeeze into a tight clump and pack into a 1 cup pyrex container, this allows me to cover it when not in use. Grating hard soaps really "wakes them up" I find. I lather on top of the cake and let 2 golf ball sized globs of it drop into a separate bowl. Reload the brush then go to the bowl and mix. The entire process takes less than 90 seconds.
I use a large flat grater ($3) from Walmart, then follow the above instruction link. Larger holes (coarse or extra coarse) work best.
I use a common, flat cheese grater. I grate all my soaps and then press the shavings into Brut deodorant push-up containers for face lathering. It's the best thing I've ever done shaving-wise.
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Thanks guys!
So how does one know if the soap is able to be melted or not? Is there a specific ingredient that makes them incompatible. Such as any tallow based soap not being able to be melted?
So how does one know if the soap is able to be melted or not? Is there a specific ingredient that makes them incompatible. Such as any tallow based soap not being able to be melted?
One hint. If the soap is not very hard put it in the freezer for a few hours. That makes it easier to grate without getting stuck in the grater.
I grate them all. In my experience, even the soaps that can be microwaved, perform and smell better when grated.
This is what I do..,
Ditto here: ^^
I did this earlier this week because I felt the stick was too hard to rub direct onto my face. I left some hot water in the bowl to slightly soften the top layer of soap while I showered then whipped up some great lather. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Anyone?
That was my biggest problem with most sticks--the hardness. No matter how long I soaked it, I'd get to a point where it was rock hard, and hard to apply further. I've appreciated them since I've grated most of my sticks.
One of the issues I've always had with sticks is that it is one more thing you rub on your face, thus doing a mild form of exfoliation and thus opening up the potential for irritation...milling sticks into a bowl allows me to skip rubbing the soap on my face step. For me, this allows me to get through the week without a face that looks like hamburger
