# Lye Soap question?



## BeeFree (Feb 23, 2004)

My DD purchased a lot of old plain lye soap at an auction. 

She gave it to me. I am wondering if I can shave it up and melt it and add some coloring and essential oils to it to make it smell better? 


What are your opinions on this?


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i never had much luck melting soap down. many others here seem to be good at it though. i had a big slab of plain soap purchased years ago that began to get smell to it. i grated it up and incorporated it about 50-50 with fresh homemade soap. i made a fresh batch and when it traced, i added the grated soap to it. i added lemon scent and it is great stuff.


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## donsgal (May 2, 2005)

BeeFree said:


> My DD purchased a lot of old plain lye soap at an auction.
> 
> She gave it to me. I am wondering if I can shave it up and melt it and add some coloring and essential oils to it to make it smell better?
> 
> ...


Google "rebatching" or "remilling" and you will find about a zillion ways to do it, with recipes, etc. There are people who make plain lye soap just to sell to people for rebatching who don't want to deal with the whole issue but want to have their own colors and fragrances.

One point, however, is that remilled soap is never as smooth as the original. It seems you can never really get all the bumps out. 

donsgal


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## Sherrynboo (Mar 19, 2005)

It depends on what kind of fats it was made with as to whether it will melt down or not. Some of it will just turn into a pasty mess.

Sherry in GA


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## BeeFree (Feb 23, 2004)

Thanks for the answers. I have no idea what fats or oils were used to make it as it is rather old, I believe. The sale was an estate sale, and this was stored in a shed there. I will check out the google sites and maybe play with some of it.


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## akhomesteader (Jan 5, 2006)

I made a mess of some once, but gave it another try, with success. I milled it, added a little water and some herbs (crushed rosemary) and put it on the stove for a few minutes. I forgot about it and went outside for a little while. Finally remembered it (we have a wood stove). When I ran back in the house, it was bubbling over the pan. The stove was an awful, smelly mess, but that batch turned out to be the most wonderful liquid soap I've ever made! 

Jenny
Frontier Freedom Online Magazine


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## Debbie at Bount (Feb 24, 2005)

If I mess up on a batch, I never rebatch. I use it a laudry detergent.
Debbie
www.bountifulsoaps.com


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