what the heck?!

This is what happens when a goat's milk with honey soap recipe overheats... I knew something had gone wrong when after an hour or so after pouring I checked the heat with my hand and pulled back fast as the middle was angry, angry hot! And I was left with a big spongy spot middle + honey leaking + oil separating = big mess...

My method (trial and error) of gelling the soap (letting it get hot enough to gel / cure but not so hot that it separates) is heating pad and insulation for water only soaps, insulation for milk only soaps (i.e. piece of foam on top - nothing else) and no insulation whatsoever for soaps with milk AND honey. BUT what I learned last week is that if it's a large mold of soap with milk & honey ALSO put it on the cold, cold concrete floor - just in case :)

I rebatched this batch of Bee Good and the result was actually nicer than the straight up soap. The bar has a very nice opaque silky look to it, very fancy.

The way I rebatch soap is putting it thru the kitchen machine to noodle (like zucchini). Put all the noodles in a stainless steel pot (not aluminum) inside another pot with hot water and a heat resistant trivet (to keep space). Pour a little milk (goat, cow, soy, whatever) over the noodles, enough to make them look wet but not so much it puddles on the bottom. Add lid, boil water and keep it at a slow boil while stirring occasionally. It will take hours for the soap to liquify enough for pouring! When the soap starts to get liquid again and is pretty easy to stir, pour into mold. It's better to heat and wait, than to pour too soon - if the soap plops instead of pours into the mold it's likely too chunky and will not set with that silky opaque look but instead look like old crumbly cheese...

I have not had success using rebatched soap in small shape molds, the soap is too thick and sticky to get into all the little bits and pieces of small molds.