Melting DBs for soap "balls" - HOW do you melt it???

[mmhinton]

I have a recipe I very much want to try - it is for "soap balls" and calls for grating a bar of soap, melting in a double boiler then adding oils/eo's.

I have tried (twice now) to melt grated dr. bronner's in our double boiler, but it DOES NOT MELT! I have no idea what is going on here. HELP please!

(fyi - I did melt db with water for a different soap and that worked, but the end result was for a liquid hand soap...for this I ultimately want soap "bars"/balls.)

[mmhinton]

Somebody...anybody???

[Juvysen]

no clue, but I'll give you a

[Gray's Mommy]

I have only used bar soap & I did a fine grate then popped it in the saucepan to melt. I haven't tried D.B.'s to melt though. I don't use a double boiler--just stir constantly & watch like a hawk so it doesn't burn.

[mmhinton]

hmmm, maybe I'll try LOW heat in a sauce pan??? Not sure what else to try... and I wondered about other bar soaps and if they'd be any different... but I didn't see why they would be????

[maggiemae]

Every recipe I have found says you must add a little water to it. I found this interesting one too.

Old fashioned soap balls can be created easily using either ivory or dove soap bars, they have the look and feel of old soap. For a more grungy looking soap ball roll them in spices such as cinnamon before they are completely set up. Caution: do not use if you do this, your skin may have allergic reaction to the spices--display only.

Ingredients:

1 cup of instant Quaker oatmeal
1 bar of ivory or dove soap
1/4 cup of water

Grind up the oatmeal in a food processor until finely milled but do not grind to flour, you want it chopped up enough to break up the oatmeal flakes but still be visible.

Grate the bar of soap into small slivers. Place the soap and water into a large microwavable bowl and microwave on high for 2-3 minutes. Stir the mixture once or twice making sure it does not bubble over.

When the soap is dissolved remove from the microwave and add the ground oatmeal slowly, stirring constantly.

Let cool enough to touch, then form into balls placing on wax paper to set and dry. It will take about 2 hours for them to set.

Oatmeal soap balls have a great old fashion look and can be displayed in old soap dishes, vintage jars, wooden bowls and baskets in primitive or country bathrooms or kitchens.

[StrongBeliever]

I have several book on soap making... Lucky that I was just reading two the other day. All you should really need to do is grate the soap, sprinkle with water, and then compress into balls. If the DB bars you are using sat in the store for ages, they may be really dry. In that case I would let the shreds sit in a covered container or airtight bag for a while after sprinkling to let them rehydrate and regain some plasticity. Then maybe keep sprinkling with water and letting sit for awhile until they form a cohesive mass. Because eventually they will. It's just the nature of soap. I don't think you'd need to heat anything at all... Maybe to speed up the process. But heat can effect soap characteristics, and Bronner's may be formulated differently than general soaps. I know I have no problem getting by DB slivers in the soap dish to stick together. I'd go for wetting the shreds... They'll always dry out if you over-do it.