Can you melt down little soap bars to make a big one?

Question

I have little left over pieces that I hate to throw out.

Answer 1

This is so funny that you ask...my husband does this ALL THE TIME!!!
Soak the little pieces in water for an hour or two and mash them together and viola, you have a larger ball of soap!!!!

Answer 2

A friend linked me to this site, http://www.mommysavers.com/money-saving-ideas/homemade-spa-treatments.shtml
with this recipe:
LIQUID HAND SOAP



1 bar soap with moisturizing cream
3 C. water



Shred bar of soap with grater or food processor. Place in large bowl. Add water. Microwave on High for 5 to 6 minutes or until soap is dissolved, stirring every 2 minutes. Let stand until completely cool. Mixture thickens as it cools. Fill soap dispensers. Makes 3 cups or 24 ounces.

I also have soap bits that I have been wanting to make to liquid. What I've been doing is using the little hotel ones that I've collected (and have also asked my mother for). I discovered that I had many of them when I packed to move. Between that and some collections of liquid soapbody wash that I've also collected, I'm thinking that I don't have to buy soap for awhile. However, I think I might this week as a grocery store has Dove bar soap, two pack for $1.99 and I have a $1 off coupon. I figure that I would start with one bar and add the slivers when I finish off the body was that I have now. (I use the bar soap when I have time; the liquid soap gets squired onto my poof when I'm short on time.)

Yes, I'm cheap. However, I refuse to spend any more money than necessary.

Also, my grandmother used to take the soap slivers and put them in a homemade mesh bag and use it like that.

Answer 3

Melting them with heat will make them extremely hot and after a few seconds they will expand and foam like crazy. Just put whatever quantity you want in a container and add enough water to cover them (try to only have one 'layer' of bars and not bar on top of bar, otherwise you'd probably have too much water. The water needs to cover all the soap so putting in less isn't an option seen as it then wouldn't cover the top bars) and let sit for about 2 days. After letting it sit they should be nice and mushy. Squash them together either by hand or in a mould (pastry cutters would be good if you have star shapes and stuff) and leave the finished product out to dry. Don't put it in direct sunlight or it will dry too fast and it will crack. just leave it on a shelf in a warm room like the living room and after a day or two it should be ready tp use! Good Luck.

Answer 4

Yes. As long as they are all the same kind of soap. There are two kinds, and mixing them does not work because they get really funky. Most store baught bars are the same but home made soaps are usually different because the glycerin soap (home made style) is easier to work with in a home setting. I make soaps with my mom and we use the glycerin. So I'd say as long as you know where you got them, like the store vs. a craft show, you can melt them down to make one bar. Allow proper cooling time and find a way to make a secure mold. Any craft store has molds that you could use. Have fun with it!

Answer 5

or you could melt down big soap bars an make little ones!

Answer 6

No-unless you like slimely sticky soap. You should get yourself a soap-sack (a mesh like pouf with an open end to put little pieces in.)

Answer 7

My mother use to cut the toe out of a pair of panty-hose and place all the scrap pieces of soap in and tie an knot to seal them all in together. This was effective... and hey.. why be wasteful?!

Answer 8

I think you can because didn't soap start out as a liquid before it got hard? So i think after you melt them that they will harden again after a while.

Answer 9

You can buy, or construct with a little ingenuity, a device called a soap press.

Answer 10

OF COURSE YOU CAN! ME AND MY SISTER JUST DID AN EXPERIMENT. WE TOOK 2 LITTLE PIECES OF SOAP, PUT THEM IN A DISPOSABLE CUP, AND PUT THEM IN THE MICROWAVE, BUT BEFORE WE DID THAT WE PUT A LITTLE WATER IN ONE. IT WAS KINDA FUN. I HAD THE ONE WITHOUT THE WATER AND MY SISTER HAD THE OTHER. WHICK ONE WAS THE BEST...MINES OF COURSE BECAUSE MY SISTERS ONE WAS TOO WET AND SLIPPERY. SO YOU CAN PUT THE PIECES OF SOAP IN A DISPOSABLE CUP, AND PUT IT IN THE MICROWAVE FOR ABOUT 18 SECONDS AND WATCH IT. AFTER YOU SEE IT MELTING TAKE IT OUT AND SHAPE YOUR SOAP. THEN SURPRISE!!!!!!!!