I recently melted my col. conk glycerin based soap the other day, and it was a success. However I was wondering if I would be able to melt down my Van Der Hagen Select. I don't believe it has glycerin so I wasn't sure if it would melt down properly being that the properties are different, (and non glycerin). Has anyone ever tried melting the Van Der Hagen select soap? or less specifically any non glycerin based shave soap? Thanks everyone, Cheers!
I have been told that soaps with tallow tend to get ruined if you melt them. I don't think VDH has tallow in it, but it's cheap enough that if it gets messed up, you can buy another puck. Hope this helps!
I have melted VDH many times... no adverse impact on it. Double boiler on the stove or micro, either way it works fine. Cool it in the fridge. Last time I did it I melted two pucks of Deluxe in a cobalt blue Jack Black dream container and as it cooled I dropped in the remnants of the white regular VDH I had and gave the mix a stir.. it made a neat white spiral in the otherwise pink Deluxe.. VDH is probably in my top three favorite soaps..with or without the spiral!!
Triple milled/hard soaps do not melt well, artisan soaps tallow or otherwise melt just fine. The technique is called "rebatching" and it's used when you want to add more of an ingredient to a soap or correct some flaw (like color). Grate or chop fine, melt with low, indirect heat (pyrex cup covered with plastic wrap, in short bursts in microwave, or crockpot or double boiler if a larger amount)with a very small amount of liquid.
I've successfully melted VDH Deluxe soap in the microwave. I just grated it into a bowl and nuked it for 10 seconds at a time until it became liquid. Harder soaps like Williams, I haven't been able to melt yet. Fortunately, when I was making "VanDerWilliams", the unmelted Williams shavings incorporated pretty well into the melted VDH
As Kevin said above, 10 second bursts. I don't grate mine, though, just drop the whole puck into the bowl I'm using. Just be sure to keep your finger on the STOP button and hit it as soon as you see any bubbling start. If it's not all melted, wait 15-20 seconds, then hit it for another 10.
Last night I tried to melt the remains of a Williams puck with a bar of pure glycerin soap. After much heating stirring and reheating in the microwave I managed to get Most of it to melt. What I ended up with is a mug of glycerin with some Williams chunks and pieces. I Think it will work but if it doesn't I'm only out $2.00.
I believe a few people used to melt the glycerine soap of their choice and pour it over a full puck of Williams because of that very reason. It didn't make it a perfect new creation however it allowed it to be a puck of whatever with a hidden Williams center that ended up mixing when one loaded up the brush.
Yep. Williams is tallow based, so it turns into a marshmallow in the microwave. (as in, one side suddenly ejects a plume of steam and starts ballooning out, similar to the magic "snake" type fireworks that were around when I was a kid. Grate it and mix it with a glycerin soap if you must use Willam's at all.
Many gycerine soaps are "melt and pour" and so easily melted to fit perfectly into your soap cup. Always ask the maker if the soap is "melt and pour" so you don't ruin a good soap and make a mess... One thing about Williams, although there is a slight learning curve, once you learn to make lather with it you'll like it and will only need to put it in a bowl and start making lather....
