Can You Remelt Melt and Pour Soap?

Yes, you can remelt Melt and Pour Soap Base

Soap making is a fun and easy way to make your own unique scents and textures of soap. Melt and pour soap is a great way to start because it’s ready to use without any additional curing time. You can purchase melt and pour soap bases from many online stores or local craft stores.

The wonderful benefit of soap making with a melt and pour soap base is that if you do not like your finished soaps, you can always re melt the melt and pour soap base.

So yes, you can re-melt melt and pour soap. You can use this to add more color or scent to your bars of soap if you desire.

To do this, take the soap and cut it into small chunks using a cutting board. If the melt and pour soap is kept in large chunks, it will take longer to melt.

If you are trying to re melt a layered soap, it is a good idea to separate the different colors and melt in separate containers. If this is not possible, you will see that the final product will blend the colors together.

The MP soap to be remelted can be put into a crock pots or slow cooker (though this is seldom done for melt and pour soaps), double boiler, or a microwave safe glass container.

I prefer the microwave safe glass container. Put the melt and pour soap in the container that is to be remelted and place in microwave, frequently stir gently the melted soap at 10-second intervals. It is important to do short intervals to reduce the chance of soap burns. Which can cause the soap to discolor or turn yellow.

Some issues that can arise from remelting Melt and Pour Soap Bases

While being able to re-do your melt and pour design is a great idea and is a great way to not let your melt and pour soap bases go to waste, there are some considerations.

Fragrance Oils or Essential Oils

Depending on the temperature of the melting soap, this could burn off your fragrance oil or essential oils that you used with the original product.

This is why I try not to use too much fragrance oil with my melt and pour soap making. Adding fragrance oils to the re melted soap can change the way the mp soap sets.

Silicone Molds

I have been asked if the mp soap can just be reheated in the silicone molds. I think this may be because depending on the soap mold, it may be hard to get the soap out of it. In short, no, you should not remelt in the soap mold.

Melt and Pour Soap Base

I use Shea Butter in the majority of my melt and pour soap designs. I have on occasion had to re heat so that I could re use melt and pour soap. I have noticed that for me Shea Butter which is opaque is much more forgiving than other soap bases.

I have not noticed a big difference in clear glycerine soap bases, but if you are going for a crystal clear look in your soap design, the clear bases will become cloudy if the melted soap bases are reheated more than a few times.

The Mistake of Flower Buds and Other Botanicals

If you are like me and made the mistake of adding flower buds like lavender buds to your mp soap base, you are not alone. Of course, I did this. I think most of us have added beautiful flower buds to our melt and pour soap making. Botanicals can be added to cold process soap and should not be added to mp soap base as it can mold. There are some exceptions to this rule. No worries, if caught quickly you can save your soap base. I would probably not sell the new soap though as the chemistry of the mp soap base has changed and you may not have gotten all the botanicals out.

I would place the soap base in a heat safe container and re heat until all the soap is melted. I would then use a fine strainer to pour the soap into to capture any botanical particles. At this point, you can re make the soap for your own personal use.

Final Thoughts

Melt and pour soapmaking is a wonderful addition to your soap business. Many shops have a combination of melt and pour soaps, hot process soaps, and cold process soaps in their inventory. Soapmakers usually chose one that is right for them based on personal preference.

The great advantage to melt and pour soap making is that to remake the soap is a fairly quick and simple process. This can be done with other types of soap but for me remelting my mp soap base is simple and allows me to stretch my soap making designs.