The Soap Saga- Turning bar soap into liquid soap

For those who know me, know I am a bit of a hygiene-a-phobic.  So, naturally I have soap at every sink and back up soap, so I am never without.  I also am a bit of a soap prude.  I CAN NOT stand bar soap!  It sits there on the sink, collecting hair, dust, pooling in its own goop, many hands touch it, then you wash with it?  I know people have used it for years, but I just can't seem to bring myself to accept bar soap.  But still, I do have a few random bars that seem to float around in my supply.  Some were gifts as others I was "paid" to take from the store (as with the Olay bar soaps I will mention later, I had a $4 coupon off of a 2 pack bar that was about $3).  Anyhow, I have been thinking of ways to make things I use every day to cut costs.  Then I thought- bar soap... I won't use it, sure I can give it away, but if i can make use of it then I will.  So, I searched yahoo (I don't usually Google) and found a few and went with one.  Here is my saga.  It is indeed pretty lengthy and it was somewhat of a battle, a battle I refused to lose against soap!  Some good and some bad results.
*** For best results, use a soap that is a "dry/hard soap".  Steer clear of soaps that are called "moisturizing" or "beauty bar".  The soap that works best is one that if you squeeze the corner of the bar between 2 fingers, it wont mush down.  When grated, it looks like small flakes or grated Parmesan cheese (the powdery cheese that comes with a plastic shaker top usually). ***

First, I will tell you I read through most all the comments before tackling this project here: http://www.savvyhousekeeping.com/how-to-turn-a-bar-of-soap-into-liquid-hand-soap/comment-page-5/#comment-150221  I also commented in that blog with the basics, but here is my more in depth tutorial/results.


*To make liquid soap, you need just a few things:

Measuring cups (1 cup size is the one I found most useful)
Bars of soap (the type matters BIG TIME, read for more info)
Water
Large pot (you will need it to hold 10+ cups)
Glycerin
Bottles (to put soap in)
Funnel

Here is what (in a nutshell) the previously mentioned blog said to do-

*Mix 1 cup of grated soap (they used Yardley brand) with 10 cups of water and one tablespoon of glycerin.  Heat in large pan over low/med heat until soap flakes are melted. Let cool and our into bottle.  Just like that.  Well, its not QUITE that easy from my experience.

So, being determined and reading a zillion comments and questions, I took all the information and decided to try myself.
I had what I needed except for glycerin.  It can be found in either the health care section of most stores.  I have heard near either vitamins or first aid.  It can also be found at craft stores.  I ended up getting a bottle for about $3 at JoAnn fabrics with the cake decorating supplies.  Basically it is an edible liquid that is derived from plants.  It helps add softness and elasticity to things.  If you can't find or don't have glycerin, it isn't an absolute must.


****Now, for the instructions and results of each type****

Neutrogena transparent facial bar: this is a glycerin based facial bar.
+What I did:
     Grated the whole bar of soap, about 1 1/2 cups, added it to 8 cups of water to the pan, heated on medium until melted.
+How it turned out:
     The soap was very watery even after letting it sit and even after refrigerating.  I will use this soap in the shower, so the runny-ness isn't of huge concern.
+Overall:
     Not a good/ Ideal soap.
+What I would do differently:
     If I were to make a glycerin based liquid, I would add only 2-3 cups of water to the bar.

Olay Luscious Embrace Moisturizing Body Bar: this is a hybrid regular soap and moisturizing soap.
+ What I did:
     Grated one bar about 1 1/2 cups of soap, added it to 10 cups of water and 1 TBS of glycerin and heated on medium until melted.  I then put it in the refrigerator to cool and help speed up the process of turning into a "gel".
+How it turned out:
     Soap stayed runny- looking like milk.  I added another full grated bar, still did not improve.
+Overall:
     Not a good/ Ideal soap.  However, I did use it in addition to other soaps, keep reading for more info.
+What I would do differently:
     Not use a "moisturizing bar" again.

Generic soap that came from a bath gift set: This was a hard soap that grated up like the aforementioned Parmesan cheese.
+What I did
     Grated the bar of soap, it ended up being just under 1 cup.  I added it to the pan with 5 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of glycerin.  I heated it until melted then transferred to refrigerator.  Within about 20 minutes, I had a thick gel.  I used a hand mixer and mixed it up, then added 2 cups of water and re-heated.  I repeated this process until I had about 10 cups of soap total.
+How it turned out:
      The consistency is somewhat snot-like.  I tried it out as soap on my hands.  It doesn't suds much, but seems to work well, just very drying.  I ended up adding about 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil to the whole batch, which improved the drying.


+What I would do differently:
     As I don't know anything about this soap I used, it is hard to say for sure.

At this point, I gave in and bought a bar of Yardley soap and a 3 pack of Jergens brand soap at the Dollar Tree for $1 a piece.

Yardley Oatmeal and almond soap:  This was the one that was used in the previous blog, so I decided to use it.
+What I did:
     I grated 1/2 of the bar and added it to 4 cups of the Olay soap-water that didn't set properly.  I heated as with the others, I didn't add any glycerin.  After soap was melted, I put it in a cold water bath in the sink, it started to thicken.  I grated and added the remaining of the bar and added a couple more cups of the Olay soap water.  .I mixed with hand held mixer and it became a very nice thick, frothy "goop".  I continued to add a little water at a time, all together about 6 cups.
+How it turned out:
     I could have added more water and had it be a more runny soap, but the consistency was that of a nice whipped frosting, thick and creamy, not snotty like the prior soap.  It smells great and I decided to keep it thick and use it as a body wash as it had the added moisturizers.  This combination also doesn't seem to produce suds.
+Overall:
    Wonderful as a body wash!  Would probably not be ideal as a regular hand soap.
+What I would do differently:
    I think this combination is great for body wash.  In the future, I think I will use these same soaps again, using 1/2 bar of Olay and 1 bar of Yardley and kind of playing with the mixture to find a good consistent formula.
No photos of this one, as I was in a rush.

Hand made natural oil based soap: 2 types and 2 results
I had one bar of olive oil based soap, and another with a few different oils.  Both are very similar to the glycerin soap as far as melting and consistency.  I processed them both differently and got totally different results.  The olive oil soap was not originally a soap that produced suds, while the other produced some.

+What I did:
    The olive oil soap I grated (a little over one cup) and added about 5 cups of water and melted, stirring frequently.
     The other oil soap I grated (about 1 1/2 cups) and added just 2 cups of water and melted.  This soap didn't seem to want to fully melt.  I took it off the heat and  looked something like honey with lumps.  I used my hand mixer with an egg whisk attachment and mixed.
+How it turned out:
     The olive oil soap was more or less useless as it didn't seem to thicken at all.
     The other oil soap turned out alright. While mixing, the lumps dissipated and the mixture became opaque and frothy.  It wasn't a thick consistency, but more like most store bought liquid soaps.
+Overall:
     Soaps of this nature (oil based and probably glycerin) can be turned into liquid, but do not make as much and used very little added liquid.  Making the soap this way seems to work pretty good.
+What I would do differently:
     I would use only 1 bar of soap and 2 cups of water, adding more as needed for this type of soap.

***MUST read tips and suggestions***


+Do not turn your heat up past medium.  It is tempting to get it to melt quicker, but soap that is especially sudsy will start to bubble up and keep foaming.  If it happens, remove from heat.
+Stir occasionally while soap it on the stove, make sure all chunks are melted.
+As soap sets, some will be thick and gel like, while other parts will be liquid.  Mix first with a spoon, this solves most of the problem, if still not consistent, use hand mixer.
+Avoid over mixing (hand mixer) soaps that are extra foamy, it will create too much foam and you won't be very productive on getting lumps out.
+Wait for any mixture to fully cool before putting into bottles, as the consistency changes as it sets.
+Grate or chop soap first, it will melt faster and easier
+Some soap doesn't need added glycerin.  You can try without first, add if soap isn't smooth enough.  You could also use olive oil.
+Start with less water at first and add more as needed to create desired consistency.
+Make sure to have enough containers on hand for your soaps and label them.  Some look good enough to eat!