# Body wash too thick



## brandyanne (Jun 28, 2017)

I made some body was for the fist time and it is too thick to be pumped.
Any one know what I can use to thin it to pumping consistency?


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## shunt2011 (Jun 28, 2017)

brandyanne said:


> I made some body was for the fist time and it is too thick to be pumped.
> Any one know what I can use to thin it to pumping consistency?


 
Add more water?   It's liquid soap so just dilute it more.


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## Saranac (Jun 28, 2017)

Is your body wash based on LS or a surfactant blend?  Either way, can you provide your formula, especially how you thickened the wash?

If using salt to thicken, you can try adding more salt; salt thickens on a curve and once you overshoot the maximum, the blend should thin out.  This will result in the least amount of dilution.

But, if you've used some other thickener, you may have to do as shunt2011 advised and thin out the wash with water.


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## DeeAnna (Jun 28, 2017)

Also if you're using a normal pump dispenser with a narrow nozzle, you will be happier if you use a high viscosity pump. https://www.thesage.com/catalog/products/High-Viscosity-Pumps.html


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## brandyanne (Jun 28, 2017)

I used a grated bar soap, coconut oil and distilled water- no thickeners.


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## Obsidian (Jun 28, 2017)

Nothing will thin it out then, grated bar soap stays snotty and thick, even if you add more water to it. If you want true liquid soap, you have to make it properly with KOH.


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## brandyanne (Jun 28, 2017)

Is KOH the lye for liquid soap?


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## DeeAnna (Jun 28, 2017)

"...I used a grated bar soap, coconut oil and distilled water..."

Oh. Okay -- that explains things then. NaOH soap (bar soap) doesn't work, as Obsidian explained. Here's another thread where we tested different methods for supposedly making liquid soap using NaOH soap. In short, none of them worked very well in the long run. 

Yep, KOH is the alkali you need to make real liquid soap!


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## brandyanne (Jun 28, 2017)

Thanks- now I need to know where to buy KOH and a recipe for good body wash recipe using it.


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## Zany_in_CO (Jun 29, 2017)

BUY LYE

UK
https://mistralni.co.uk/collections/alkalis

AL
http://www.dudadiesel.com/search.php?query=+sodium++hydroxide

CALIFORNIA
www.essentialsbycatalina.com

FLORIDA    
http://www.camdengrey.com

ILLINOIS    
http://www.boyercorporation.com/ 

INDIANA
http://www.the-soap-dish.com/caustics.htm

NY    
www.thelyeguy.com

OHIO
http://www.bulkapothecary.com

TX 
http://www.asoapysailor.com/index.html

WA
http://www.brambleberry.com/


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## shunt2011 (Jun 29, 2017)

brandyanne said:


> Thanks- now I need to know where to buy KOH and a recipe for good body wash recipe using it.


 
Check out Essential Depot.  They have a sale going on now so it may be a good place to start. 

As for recipes check out

www.swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com

You'll find a whole lot of good information on making body wash.


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## DeeAnna (Jun 29, 2017)

If you want to make a liquid (KOH) soap, then a body wash is just liquid soap that you're calling it by a different name. It's still just liquid soap and there's no magic to making "body wash" versus a "not body wash." You'll want to formulate a recipe that is mild to the skin yet lathers well, just like any good bath soap. Irish Lass's olive-coconut-castor recipe is a good place to start. See her tutorial: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?p=428988 see posts 8 and 9. 

If you want a thick pourable gel consistency, then you will also need to thicken the soap with a separate thickener like HPMC or HEC. Salt (table salt, NaCl) may also work, but the results can be more variable. Liquid soap on its own is typically no more than honey thick and needs more help to become a gel.

If you want to make body wash similar to what you buy in a store, you're more likely wanting a product that is based on synthetic detergents. Susan at Swiftcraftymonkey can help you with that. Shari's post (above) gives a link to Susan's website.


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## brandyanne (Jun 29, 2017)

Thank you so much- that is a big help

Thank you- I will look for it.


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## sirtim100 (Nov 1, 2019)

brandyanne said:


> I used a grated bar soap, coconut oil and distilled water- no thickeners.



I did the same thing with some bars from a couple of soaping disasters. Grated them up with coconut milk and water and then heated the mix. Went very liquid and then cooled to form something similar to what comes out of your nose during a bad cold, and about the same colour.

Now it's in a bottle in the bathroom and the only person at home who touches it is me. Have to admit, I quite like it, it's very moisturizing. Not so nice lathering yourself with bogies, though...


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## shunt2011 (Nov 1, 2019)

sirtim100 said:


> I did the same thing with some bars from a couple of soaping disasters. Grated them up with coconut milk and water and then heated the mix. Went very liquid and then cooled to form something similar to what comes out of your nose during a bad cold, and about the same colour.
> 
> Now it's in a bottle in the bathroom and the only person at home who touches it is me. Have to admit, I quite like it, it's very moisturizing. Not so nice lathering yourself with bogies, though...


This post is from 2017. The OP hasn’t been here in a long time


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## sirtim100 (Nov 1, 2019)

I'm very sorry. I didn't realise what the date was


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## Zany_in_CO (Nov 1, 2019)

sirtim100 said:


> I'm very sorry. I didn't realise what the date was


No worries, sirtim, we all have that problem now and again. 

ETA: 


sirtim100 said:


> ...Now it's in a bottle in the bathroom


FWIW: That bottled up "liquid soap" is yearning to be solid, which it will do over time. Best keep an eye on it.    FYI: Alcohol has the ability to "melt" NaOH soap at a rate of 1 alcohol / 2 soap. Depending on how much is in the bottle , I wouldn't douse it in alcohol but you could add 1-2 tablespoon of alcohol PPS (per pound soap) to help keep it liquid.


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## sirtim100 (Nov 1, 2019)

Thanks, Zany...


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## sirtim100 (Nov 1, 2019)

Zany_in_CO said:


> No worries, sirtim, we all have that problem now and again.
> 
> ETA:
> 
> FWIW: That bottled up "liquid soap" is yearning to be solid, which it will do over time. Best keep an eye on it.    FYI: Alcohol has the ability to "melt" NaOH soap at a rate of 1 alcohol / 2 soap. Depending on how much is in the bottle , I wouldn't douse it in alcohol but you could add 1-2 tablespoon of alcohol PPS (per pound soap) to help keep it liquid.


 
Now this is interesting stuff. But before I go on, a comment to the forum administrators. From what I see you're not at all keen on people resurrecting old threads, which is quite understandable given the traffic you have to deal with. Would you object to this thread being brought back from the dead?  The thing is that Zany has very kindly commented on my failed liquid soap adventure and I'd be very interested in learning more about this. If you have any objections , do let me know and I'll make the necessary changes. In the meantime...

The snot in a bottle is a mix of an old shaving soap disaster from August, but they smelt lovely (cedar, palmarosa, lime), so when I saw a recipe for giving new life to old soaps by grating, etc., I tried it out. The end result was pretty nasty looking and according to a mate of mine, "got no bubbles", but I tried it myself a few days ago and it gave a good lather and was very very moisturising. So I don't want to chuck it away. The only thing is I'm allergic to alcohol, so adding that might not be too good for me. Any other solutions?


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## Zany_in_CO (Nov 1, 2019)

First of all, before you joined SMF, I was the village idiot and I was so happy to hear that you were absconding with my title! LOL 

Not to worry. The Mod/Admin have the power to delete 'whatever' as they see fit. No biggie. It has happened to me many times. I'm kinda used to it. So I suggest we carry on until that happens.

Yes, sirtim, there is another solution to using alcohol. But before we get to that, the first thing you need to know when making "liquid soap" from hard bars is that the ratio of water to soap is 8:1. Warm and stir until it congeals. Start there. No doubt about it, it is goopy but hopefully lathers well.

Then, you can also use glycerin(e) and sugar water (aka "simple syrup") as "solvents" which is what the alcohol functions as in this scenario. Unfortunately, without knowing what your goop consists of, I can't give you a workable formula. But you can figure that out with a little T & E (trial & error). Remember "less is more". If you use too much, it flattens the lather.


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## sirtim100 (Nov 2, 2019)

I'm thinking of putting it all back in the pan and warming it up with some water. I tried it again last night and it is very nice, apart from the "deadly alien slime" look. Perhaps a dash more water would make it more manageable. 

The recipe was a "cold process shaving soap guaranteed to produce thick. long-lasting, luxurious lather". I believed every word (I was very callow then) and made it, twice (repeat, very callow). The end product was something that required frenetic rubbing with a shaving brush, produced a weird snow white lather that lasted approximately 10 seconds. Good for doing magic tricks with the kids but totally useless for shaving. Being a stubborn old fool, I tried it out twice and discovered that it not only disappeared, it also gave a burning sensation on the skin. Two days later I was on this forum, reading about how the only shaving soap worth the name should be HP with lashings of stearic acid. You live and learn...

The recipe is basically a classical HP soap. It even includes CO (once again, callow, callow, callow). 

I heard about adding glycerine, could try that too.

Many many thanks, Zany!


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## Zany_in_CO (Nov 2, 2019)

You're most welcome. Keep up the good work!


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