# pH and preservatives



## Marit (Nov 22, 2013)

I've made quite a few batches of liquid goat's milk soap in my hunt for the "perfect" soap.
The recipe I currently use includes olive oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil and castor oil, KOH dissolved in goat's milk and water (1/3 - 1/2 goat's milk and the rest water). I have in the last few weeks (when weather is getting colder) found the skin to be a bit dry after using the soap. The pH of the soap varies between 9,1 - 9,3 (different batches). 
Would it be milder to the skin (less dry) if the pH was lower? I'm not using any preservative right now (as only used by the family, and the soap never gets older than a couple of months), but would I need to add a preservative if the pH was lower? If so, which one would be best? Would prefer paraben-free, and the ones I have read about works best in pH 6 and lower.
Or could I somehow superfatten the soap and add an anti-oxidant to prevent it from going rancid?
What do you think?


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## cmzaha (Nov 22, 2013)

I make a very mild liquid that can be used for cancer patients, babies, elders (lol, me) and anyone with very sensitive skin. I has a lauric number of 3 on soap calc. If I want a more cleansing I add in some of my 100% coconut LS. With such a low lauric acid number it is not drying and I get double duty out of my 5 gallons by having the Coconut LS. I do not use gm because I just do not feel there could be much benefit from the gm after diluting the paste, but that is just my opinion. I do a LS with beer, but I honestly do not think there is much benefit left after hrs of cooking and dilution, but it makes great label appeal!!


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## VanessaP (Nov 25, 2013)

Marit said:


> I've made quite a few batches of liquid goat's milk soap in my hunt for the "perfect" soap.
> The recipe I currently use includes olive oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil and castor oil, KOH dissolved in goat's milk and water (1/3 - 1/2 goat's milk and the rest water). I have in the last few weeks (when weather is getting colder) found the skin to be a bit dry after using the soap. The pH of the soap varies between 9,1 - 9,3 (different batches).
> Would it be milder to the skin (less dry) if the pH was lower? I'm not using any preservative right now (as only used by the family, and the soap never gets older than a couple of months), but would I need to add a preservative if the pH was lower? If so, which one would be best? Would prefer paraben-free, and the ones I have read about works best in pH 6 and lower.
> Or could I somehow superfatten the soap and add an anti-oxidant to prevent it from going rancid?
> What do you think?



I don't use milks in my LS but I do use a preservative in them, even for what I use in my own home, because a skin infection is nothing to play around with. I use Liquid Germall Plus because it has no pH restrictions however you DO have to wait until the soap is below 120 to add it. Antioxidants will only slow down the rancidity, not stop it. You can only drop the pH of soap so far before it just completely falls apart and becomes a nasty mess  This time of year, its not the soap, its just the season. In the summer, you may not need any lotion but in the winter, because of the dry air, you're going to need moisturizing beyond what soap will do for you


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## Rayan (Dec 13, 2013)

It is better to use some preservative though you are using those yourself. Preservative gives extra layer of protection against mold or bacteria growth in  soaps.


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## Saponista (Nov 2, 2014)

Different preservatives are effective between different pH ranges so it may pay to check before choosing one.


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## new12soap (Nov 2, 2014)

This thread is almost a year old, and the OP hasn't been on since dec '13, so they probably won't see your reply, but for the record I agree that it's always better safe than sorry and to do your research and choose the right preservative for your application.


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## Saponista (Nov 3, 2014)

Oops, I probably should have checked the date of the post. Sorry!


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