# Coming back to soap making - Liquid Soap Help!



## Kitty_Boots (Dec 1, 2016)

Hey there! I haven't made soap in over a year and when I did make soap, I was making CP bar soap!

I'm now interested in making some liquid soap for Christmas gifts and have a few questions..

1. Can I use soapcalc to determine the properties of a liquid soap? Or is there a liquid soap property calculator somewhere?
2. Do I still want similar properties as CP bar soap (minus the hardness?)
3. What kind of superfatting do I want? One website says NONE!

Lastly.. I found this recipe to make the paste..

Coconut Oil	- 680g
Olive Oil - 600g
Cocoa Butter - 80g
Potassium Hydroxide - 340g
Soft or Distilled Water - 1020g

Total actives (excluding water) - 1700g

The recipe states using 1020g of water and 340g of KOH..

When I put the oils in brambleberry's calculator it gives the following values for water/lye:

Lye - 320.40 g
Water - 952.00 g

Which is correct?! Any help would be appreciated.. I'm a bit rusty! Thank you!


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## DeeAnna (Dec 1, 2016)

Soapcalc can be used if you are using only one alkali -- KOH or NaOH. You can choose 90% purith for the KOH, which works for a lot of the KOH sold, but not always.

Many people like Soapee.com better than Soapcalc. It lets you enter the actual purity for your KOH, which is an advantage if you know the purity. You'll get better results making liquid soap if the calc you use is calibrated for (or can be set to) the actual purity of your KOH.

Superfat is typically zero to +3%. More than that and you risk separation of the excess fats from the soap.

And I can say that you will get more reliable results with distilled, deionized, or reverse osmosis water only -- don't use tap water, spring water, etc. even if "softened."

But honestly, rather than fiddle around with someone else's recipes and methods, why not try the recipes from our own Irish Lass and Susie? They really work and their tutorials are very helpful. 

No-neutralization Liquid Soap Tutorials:
Irish Lass: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?p=428988 see posts 8 and 9
and: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=57974
Susie: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=49852

Another good resource is this:
https://milesawayfarm.wordpress.com/2015/04/22/liquid-soapmaking-where-to-start/


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## Susie (Dec 1, 2016)

Hey Kitty_Boots!

1.  I use Soapee.com, be sure it is set on 3 to 1 ratio.  The increased water makes a huge difference in how that batch dilutes.
2.  Not exactly similar properties.  Liquid soap is far higher in Coconut oil than bar soap.
3.  You can use up to 3% superfat in liquid soap without cloudiness. 
4.  I would add at least 5% castor oil to help the lather.  I would probably also add sugar to boost the bubbles.


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Feb 21, 2017)

Wren said:


> .....



Any particular reason for posting on old threads in a big way?  Also, any particular reason why your avatar appears here: 

http://www.parabebes.com/revista/semana-18-de-embarazo

:think:


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## Susie (Feb 21, 2017)

Wren said:


> RECIPE FOR LIQUID SOAP
> 
> 16.5 ounces olive oil (find unrefined organic olive oil here)
> 7 ounces coconut oil (find unrefined organic coconut oil here)
> ...



Mixing any alkali in a glass container of any sort is dangerous, as the glass can etch and shatter.

There is no mention of what you are doing with the Borax.  If you are using it to neutralize, it is a wasted step, as proper use of a lye calculator with a 0 or higher superfat can eliminate the need to neutralize. * All* recipes should be run through a lye calculator.

Why are you waiting up to 30 minutes for trace?  Just add some glycerin and stop mixing at emulsion.  Put a lid on it and walk away for a couple of hours or so.

Why are you cooking it?  Just get it to emulsion, put a lid on it, and walk away. 

This sounds an awful lot like it is (inaccurately) plagiarized from a book.  Truly it does.


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Feb 21, 2017)

Susie said:


> ............This sounds an awful lot like it is (inaccurately) plagiarized from a book.  Truly it does.



Well caught, Watson - 

http://www.academia.edu/11348694/Liquid_Soap_Ingredients_Recipe_for_Liquid_Soap

tsk tsk, shame on Wren.


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## toxikon (Feb 21, 2017)

The Efficacious Gentleman said:


> Well caught, Watson -
> 
> http://www.academia.edu/11348694/Liquid_Soap_Ingredients_Recipe_for_Liquid_Soap
> 
> tsk tsk, shame on Wren.



Their post history is quite puzzling.


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## DeeAnna (Feb 21, 2017)

The recipe is also here: https://www.diynatural.com/how-to-make-liquid-soap-natural/

What's the deal, Wren? If you have nothing of your own to say, then plagiarizing someone else's work is not an acceptable alternative.


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## Susie (Feb 22, 2017)

The Efficacious Gentleman said:


> Well caught, Watson -
> 
> http://www.academia.edu/11348694/Liquid_Soap_Ingredients_Recipe_for_Liquid_Soap
> 
> tsk tsk, shame on Wren.



I read a LOT of books, articles, watched tons of videos before making soap.  I knew I had read that exact recipe and phrasing, some where.  It was the borax that gave it away.


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## IrishLass (Feb 22, 2017)

Wren has left the building. Let's just say they were not who they were trying to appear to be (i.e., they were not soapers or B&Bers). 


IrishLass


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