# Liquid Soap Bubble Bath- how to get sustained bubbles?



## soapgirltami (Dec 17, 2014)

Ladies, what about a liquid soap bubble bath recipe. I've made many batches of liquid soap, and love it. Kind of become obsessed actually, . But I have yet to find a bubble bath recipe that produces enough bubbles or bubbles that hold up. Any thoughts? Thanks!


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## Susie (Dec 17, 2014)

I have been silent because I have no answers for you.  I think those lovely bubbles in bubble bath come from detergent agents, and I don't use those.  I can make good bubbling soap with castor and sugar, but not stable bubbles like commercial bubble bath.  Also, as many videos I have watched on making soap and bath products, I don't recall anyone making a bubble bath that gives those kinds of bubbles.   I will look on YouTube after I do some housecleaning, though.  I would start there, if I were you.  

But the idea of a new thread is a good idea.  It narrows the focus of what you are looking for.

**EDIT**  I peeked over on YouTube for "How to make homemade bubble bath"  and got lots of videos.  Be careful who you listen to and run anything that seems hinky by us.  Someone will know something.  

This looks like a decent answer to this:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwVC07aMJP0[/ame]

No promises, as I have not tried this.  But she seems to have all the answers I had questions for.  Note- that liquid soap is lye heavy, she uses borax to neutralize it.  Run the liquid soap part through a lye calculator for yourself.  Watch all 3 parts to see her end product in use.  

Mods- could someone please move this to a new thread starting with soapgirltami's question?


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## Paintguru (Dec 17, 2014)

The addition of stearic acid may stabilize the bubbles, as that is what is used in shaving soap recipes.


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## soapgirltami (Dec 17, 2014)

I'm having trouble starting a new thread. I'm not sure why, but would someone be willing to start one for me regarding how to get sustained bubbles in a bubble bath. Failor has a few in her book, but I haven't really had success with them


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## IrishLass (Dec 17, 2014)

Hi Tami!

 To start a new thread, just click into whichever appropriate forum section fits your inquiry (i.e., Liquid Soap and Cream Soap Forum, or CP Soap Forum, etc..). Don't click onto any of the posts there, just click onto the forum section itself. Then, in the upper left corner of the page you'll see a blue box that says "New Thread". Just click on that, fill in the Title box, write your post and hit 'send'.

 I don't think a new thread about sustainable bubbles needs to be started since this one seems to be heading in that direction, but I will go in and tweak the title of this thread to better fit your question.


 IrishLass


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## Susie (Dec 17, 2014)

As much as I would dearly love to try this, I am a shower person, and I would never use bubble bath.  I am thinking about shower gel made this way, however....


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## Seawolfe (Dec 17, 2014)

I wonder if the liquid soaps made with glycerin instead of water would be more bubbly for bubble baths? I only think this because some formulas for making bubbles with wands add glycerin to dish soap...


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## soapgirltami (Dec 18, 2014)

Thank ladies, I really appreciate all the help I make my liquid soap with the glycerin method, that doesn't seem to help too much, but maybe borax??? And 100% coconut oil superfatted with red castor?


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## DeeAnna (Dec 18, 2014)

I did a bit of an experiment recently. I diluted a portion of my KOH soap paste with just water. I diluted a second portion of the same paste with a mixture of water and glycerin. The water-only dilution lathered much better than the water-glycerin dilution. 

But I'm talking here about the development of bubbles with this experiment, while a decent bubble bath liquid must develop bubbles AND have stable, long lasting bubbles. There's a distinct but important difference, as the shaving soap makers (and users) know all too well.

It's been awhile since I read about the physics of bubble formation. It's pretty amazing. Surface tension, gravity, viscosity, evaporation, etc. all meld together. I'm sure we don't have to know all that much about the science of bubbles to make a great bubble bath, but I'm not really informed about the craft and art of the matter either.


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## soapgirltami (Dec 18, 2014)

Thank you DeeAnna. It's seeming a little on the complicated side,


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## Susie (Dec 18, 2014)

While it does seem complicated, most of us have a mad scientist in us somewhere, so I feel sure that we will be trying something before long.  It may be after the holidays for me, but I can see already that I will be at least trying it for dish soap.


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## soapgirltami (Dec 18, 2014)

Haha, yes Susie, you're so right, we all really are part mad scientist


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## Paintguru (Dec 18, 2014)

DeeAnna said:


> I did a bit of an experiment recently. I diluted a portion of my KOH soap paste with just water. I diluted a second portion of the same paste with a mixture of water and glycerin. The water-only dilution lathered much better than the water-glycerin dilution.
> 
> But I'm talking here about the development of bubbles with this experiment, while a decent bubble bath liquid must develop bubbles AND have stable, long lasting bubbles. There's a distinct but important difference, as the shaving soap makers (and users) know all too well.
> 
> It's been awhile since I read about the physics of bubble formation. It's pretty amazing. Surface tension, gravity, viscosity, evaporation, etc. all meld together. I'm sure we don't have to know all that much about the science of bubbles to make a great bubble bath, but I'm not really informed about the craft and art of the matter either.



Agreed, but ultimately, I think most things like off the shelf body wash can make bubbles, but it is getting them to stick around that is the problem.  Hence, my stearic acid comment.  As with most things in soap, I would just experiment with it and see what happens.  I'm thinking a liquid soap recipe consisting of good amounts of coconut and castor oil should lend itself well to bubble formation.  As we're not really looking for skin properties for bubble baths, I would leave out any exotic or expensive oils.


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## Susie (Dec 18, 2014)

Paintguru said:


> Agreed, but ultimately, I think most things like off the shelf body wash can make bubbles, but it is getting them to stick around that is the problem.  Hence, my stearic acid comment.  As with most things in soap, I would just experiment with it and see what happens.  I'm thinking a liquid soap recipe consisting of good amounts of coconut and castor oil should lend itself well to bubble formation.  As we're not really looking for skin properties for bubble baths, I would leave out any exotic or expensive oils.



Actually, coconut and castor do not give good bubble formation in liquid soap.  And what little you get dissipates rapidly.  Hence the lack of answers on here.  Most of us have tried many variations of the coconut and castor combo to try for bubbles.  It is a good thought process, though.  That is exactly what the literature tells us is the answer.  I am going to have to do my homework on the stearic acid.  I do have some, but have never used it.  

Before someone suggests a combo NaOH/KOH batch of liquid soap, that does not yield lather/bubbles either.  I have run every combo from 10/90 to 50/50 with nothing but coconut/castor/sugar.  I get big airy bubbles that pop as fast as they form, even with glycerin.

That is why I am going to try the grated bar soap(with at least 8 weeks cure) and liquid soap method like in the video as soon as the holidays are over.  I am going to make some 0% superfat bar soap soon for a dish soap trial if the bubble bath/shower gel goes well.


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## Paintguru (Dec 18, 2014)

Susie said:


> Actually, coconut and castor do not give good bubble formation in liquid soap.  And what little you get dissipates rapidly.  Hence the lack of answers on here.



Really??  Interesting.  I wonder why both of those allegedly help get bubbles in CP soap but fail in liquid soap.  I guess in liquid soap you really never want crazy suds to form, but I figured the properties of the saponified fats and oils would behave the same.  Maybe the large amounts of glycerin kills off bubble formation. 

Since my kids actually dislike bubbles in their baths and my wife doesn't even take baths,  the motivation from my family to create this is low.  Perhaps collectively we can come up with something!


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## Susie (Dec 18, 2014)

I know, it makes no sense.  Truly does not.  

I will try a batch of the recipe on the video after the holidays.  I just refuse to add to my workload between now and then.  I will downsize it, of course.  But if it does give good stable bubbles, I will create dish soap from that method.


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## soapgirltami (Dec 18, 2014)

Susie, I'll try the method on the video this week and let you know how it goes. I'm so thankful for everyone's help with this conundrum, lol


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## soapgirltami (Dec 18, 2014)

I have very successful shower gel in my product line using 50/50 sodium potassium. It creates s beautiful gel, but not bubble bath. Truly, sls and sles are amazing, but I'm desperately seeking a more natural method


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## IrishLass (Dec 18, 2014)

I have some 100% coconut oil glycerin liquid soap left over from a batch that I made a few years ago, and out of curiosity I just squirted some into a dish-pan and then filled it with hot water. I immediately got tons of bubbles up to the sky (well, not really up to the sky, but almost  ). And then I stood and observed over the next 5 minutes as the bubbles started deflating in rapid succession. I still had a goodly layer of bubbles after five minutes without me having had touched anything, but they definitely were not as copious as they were at the beginning.

After those 5 minutes, I agitated the water with my hand and the bubbles kicked back up high again, but not as voluminous as at the first, and they started popping as rapidly as at the beginning.

Twenty minutes have now gone by and there is still a layer of bubbles all over the surface (I still can't see any of the water below), but they are small in size, like pearl-size. 

I just agitated the water with my hand again and they kicked back up again to the same level as when I agitated the first time.......... But now my agitating hand feels _really dry and parched_ because this particular batch had a 0% superfat. :shock: lol 

Hmmm....If I were a bath girl (which I'm not- I like showers) I don't know if I would ever want to use this particular formula for a bubble bath seeing as how dry my hand feels after agitating the water twice for just about 10 seconds each. Yikes!


IrishLass


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## soapgirltami (Dec 18, 2014)

Ya, that's kinda what I was afraid of IrishLass. Wonder what would happen with red castor or 2%superfat?


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