# Foaming soap recipe with Preservative



## silverette (Aug 8, 2016)

Hello,  I make a foaming soap with liquid castile soap, fco, glycerin and distilled water.  I've recently learned that all water based products including distilled should have a preservative.  Do any of you have a recipe and/or recommendation for the above.  
Thanks for all your ideas!


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## Susie (Aug 8, 2016)

If you are buying a liquid soap, it should be foaming and preserved as is, or am I misunderstanding what you said?


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## dibbles (Aug 8, 2016)

If you are talking about liquid soap base in foamer bottles, I have made that before. I used a base from Essentials by Catalina, and they recommended using this preservative: http://www.essentialsbycatalina.com/p5p-preservative.asp 

It's been awhile since I've done this. I see they now have this as well: http://www.essentialsbycatalina.com/pf-64-preservative.asp which might also work. They are good about responding to questions, so you could email them if this is what you are looking for. It was added to distilled water, prior to mixing the water with the soap base.


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## lsg (Aug 9, 2016)

IMO, anytime you add water to a product, it will need more preservative as you are diluting the preservative the product contains.


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## silverette (Aug 9, 2016)

Thank you for the replies. 

 Have any of you used Germall liquid as a preservative?  I would like to go natural if possible.  That's what some others recommend.

Can any of you recommend a ph tester that's effective but not too pricey?  I've heard the ph strips are unreliable.

Thanks all!


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Aug 9, 2016)

You won't be able to find a natural preservative. Some are certainly eco-cert, but your main priority is to find one that can be used in an alkaline environment. 

Do bear in mind that the horrible things we are preserving against are totally natural. I'd rather a tiny amount of a non-natural preservative on my skin than a slathering of dangerous but totally natural bacteria any day of the week


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## lsg (Aug 9, 2016)

I use liquid Germall Plus in lotion, shampoo and dishwashing liquid.


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## silverette (Aug 11, 2016)

Thanks for all your suggestions. 

So true The Efficacious Gentleman:

Do bear in mind that the horrible things we are preserving against are totally natural. I'd rather a tiny amount of a non-natural preservative on my skin than a slathering of dangerous but totally natural bacteria any day of the week[/QUOTE]

Do most of you just use the ph strips?  Do you have a list somewhere of favorite economical supply sources?


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## Susie (Aug 11, 2016)

pH strips are notoriously inaccurate when measuring the pH of a salt.  Soap is a salt occurring from the mixing of the alkali (lye) with acids (oils).  Buy a decent pH meter that you can calibrate and study how to use it correctly.


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## Spice (Aug 13, 2016)

The Efficacious Gentleman said:


> You won't be able to find a natural preservative. Some are certainly eco-cert, but your main priority is to find one that can be used in an alkaline environment.
> 
> Do bear in mind that the horrible things we are preserving against are totally natural. I'd rather a tiny amount of a non-natural preservative on my skin than a slathering of dangerous but totally natural bacteria any day of the week



is there a way to tell if a LS has yukkes?


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## Spice (Aug 13, 2016)

silverette said:


> Thanks for all your suggestions.
> 
> So true The Efficacious Gentleman:
> 
> Do bear in mind that the horrible things we are preserving against are totally natural. I'd rather a tiny amount of a non-natural preservative on my skin than a slathering of dangerous but totally natural bacteria any day of the week



Do most of you just use the ph strips?  Do you have a list somewhere of favorite economical supply sources?[/QUOTE]

I use this. Its easy. What you are doing for is a light pink. I use a couple of drops.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004JHDDTA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Aug 14, 2016)

Spice said:


> is there a way to tell if a LS has yukkes?





I'm not a big LS maker, but maybe some of the others can chime in. I know that you can send a sample off or get a home test kit


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## fuzz-juzz (Aug 14, 2016)

Is your LS for personal use or for sale?
I don't understand why would you use some in LS?
I dilute my LS quite a bit (for foamer bottles) and it stands around for 4-5 months at the time. It remains crystal clear like the day it was diluted.


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## silverette (Aug 14, 2016)

Good question Spice!!

Does anyone know if I can just use Suttocide A at a .3 or .4 % rather than doing ph testing?  If not, can someone recommend a good, reasonable ph meter?

thanks


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## Susie (Aug 14, 2016)

There are LOTS of pH meters available for sale.  Find one that you can calibrate.  I went to Amazon and entered "pH meter" in the search bar.  For example:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EH19S0K/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


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## Spice (Aug 16, 2016)

can LS be used as a face wash?


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## DeeAnna (Aug 16, 2016)

Any soap can be used to wash your face as long as it doesn't irritate your facial skin. The recipe is going to make a big difference in the irritation factor, so you need to look less at whether the soap is a liquid KOH soap or a bar NaOH soap or something in between and look more closely at the fatty acid profile instead.


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## Susie (Aug 16, 2016)

I use both types of soap interchangeably to wash my face, and indeed my whole body.  My tolerance of soap has more to do with the ingredients than whether I used KOH or NaOH to make it.


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## penelopejane (Sep 14, 2016)

fuzz-juzz said:


> Is your LS for personal use or for sale?
> I don't understand why would you use some in LS?
> I dilute my LS quite a bit (for foamer bottles) and it stands around for 4-5 months at the time. It remains crystal clear like the day it was diluted.



Where do you buy your foamed bottles, please? Do they last longer than one full bottle of LS?


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## shunt2011 (Sep 14, 2016)

Spice said:


> is there a way to tell if a LS has yukkes?


 
You would have to have it tested in a lab.  I believe someone said that lotioncrafter sells a kit.   Unfortunately, things grow before we can even see them so that's why it's so important to properly preserve products we make.


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## fuzz-juzz (Sep 14, 2016)

penelopejane said:


> Where do you buy your foamed bottles, please? Do they last longer than one full bottle of LS?




Aldi haha. 
I buy their cheap nasty foam stuff and just get rid of it, wash well and there it is. They last forever.

I tried foamer bottles from few soap suppliers but they stopped working after few days. It's so annoying and it's  waste. Why sell something and say it works for it when it doesn't.

I do find LS lasts longer. I dilute it quite a bit to be able to work in foaming bottles, otherwise I get LS buggers.


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## penelopejane (Sep 14, 2016)

fuzz-juzz said:


> Aldi haha.
> I buy their cheap nasty foam stuff and just get rid of it, wash well and there it is. They last forever.
> 
> I tried foamer bottles from few soap suppliers but they stopped working after few days. It's so annoying and it's  waste. Why sell something and say it works for it when it doesn't.
> ...



I love the idea of the foamers because you dilute it so much! 
Thank you for the aldi tip.  We have one in our nearest town. : ))


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## fuzz-juzz (Sep 14, 2016)

penelopejane said:


> I love the idea of the foamers because you dilute it so much!
> Thank you for the aldi tip.  We have one in our nearest town. : ))



You can try Coles or Woolies if they are closer. Well known brand has foamers too but i found them to have shorter life than Aldi ones.

They look the same though.


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## penelopejane (Sep 14, 2016)

fuzz-juzz said:


> You can try Coles or Woolies if they are closer. Well known brand has foamers too but i found them to have shorter life than Aldi ones.
> 
> They look the same though.



The well known brand ones barely make it through their own bottle. :?

Coles, woolies and Aldis are all together for me.


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