# More Lather Needed



## Calisoul (Dec 16, 2020)

This past weekend, I decided to try Irish Lass’s Creamy Cocoa Shea GLS recipe for a second time. My first attempt, I didn’t following directions properly which resulted in a soap that was less than desirable.

This time, I slowed down and read the recipe several times. My second attempt resulted in an amazing soap. #winning Thank you Irish Lass for sharing your recipe!

As wonderful as the soap is in its current state, the hubby found it too thick and wanted more lather. 

To make him happy, the next batch, I’m going to dilute it a bit more. That should solve the thickness issue and maybe increase the lather a bit. I’m also thinking of skipping the addition of Meadowfoam oil.

Is there anything else that I should consider that could potentially generate more lather?


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## Peachy Clean Soap (Dec 16, 2020)

What increase's lather for me is Honey & Beer.   As far as your soap being less thick' dunno about that' it would only be a guess.  Happy Soaping


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## DeeAnna (Dec 16, 2020)

A more concentrated liquid soap won't lather as well as a less concentrated soap and it's (obviously!) going to become thinner with dilution. Your idea to dilute the soap a little more wins on both counts -- good thinking!

Another thing to keep in mind is how much soap a person uses when washing. When I use bar soap, the usual thing is to rub the bar on my hands, oh, maybe 6-10 times and then put the bar aside. That doesn't put a lot of soap on the hands -- maybe a gram or two -- but I can get a satisfying amount of lather fairly quickly. Likewise in the shower -- I might use maybe 5-10 grams of bar soap per shower.

When using liquid soap, the tendency is to put a whole squirt or more in the hands no matter what. It seems paradoxical, but that much soap doesn't lather very well in my experience.

If I dilute my liquid soap just enough to get the desired thickness, the diluted product contains maybe 40% pure soap. A squirt of this product will put several grams of pure soap in my hands -- a lot more than if I had used bar soap. I have to intentionally dilute this much soap with extra water to build lather quicker.

Diluting the soap before it goes in a dispenser is probably the most effective way to put less soap on the skin per squirt. You don't have to think about it -- just use it. The most common complaint about this strategy is the soap gets too thin for people's tastes. In your case, that's not a problem at this point. But if it does get too thin, the soap can work beautifully in a foamer dispenser. Or a person can look at separate thickeners to build the viscosity.

Another idea is to use the soap more sparingly -- like half a squirt rather than a whole squirt. That's a strategy that doesn't always work with kids and spouses, however. 

Another thing to remember as I mentioned already is to intentionally use more water when lathering up so the soap is more diluted. That will also let the soap build lather more quickly. But adding the extra water is something a person has to think about.


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## Calisoul (Dec 16, 2020)

Peachy Clean Soap said:


> What increase's lather for me is Honey & Beer.   As far as your soap being less thick' dunno about that' it would only be a guess.  Happy Soaping


Thank you for the suggestion.  Honey & Beer sounds interesting.  We always have honey and beer on hand.  Do you use the beer in lieu of distilled water to mix with the lye? When do you add the honey?


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## Calisoul (Dec 16, 2020)

DeeAnna said:


> A more concentrated liquid soap won't lather as well as a less concentrated soap and it's (obviously!) going to become thinner with dilution. Your idea to dilute the soap a little more wins on both counts -- good thinking!
> 
> Another thing to keep in mind is how much soap a person uses when washing. When I use bar soap, the usual thing is to rub the bar on my hands, oh, maybe 6-10 times and then put the bar aside. That doesn't put a lot of soap on the hands -- maybe a gram or two -- but I can get a satisfying amount of lather fairly quickly. Likewise in the shower -- I might use maybe 5-10 grams of bar soap per shower.
> 
> ...



Thank you DeeAnna.  This all makes perfect sense.  I was focused on soap's viscosity, I didn't realize that I was sacrificing the soap's lathering ability.  I think I'll add a little more water to my current batch to see what happens.


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## Susie (Dec 25, 2020)

You can wrap a rubber band around the tube that goes down to the bottle to reduce how much soap is dispensed. I have found this to be the most effective way to get more suds short of getting a foamer bottle. I just use a foamer bottle, but if you want to use what you have, try the rubber band.

I use sugar in all my soap recipes. About 1 tablespoon PPO dissolved in some of my water amount. Helps a great deal on suds. I also use EDTA as a chelator because I have hard water.


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## Calisoul (Dec 25, 2020)

Susie said:


> You can wrap a rubber band around the tube that goes down to the bottle to reduce how much soap is dispensed. I have found this to be the most effective way to get more suds short of getting a foamer bottle. I just use a foamer bottle, but if you want to use what you have, try the rubber band.
> 
> I use sugar in all my soap recipes. About 1 tablespoon PPO dissolved in some of my water amount. Helps a great deal on suds. I also use EDTA as a chelator because I have hard water.


Thank you @Susie! I will add some sugar to my next batch. Just to make sure I understand, I should add 1 tbls of sugar ppo during the saponification stage not at dilution. Is that correct?


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## Susie (Dec 26, 2020)

Yes, you only want water or glycerin during dilution. Never anything else. I just pull some of the water amount out, heat it up and mix the sugar in. Then I dump that into the oils.


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## Calisoul (Jan 4, 2021)

Susie said:


> Yes, you only want water or glycerin during dilution. Never anything else. I just pull some of the water amount out, heat it up and mix the sugar in. Then I dump that into the oils.


Thanks @Susie! Your suggestion worked. I added 1 tsp/ppo to my latest batch.  The amount of lather was amazing!


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