100% Soy liquid soap?

[burnandgroom]

Hello, all! I've been lurking for a while learning from ya'll but I've come up with a question I can't find an answer to. I've been making soap for a while now, (started with m&p and graduated to CP as you do,) but I've never done liquid soap. I've watched the helpful video on this forum and read up on it so I feel comfortable with the process, purchased a dedicated crock pot and bought some KOH and I'm ready to go.

My question is, is a 100% soybean oil liquid soap a good idea? I know in theory you can make soap from 100% of any oil, and I have my favorite mix of oils for my bars, but I was thinking of a different route for the liquid soap.

What I'm interested in doing is making a beard wash. I already make an extensive line of balms and oils, so it would be a great addition. I'm figuring that if the oils I use are just going to saponify, (less the superfatting%) what's the point of using expensive argan oil, etc? What I would like to do is have a soy soap base and AFTER saponification add a raw blend of more expensive, beard loving oils to the soap and have it be an all in one, leave in wash, conditioner where you would wash your beard first thing, then wash the rest of your body and rinse out the beard wash/conditioner last so it has 5-10 minutes to really work.

I DO have a candle/soap business, so the end result would be to sell the beard wash. Soybean oil is 3cents an oz and olive oil is 12, Coconut 15. Not trying to put out a cheap, crappy product (I could buy that at walmart) but I'm thinking if I can use an inexpensive base oil for most of the actual soap, I can splurge on some added nice expensive oils and not have to charge $50 a bottle!

Thanks for sticking with me- I'm all about experimenting with this and I'm not gonna cry if I mess up a few pioneering recipes, but if anyone out there has experience with this, I would greatly appreciate a little insight!

 

[shunt2011]

I haven't ad a lot of liquid soap but have made lots and lots of CP. I don't use soy. Soy has a short shelf life and adding lots of water would in my mind make it shorter. I'm sure some of the liquid gurus will share their thoughts and opinions. Plus some CO would help greatly with cleaning. Even in a lower amount.

 

[Soapmaker145]

My question is, is a 100% soybean oil liquid soap a good idea? I know in theory you can make soap from 100% of any oil, and I have my favorite mix of oils for my bars, but I was thinking of a different route for the liquid soap.

The short answer is no. You won't get decent lather and it won't feel nice on the skin. I've done few batches of liquid soaps with soybean oil. I used a mix of soybean and tallow with added limonene for laundry liquid soap. It worked better than commercial laundry detergent. I also mixed soybean with castor and coconut for a dishwashing liquid soap. It cleans great but it is still under development.

I don't add it to the liquid soap that we use for hand washing. If you decide to use it, you need to get the best quality soybean oil to extend the shelf life. Soaper's Choice carries organic soybean oil.

Adding a superfat to liquid soap is not as simple as adding it to a hard bar because of the water content. You need to try making liquid soap few times before deciding whether to go down this road.

 

[burnandgroom]

Oh, this is definitely a yet-half-baked in my mind idea. I just figured if anyone were to say, definitely "don't do that!!!!" then I could cross it off the list and not waste time and oil. Sounds like a tried and true mix might be the best way to go and tweak it from there to make it beard-specific.
Does anyone have any thoughts about "finishing oils" in liquid soap I'd be all ears. I was also thinking about 100% olive oil as I've always loved Dr. Bronner's liquid soap, and since I finally learned what "castille" means once I started making soap, I was kind of excited to replicate that brand, once again, maybe with a small percentage of raw oils for conditioning the beard. Lather would be nice, and I know oils might kill a lot of that, but I would take less lather over more conditioning. Thanks!!!!

 

[DeeAnna]

BandG -- Have you washed your beard or hair exclusively with a lye-based soap for, oh, say 6 months to a year? If so, how was the texture of your beard and hair after that time? If not, I suggest you give it a try so you know how well a lye-based soap works, long term, on your own beard before developing it as a product for sale. People have widely varying opinions about using lye-based soap as a hair shampoo, and I think the same will be true for a beard shampoo. There's a long thread on this forum about a shampoo bar recipe ... might be useful reading.

 

[burnandgroom]

I DO use my own bar soap on my beard and prefer it to run of the mill store bought shampoo, which is what I had been using. I still follow it with a store bought conditioner and my own beard oil or balm, because just the bar alone, while less drying than cheap shampoo, still doesn't leave my beard where I want it moisture-wise. Rest assured, I would be testing anything I came up with thoroughly before bringing it to market; having a sellable product is just the end-of-the-rainbow goal. I'm not saying I want it ready by St. Paddy's Day or anything. I just like to have a "pet project" in the works. I'll definitely dive into the shampoo-bar recipe thread. I've never made anything as far as hair-care, but like I said, I like to explore options!

 

[Soapmaker145]

My husband has been using my CP soap instead of shampoo for over a decade and it works great on his thicker straight hair. He won't use anything else. It didn't work at all on my fine curly hair. Recently, I started using CP soap on my hair followed by a commercial conditioner every other day with great results. My hair is less dry and isn't falling out like when I was using expensive/specialty shampoos everyday. CP type soap can definitely work on hair.

If you are focused on the conditioning aspect, I suggest that you also test a cream soap and a shaving soap. You'll find threads on both topics. I think both of these alternatives will allow you to add the superfat and other additives better than liquid soap. I'm not trying to discourage you from testing the liquid soap. I just think the other alternatives may work better for your purpose and are worth testing at this stage of R&D.

 

[burnandgroom]

Thanks! It sounds like you do exactly what I do, cp bar soap followed up by commercial conditioner. I actually still have a half tub of WS foaming bath whip that I was using for sugar scrubs and soap frosting for bath bombs. When you add a little M&P to it the consistency IS a really nice thick cream and what I was originally thinking might make for a good beard wash. I just didn't like all the chemicals in it OR the $5/lb price tag before I even added anything to it! (which is why I still have half a tub of it and no plans for it!) I'll definitely look into a cream soap cp recipe (hp, I guess?) I make a solid shaving soap already; never thought of using it as a beard wash but I'll give it a go!

I was thinking liquid because it feels strange rubbing a bar of soap on my beard. Just a perception thing; seems people associate liquid soap/shampoo with richness, creaminess, and luxuriousness, you know? At least I do.

 

[traderbren]

I was also thinking about 100% olive oil as I've always loved Dr. Bronner's liquid soap, and since I finally learned what "castille" means once I started making soap, I was kind of excited to replicate that brand... snip

Dr. B's castile soap is not 100% olive oil, if you are looking to replicate that brand...

 

[Susie]

And many people do NOT like Dr. B's...just saying.

 

[burnandgroom]

You're right, Brenda, I saw that when I was looking more closely at the ingredients a couple days ago. Apparently "Castile" has been diluted (pun intended ) to mean any all-vegetable soap, according to the almighty interwebs. I still LOVE Dr. B's, though, used to use it for EVERYTHING on wilderness backpacking trips from washing dishes to brushing my teeth. Maybe it's a nostalgia thing.