I suspect you're following a recipe from Catherine Failor's liquid soap making book??? Your pic kinda looks like that might be the case. If so, the method she uses and the method most of us use are quite different.
Failor's recipes use these general principles:
Use an excess of lye to make the soap.
After saponification is done, neutralize the excess lye with borax or citric acid.
Disadvantages to the Failor method --
Very, very easy to over neutralize the soap, especially if using citric acid and especially for an inexperienced soaper.
Some people prefer to not use borax in their products due to concerns about its safety. In some countries borax is outright illegal to use.
Little or no superfat can be objectionable to some.
Method can be time consuming.
The general method recommended by Susie, Irish Lass, and others here on SMF:
Use a modest superfat -- most say 3% or less -- to design the recipe.
Use no more than 3 parts of water-soluble liquids (water, glycerin, etc.) to 1 part KOH.
Soap can be made with a cold process method rather than having to cook for hours.
Disadvantages to this method --
Superfat that is higher than about 3% (some say 5%) can separate out and float on top of the finished diluted liquid soap.
Knowing your KOH purity is critical to ensure your finished liquid soap has not too much superfat and no excess lye. If you're using KOH that's 90% pure, then use Soapcalc set to 90% KOH purity. If you're using KOH that's about 95% pure, then use Summerbeemeadow or Brambleberry's calc -- these calcs are based on about 95% purity.
Failor's recipes use these general principles:
Use an excess of lye to make the soap.
After saponification is done, neutralize the excess lye with borax or citric acid.
Disadvantages to the Failor method --
Very, very easy to over neutralize the soap, especially if using citric acid and especially for an inexperienced soaper.
Some people prefer to not use borax in their products due to concerns about its safety. In some countries borax is outright illegal to use.
Little or no superfat can be objectionable to some.
Method can be time consuming.
The general method recommended by Susie, Irish Lass, and others here on SMF:
Use a modest superfat -- most say 3% or less -- to design the recipe.
Use no more than 3 parts of water-soluble liquids (water, glycerin, etc.) to 1 part KOH.
Soap can be made with a cold process method rather than having to cook for hours.
Disadvantages to this method --
Superfat that is higher than about 3% (some say 5%) can separate out and float on top of the finished diluted liquid soap.
Knowing your KOH purity is critical to ensure your finished liquid soap has not too much superfat and no excess lye. If you're using KOH that's 90% pure, then use Soapcalc set to 90% KOH purity. If you're using KOH that's about 95% pure, then use Summerbeemeadow or Brambleberry's calc -- these calcs are based on about 95% purity.
