Almost afraid to ask for help....

[Dorado]

Almost afraid to ask for help but ... I have 2 :?: about Lactide Acid and Borax

I'm having problems with my short-term memory, I write notes on everything. It's not a joke.
Even the content of the food in my kitchen cabinets are listed, so I'm not going to buy something I already have.

The Search button here, is a very, very time consuming button. I hardly dare use it anymore , because I stumble into so many interesting observations that I forget what I was looking for.

I have written notes about Lactide Acid, but can not remember where I put them. Maybe I've thrown them out by mistake.
I've bought 3 oz lactide acid, but can not remember what I bought it for. :cry:
I make CP, liquid glycerin soap, is about to start liquid laundry soap and lip balms. Does anyone have ideas that can help me on track :?:

My second question is to those using homemade laundry powder.
I'd like to try with sunflower oil. I have a lot, maybe with a little coconut oil in. I have no doubt about recipe or method, but I'm a little afraid, borax will pale colored clothes. Does anyone have experience they want to share :?:

 

[Hazel]

Why are you afraid to ask for help?

I don't know what lactide acid is so I can't help you with it. Also, I've never made laundry powder. I've only made the laundry soap that turns out with a solid whipped cream texture.

I'm just not any help at all.

 

[Dorado]

:angel:
Afraid to ask, because I have in mind: read first, then ask if you do not find the answer.
So I have read and read, :crazy: but perhaps not enough.

Lactic acid is milk acid. I know it's a descaler, scum remover, exfoilating, and antibacterial agent.
But I'm missing a link where I can read about its use in soaps. Have read it but do not remember where.

It's not laundry powder, but liquid laundry detergent / soap I would like to try,
from scratch with oils, NaOH, soda, borax and water.

 

[thefarmerdaughter]

I make washing powders out of my botched batches of soap. Ive never use sunflower, or coconut oil. But I dont see why they wouldnt work. I finely grate a bar of soap then add borax and baking soda sometimes some FO 1 bar soap 5-6 oz 1 cup borax 1/2 -3/4 cup baking soda. From what I read on this forum this is a concentrated laundry powder. only a few tablespoons are needed for a large load. Ive been using this powder at that rate for the last 6 weeks or so. I am very happy with it, I dont think it has faded my clothes at all. If anything I think its gentler then store bought. and I wash everything from baby clothes to my husbands grimy work clothes Hope that helps!


Ok then try viewtopic.php?f=18&t=5223

 

[Dorado]

It certainly helps.
I can see that you are using less soda than borax, may I ask why?
I do not have enough soap bars to the method, but I have 10 liters of sunflower oil.
I've read somewhere, someone recommended ½ borax amount compared to soda,
but if no one believes it bleaches the color, I'd better follow the recipe.
My recipe says 500 g oil, 92 g NaOH, 2 liters of water, 250 g Borax, 250 g washing soda, 1 liter of hot water again, and finally 25 ml. FO. (maybe more water)
I thought of using 400 g sunflower and 100 gr coconut oil.
Does that sound reasonable?

I got a new washingmachine 3 days ago, just want to be sure, everything is right.
I use 5% vinagre as softener.

 

[FOhoarder]

I make my own powdered laundry with lard soap. Some people use lard or coconut oil or both. Make a batch with 0% superfat so you don't have excess oils in your soap that will be in your clothes. Then grate the soap and I use this formula....

2 parts soap
1 part borax
1 part washing soda
1/2 part baking soda

Use 1-2 tbs. per load. Add vinegar to rinse cycle or just put in a Downey ball.

I've been using this for a few years now and have no problems with my washer or clothes dulling. The vinegar helps with any buildup there might be.

 

[Cosmo]

This forum is a great place to ask for help! The people here are really nice!

Did you perhaps buy lactic acid (sodium lactate) to help create a harder bar of soap? That's what I use it for. If you add one teaspoon per one pound of soap into your lye water, it helps make your soaps harder.

 

[Dorado]

Thank you FOhoarder

I am not going to make a bar.
I am going to disolve the lye in water, add soda, borax and then oil, leave it a bit,
dilute with warm water, wait a couble of days and then maybe dilute again and add FO.

I can see, you also use same amount of borax and soda,
May I ask, why you add baking soda too ?

Thank you Cosmo.
No, that is not why, because I use Sodium Lactat, to create a harder bar.
It must have been something about soapscum or descaler, if I only knew, where I could read about it again.

 

[Hazel]

I'm sorry you feel afraid to ask for help. The suggestion for people to search for answers is intended for people who've demonstrated they haven't bothered to do any research. They just want answers given to them. You've shown you're interested in learning for yourself and are willing to to do the work. Plus, you share what you've learned to contribute to the forum and help others.

Anyway, on to your questions. I didn't realize you meant lactic acid. I know it's used in skin care products for its exfoliating properties and lightening skin discolorations. (You know - those darkened blotches you get on your skin as you get older :wink: ). It can be used at lower percentages in lotions and creams and higher concentrations in masks. In a mask, it needs to remain on the skin for awhile - maybe 5 to 10 minutes. It's been awhile so I don't remember the exact length of time. I think (but don't hold me to it) the lactic acid percentage is about 4%-10% in masks. You need to be careful with using it because it can be irritating to sensitive skin and make skin more photosensitive.

I like using buttermilk in soap since it has a high concentration of lactic acid in it. I never thought of using lactic acid but I'm not sure if it would survive the lye. I have seen soap for sale which list lactic acid and salicylic acid as ingredients. But these also stated they were glycerin soap so I'm making an assumption these ingredients were added to a MP base. You could do HP and then add the lactic acid after the cook. I don't know if it will help since in cleaning products it's used at a much higher percentage than is considered safe for skin in order to remove hard water deposits.

I make the same laundry soap recipe that thefarmerdaughter posted a link for and it's very easy to make.

 

[Dorado]

Hazel - you're still my angel. :angel:

Not that afraid - I wrote almost afraid to ask :mrgreen: . I did not mean it negatively.
Yes, there are some who try to jump over, cut corners - but not me. I fight my way through, I prefer to find the answers to my questions myself, but it is incredibly difficult sometimes

Bingo. :clap:
The brown spots - I have so many of them, of course - how could I forget it. Of course, I bought it to test whether it could whiten my brown spots on the face.
I probably thought I would make myself a facial soap just to try it.
Very annoying, I can not remember where I read about it.

You say you use butter cream, because of the high content of lactic acid, but at the same time, you say you do not know whether it will survive the lye. Is it because you think natural lactic acid has a better chance of surviving the lye :?:
The fluid lactic acid i bought is a 90% solution.

Laundry Soap: I have to make a very liquid soap. My new washing machine has an automatic detergent dosage, and should certainly not be lumps in the soap.

 

[Hazel]

Not that afraid - I wrote almost afraid to ask :mrgreen: . I did not mean it negatively.

Sorry! I didn't read it carefully enough. I guess my eyes skimmed over the "almost" and only saw "afraid to ask".

The no shred recipe isn't a liquid and it needs to be dissolved in hot water if you're using cold water for your laundry. Here's some links to tutorials on making liquid soap. You might find it a better alternative and you could dissolve the borax and washing powder into a portion of the water. However, this might take some experimenting until you get something that you're happy with how it works.

http://chickensintheroad.com/house/craf ... quid-soap/
http://www.lovinsoap.com/category/liquid-soap/

Now that I mention trying to make liquid laundry soap, I think I'm going to have to try it. I'd much prefer liquid laundry soap rather than scooping it out.

I don't know if lactic acid in buttermilk makes it through saponification. I hope it does but even if it doesn't, I still like the creamy, bubbly lather I get in the batches. It also has some sugar in it which I think this contributes to the nice bubbliness* in the lather. Another benefit is I am usually given buttermilk so I rarely have to buy it. :wink:

I made a facial soap a long time ago and used clary sage, geranium and grapefruit EOs in it. After a few months, I noticed a discolored spot on my face had lightened up. I hadn't expected it so I was quite pleased and I assumed it was from the grapefruit EO since I hadn't used any buttermilk in it. I don't know why you couldn't try adding some lactic acid to soap but I think it would be better to HP the batch.

You could also try making a mask. The Soap Dish has a recipe for making a Yogurt Clay Mask which sounds easy. http://www.thesoapdish.com/yogurt-mask-formula.htm

You could substitute some sunflower oil or another oil for the TSD Conditioning Ester, leave the Green Tea Extract out and add .32 oz / 9 g lactic acid during the cool down phase. Hmm...I've got yogurt powder, clay, ewax, sunflower oil and green tea extract. I should try this, too. :wink:

*Yes, bubbliness is a real word.

 

[Dorado]

Thank you again Hazel :angel:

Now I've got to read a lot again :crazy:

Anyway - tomorrow, I am going for a coconut / castor liquid glycerine soap.

Laundrydetergent, in a couble of days, I'm going to try this way: viewtopic.php?t=5223

HP and facemask: Not yet - have to bee strong on liquid glycerinsoap, liquid laundrydetergent and chapstick first.

Since I am not 100% bilengual, I have to read everything 2-4 times to understand everything
And no, it has nothing to do with my age

I am still looking for links about Lactic acid in soap...........if anybody knows please help

 

[green soap]

I have used sodium lactate to increase hardness in bar soap, but it is not the same thing (a salt rather than an acid).

For laundry soap I use: 1 cup of my own liquid soap made with KOH, 1/2 cup borax, 1/4 cup washing soda, 1/4 cup baking soda, and vinegar (white) for the rinse cycle. I just fill the softener dispenser, so can't give you the exact volume. This would be for a really large load, perhaps in Europe washing machines are smaller, so adjust in proportion.

DH is the one usually doing laundry (hey, I make the soap) and he prefers unscented Liquid soap. The baking soda works to deodorize. The mix described above works well for us.

I have a dark brown spot (age) on my face too, I wonder if I can make something to remove it as well. If you find out how, let us know!

 

[Dorado]

Thank ypo Green soap

I can not figure out if 1 cup of soap is 1 cup quantity or 1 cup 250gr :?:
I found small soap pieces here and there today.
I grated them, boiled them in water and added borax and soda.
My mixture looks like this:

125 gr grated soap
2 ½ liters of boiling water (2500 mL)
125 g borax powder.
125 gr washing soda.

Some of soap residue was colored with blue ultramarine TDO, so hopefully my white laundry will appear whiter. Hope soap works, waiting for it to get cold, so I can see if I need to dilute more.
I have to try the other recipe with oil and NaOH another day.

I will try with ½ cup (125ml) per load. I always use 5% vinegar as fabric softener.

My new washing machine is a Front Load - 8 kg (app 16 lb) Normal size theese days in Europe.

I study and think a long time before I throw myself on new projects.
But no doubt, I will at some point try to make a facial soap with lactic acid.
And I will also try one with Geranium / Grapefruit EO, as Hazel said, but not at the same time, then I do not what works.

 

[new12soap]

There have been a lot of really helpful replies, but I just wanted to add that if your memory is getting so bad that you have to label the items in your cabinets, perhaps you should see a doctor? There can be a lot of things that may cause that, maybe a good physical exam can help.

I don't know how well sunflower oil would do in laundry soap, but it does make a wonderful lotion, and may be a good carrier for your lactic acid for darkened skin. As I am a freckly thing, I am interested to know how that turns out as well.

As for Borax, it is really a water softener that works with your laundry soap to get the clothes cleaner, I have hard water where I live and use Borax in almost every load. It has not faded the darker clothes at all.

 

[Dorado]

Thank new12soap

The bad memory due to an accident many years ago, I have learned to live with it, except when I forget where I saved my notes.
The other day I forgot my shopping list in the pharmacy, I was completely lost. But when I went back to the pharmacy ½ hours later, the pharmacist gave it to me before I even asked - how lucky can you be.

Well, I'm glad to hear borax does not bleach your clothes either.
I took the chance, have washed 1 load with 125 ml. My new intilligente washing machine told me I had to pour more soap in, but I did not.
It just works - clean soft clothes, no scum.

When I make the other laundry detergent, I will mix a little coconut with the sunflower oil, about 1:4 as sunflower has 0 in cleaning effect.

I must read more about lactic acid, before I experiment with facial soap. Better to be safe than sorry. I look like someone who has freckles - but it's just not freckles.