For now, I'll stick to making my own because I can drain out the yellow latex that I'm not confident is being removed in the commecially made products. I'm considering try distilled aloe (George's) to see if acts similar in my soap. It's clear and has no additional ingredients.
Aloe vera juice - where do you purchase yours?
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The one mentioned above says 99.8 aloe content on the label, the rest is preservatives - should be fine in soap IMO
I love George’s when I can find it at a reasonable price. It is super clear so that it doesn’t change the soap color, and it is the consistency or water.
Does it still increase the bubbles like aloe gel does in CP? I might order some on Amazon to try. This would be a great way for me to both streamline my process AND make batches that are consistent. How much do you like to use?
It sure does! I don’t consistently use AVJ but when I do, it is 100% water replacement if I’m not using any sorbitol or sugar.
I am intrigued by the George's brand aloe juice, especially because it says no refrigeration needed! Will order some to try if I see a good price.
My experience has been that fresh aloe (prepared by me), the Lakewood brand, Trader Joe's brand, Walmart Fruit of the Earth, and Lily of the Desert all worked well for bubbly betterment. And I don't recall any of them contributing much to discoloration, even if the lye water turned orange at first! Since this always-helpful forum taught me about master-batched lye solutions, I mostly use 50 percent or less aloe and the bubbly goodness still seems to be there (cannot claim any sort of scientific bubble measurements, though — just a general impression).
I used Fruit of the Earth brand from Walmart to make ZNSB last night. I disolved my sea salt and baking soda in water, then added aloe. All was transparent and beautiful. Then I added the lye. Cloudy wasn't a surprise, but the silt-like sediment at the bottom of the cup after the lye solution cooled down was. Any idea what that is? It's goes right through my strainer. I dumped it and tried again and got the same result, so I used it. We'll see the results tonight when I unmold and cut.
If it goes through the strainer, I'd use it too - I mean, I know what I put in the solution and all that shouldn't cause trouble. I'm yet to make my first batch with AVJ though
I use that same AVJ brand as a full water replacement with salt and sugar. I have only noticed a tiny bit of sediment that I add to my oils. I wonder if the sediment you noticed was because of the baking soda?
I have been using AVJ with salt and sugar for more than a year and haven’t noticed any issues. For my recipe, this combination seems to really bump up the bubbles and hardness.
Yes, I strained the sediment with a coffee filter on the next batch and it looks like it's the baking soda so I just added it back to the lye solution and used it. I also forgot to use the icebath I normally use for my lye solution, so that could be why my soap isn't as light white as normal. I'll have to test my theory after I get through my last minute Christmas orders.
Update: I did a Google search and AI answered with the following:
Yes, when lye (sodium hydroxide) is added to a solution of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) in water, the baking soda will precipitate out of solution and form visible particles, essentially "falling out" of the solution, because the reaction between the two chemicals produces sodium carbonate, which is less soluble in water than baking soda itself.
Explanation:
Chemical reaction:
When lye (NaOH) reacts with baking soda (NaHCO3) in water, the following reaction occurs: NaOH + NaHCO3 -> Na2CO3 + H2O.
Solubility difference:
Sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), the product of this reaction, is less soluble in water than sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), causing it to precipitate out as solid particles.
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