Beginner Making Liquid Soap

[shae31]

Hi! I thought this would be a fun project but am realizing I'm in over my head!
I'm looking for some recommendations on a liquid soap recipe. I don't have much for quantities, just general ingredients that I'm trying to put into a recipe format.
Aloe vera juice
Coconut oil
Postassium Hydroxide (I'm reading that some people are mixing this directly into the aloe vera either in full or partial quantity?)
Olive Oil
Vegetable Glycerin
Sunflower Oil
Shea butter

Does anyone have recommendations on quantities they'd use for these ingredients and in what order you would mix them together? Thanks so much!

 

[shae31]

after a little bit of reading around on the forum, it sounds like shea butter is more of a label-thing vs being useful in liquid soaps. I'm reading 5% would be the amount of shea butter used, but at this level it doesn't actually make a difference in noticing moisturizing qualities. am i understanding this all correctly? i was hoping it would help my daughter's dry hands, but it sounds like i could omit for liquid soap and maybe use that ingredient in some type of lotion bar or salve instead.

other things i'm understanding so far:
3:1 water to lye ratio, but i can replace the water 100% with the aloe vera juice

still not sure how much to use of olive oil, vegetable glycerin, coconut oil, or sunflower oil.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I'm looking for some recommendations on a liquid soap recipe.

I just answered that on the other thread you posted on:

want to try making liquid soap

HAPPY SOAPING!

 

[shae31]

this is what i'm playing with right now. but I'm seeing the cleansing property is really high, and longevity and stability are low. I've messed around with the percentages a bit but I'm wondering if anyone has recommendations on if I should add or change ingredients. thanks!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I'm wondering if anyone has recommendations

Tsk tsk. Teacher says, "You didn't do your homework, did you?"

This is not the time to try and formulate your own recipe. It's best to do a Tried & True recipe first. Make as many batches as you can, as often as you can before trying to create your own.

Please go back to your other thread and read this post again. Follow the links to the tutorials that will help you learn the basics and other things about making liquid soap.

 

[Arimara]

That is a lot of coconut oil for any human skin. 35% is the most I've seen some soap recipes go and those soaps are far too drying for most people's skin. If you keep it at that, I hope you make a small enough batch not to have too much paste in your hands.

Also, shea butter is useless at 5%. Even I won't notice it much at that rate. You'd want to use at least 10% in your recipe if you want to test levels. Some here use at least 20% shea in their soaps with good success. HOWEVER, I should add that using an ingredient high in stearic fatty acid in a liquid soap will lead to a visually disappointing product.

 

[Servant4Christ]

I am personally devouring (for the gazillionth time) @IrishLass's thread/tutorial on making her creamy cocoa/shea liquid soap. I have most of the required ingredients, but not all of them. I just haven't gotten up the courage to attempt it. I may have to hunt down someone on the forum that makes her recipe to see if I can buy some and try it out before trying to make it myself.

 

[AliOop]

I am personally devouring (for the gazillionth time) @IrishLass's thread/tutorial on making her creamy cocoa/shea liquid soap. I have most of the required ingredients, but not all of them. I just haven't gotten up the courage to attempt it. I may have to hunt down someone on the forum that makes her recipe to see if I can buy some and try it out before trying to make it myself.

I make this and love it; happy to send you some if you want to PM me your address. @Catscankim has made it, too. I recall she's super swamped at work right now so it might take awhile for her to chime in.

If you go to the end of the thread, I posted a condensed version of the instructions. I have printed this out for reference while making it.

 

[Catscankim]

Yes, I have made it. The first one probably needs more water. There is nothing wrong with it, it is just pretty thick I would have liked to have gotten more bottles out of it because I plan to sell it down the line. I use it all the time and it is absolutely lovely. I have another batch of paste in the fridge. I think this one turned out better, but haven't had time to make LS out of it.

 

[Servant4Christ]

I make this and love it; happy to send you some if you want to PM me your address. @Catscankim has made it, too. I recall she's super swamped at work right now so it might take awhile for her to chime in.

If you go to the end of the thread, I posted a condensed version of the instructions. I have printed this out for reference while making it.

Yes, I have made it. The first one probably needs more water. There is nothing wrong with it, it is just pretty thick I would have liked to have gotten more bottles out of it because I plan to sell it down the line. I use it all the time and it is absolutely lovely. I have another batch of paste in the fridge. I think this one turned out better, but haven't had time to make LS out of it.

Out of curiosity, how can this recipe have such a superfat without being prone to going rancid? Also, why do liquid soaps in general need so much coconut oil compared to bar soap? Seems that much would be way too drying. Does coconut behave differently in liquid soap?

 

[AliOop]

Out of curiosity, how can this recipe have such a superfat without being prone to going rancid? Also, why do liquid soaps in general need so much coconut oil compared to bar soap? Seems that much would be way too drying. Does coconut behave differently in liquid soap?

Coconut oil is still pretty drying in LS. That's where the SF comes in and saves the day! Fortunately, meadowfoamseed oil (which is the SF in this recipe) is extremely shelf stable. Also, the combination of stearic acid and PS80 keeps everything well-solubilized/emulsified.

I've never had any of this recipe go bad, and my batches made from 500g of paste tend to last about 3months. If you are worried about it, you can dilute only the amount of paste needed to make the amount of soap you will use in a month, and then dilute more later.