How To Achieve A Nice Thick Shower Gel

[liquidsoaplady]

To achieve a nice thick shower gel, (honey like consistency) every time use a formulation high in soft oils.

For example

10% coconut oil
90% olive oil (use a soft oil high in oleic acid, as this will produce a more stable, longer lasting foam, eg: sweet almond, olive, canola)

Cook the paste, when it comes time to dilute the paste, use 1.5 pounds of water per pound of paste.

If you have 6 pounds of paste you would use 1.5 x 6 = 9.6 pounds of distilled water which equals 144 ounces.

Before adding the paste to the boiling dilution water, add 3 oz of borax, as this acts as an emulsifier, foam booster as well as water softener.

Dissolve the paste with the lid on the pot at a low simmer, stir to help dissolve clumps.

To get a snapshot of how thick your cooled soap will be you can get a measuring cup or spoon. Place it in the freezer. When it's cold take it out and spoon some on top of the measuring cup or get a spoonful of the hot soap, place plastic wrap over the soap. Let it cool and this will give you a good indication of how thick your finished soap will be.

Keep boiling until your sample is the thickness you want.

This works every time!

Hope this helps!

Honey

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Sounds interesting.

Borax is a controlled substance over this side of the pond - any suggestions on how to do this without it?

 

[liquidsoaplady]

What a shame, borax is a naturally occurring mineral, and is no more toxic than table salt. Anything can be harmful when too much is ingested.

OK enough of the ranting..........

Just omit the borax, using a high percentage of soft oils will still achieve the desired effect, but A LOT of dilution water will be needed.

Experiment......others use glycerin in place of distilled water. Use glycerin at a ratio of 3:1 for your lye solution, mixing the two together, then heating to dissolve the lye flakes.

This may achieve the same effect as using borax, though I have not tried it.

Good luck..............

Sounds interesting.

Borax is a controlled substance over this side of the pond - any suggestions on how to do this without it?