How to make liquid soap more less drying?

[LiminalVeil]

I made some liquid hand soap a couple of months ago for the first time (0% Superfat) it’s not lye heavy (no zap, paste was clear with Phenolphthalein drops) and I’ve sequestered it for some time now. However, I just tried some and it’s a bit drying compared to commercial syndets.
What can I do to make it milder? Use less coconut oil next time, add a carrier oil and/or glycerin to it mixed with some polysorbate? Any suggestions are welcome!

 

[lsg]

You might check this out--https://www.humblebeeandme.com/actually-moisturizing-liquid-soap/

 

[AliOop]

Another good option is @IrishLass' Creamy Cocoa-Shea LS. The ingredients are not inexpensive, but it makes wonderful, non-drying LS. You can also use different recipes but using the same principles in this recipe of diluting with a thickener (stearic acid), and adding PS80 to incorporate superfat and scent of choice without having them separate.

 

[BWt]

My own experience looking for a less stripping LS led me to include 3% beeswax into my recipe. The beeswax seems to help imho. Edited to add. Agree with @AliOop. @IrishLass LS recipes and instructions were invaluable in learning to make LS.

 

[AliOop]

My own experience looking for a less stripping LS led me to include 3% beeswax into my recipe. The beeswax seems to help imho. Edited to add. Agree with @AliOop. @IrishLass LS recipes and instructions were invaluable in learning to make LS.

That’s so interesting - I haven’t heard that but will give it a try!

 

[LiminalVeil]

Another good option is @IrishLass' Creamy Cocoa-Shea LS. The ingredients are not inexpensive, but it makes wonderful, non-drying LS. You can also use different recipes but using the same principles in this recipe of diluting with a thickener (stearic acid), and adding PS80 to incorporate superfat and scent of choice without having them separate.

I’ve seen this recipe and it looks amazing. I’ve balked at the high percentage of coconut in it, but maybe I’ll give it a go with a smaller batch and see how my hands like it.

 

[LiminalVeil]

My own experience looking for a less stripping LS led me to include 3% beeswax into my recipe. The beeswax seems to help imho. Edited to add. Agree with @AliOop. @IrishLass LS recipes and instructions were invaluable in learning to make LS.

That’s really interesting. I’ll try that. I have plenty of beeswax on hand that I use for a candle blend. I have never soaped with it before in bars due to the high melting temperature and hearing that it caused very quick trace.

 

[AliOop]

I don’t know if it will speed trace in LS, but if it does, that is always a good thing!

 

[DeeAnna]

Besides the recipe, which looks fine by the way, another thing to think about is how you use the liquid soap.

Many hobby LS makers want to rely only on dilution to get a thick soap. Based on what I've seen in my own experience and looking at what others do, most "dilution only" LS contains at least 30% actual pure soap. A single squirt of this LS on your hands or washcloth will contain way more soap than you'd get if using bar soap.

More soap used per wash = more likely to cause dryness and irritation. Not to mention a lot of soap being wasted down the drain.

Controlling the amount of soap that's dispensed is a valid way to reduce skin dryness and irritation as well as waste.

Diluting LS to a lower pure-soap concentration -- typically around 10% pure soap content -- and then using a separate thickener to increase the viscosity is one option for making the soap milder.

Or dilute the soap to 5-10% pure soap content so it's pretty watery and put it in a foaming dispenser.