Liquid Castile Soap Is Sticky - Any Advice?

[rpclarke]

Hi all,
I'm trying to make some nice liquid castile soap which is simple enough, but it leaves the skin feeling a bit sticky. By this I mean after you use it, if you run your hands over your skin instead of it being completely smooth your hand almost jumps a bit because it feels a bit sticky. I've even noticed this with a premade liquid castile base I bought online, so I'm assuming it's normal for castile soap to be like this but I was hoping there might be something I could add to prevent it? The one I'm making is made from sunflower and coconut oil if that helps. Any suggestions would be great, thanks.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

You will love ZNSC! Most members who have tried it, like it almost as much as I do! In addition to "no slime", it cures faster than "normal" olive oil castile and, get this. there's no waste! Just this morning, I noticed my bar had been reduced to the point where I need to start a new bar. All I do is press the small bar onto the new bar, while adding some water to "glue it" together and I'm good to go.

Zany's No Slime Castile

Here's a video (not me; someone else) that shows how easy it is to make and how quickly it hardens up.

 

[rpclarke]

Thanks but as I mentioned, I'm making liquid castile soap as opposed to bar soap.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Thanks but as I mentioned, I'm making liquid castile soap as opposed to bar soap.

SO sorry! I missed that! Alrighty then...

The one oil I experience trouble with, and this is just me, is sunflower. Even when I added some calendula-infused HO Sunflower oil to the ZNSC mentioned above, it resulted in a bit of slime -- I was not happy. I like the oil in leave-on products like salves, lip balm and lotion. For LS, I think you will be happier with the result if you use:

50% Coconut + Liquid Oil(s) of choice: If not Olive Oil (for whatever reason) then Almond Oil, Avocado Oil, RBO, hempseed, flaxseed, etc. plus 5-10% Castor Oil for high lather and conditioning.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM VARIOUS OILS IN LS

0% SF saponifies most of any "unsaponifiables" so you won't feel "sticky".

TIP: Many LS'ers dilute to a viscosity they prefer. But that's not always good. If there's too much soap in the diluted paste, it won't rinse off as cleanly as a properly diluted batch will. Here is a post with guidelines to prevent the problem you ran into.

ABOUT DILUTION

HTH and HAPPY LS-ING!

 

[rpclarke]

Thank you! That's very helpful, and sorry for the late response, I've been on holiday

Out of curiosity, I've been considering making some liquid soap from melt and pour soap, but I've heard it doesn't last very long. Does it not last as long as most liquid soap, say a few years?

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Thank you!

You're welcome!
Just in case you want to try it: TUTORIAL - LIQUID SOAP FOR BEGINNERS

I've been considering making some liquid soap from melt and pour soap

Well that's a first! I've never been asked that question before. Hmm
Since MP bars are made with NaOH as well, from my experience, once liquid, it will tend to revert to hard soap over time. If you don't want to make LS from scratch, consider buying a ready-made LS Base.

but I've heard it doesn't last very long. Does it not last as long as most liquid soap, say a few years?

I've had bar soaps that last for years but liquid soap always gets used up in a fairly short amount of time. Even a gallon of liquid laundry soap only lasts about 6 months -- not that it wouldn't go longer, it just gets used up.

Now I'm curious. Why would you want liquid soap that lasts for a few years?

 

[rpclarke]

I have looked into a ready made base but there aren't many that are palm free, and the ones that are just don't seem to be very nice. I do have some palm free melt and pour base though which made me wonder. I only ask about how long it lasts because it goes such a long way if made into a liquid and as I have quite a bit I wondered if it would last, although admittedly I didn't really mean years, but perhaps up to a year. I guess I'll just have to try and see how it turns out!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I guess I'll just have to try and see how it turns out!

I say, go for it! Start with a small batch and tweak from there.

Only, before you do that, your might want to start a new thread in the Melt and Pour Forum and share your idea to get advice and recommendations from members who make MP soap. It should very interesting. Good Luck!