Liquid Soap Color Change?

[mrs_junn]

Hi everyone, n00b here. I have only made a few batches of lye soap, and all have been successful so far. I decided to try my hand at a recipe I found online for liquid soap. The person's stock photo shows a crystal clear soap, but when I got to the final stages (3-4 hours later!) my soap was light yellow (which corresponds to the Dr. Bronner's I usually have on hand). I added the water to liquefy it again, and it did, but when I added the borax to supposedly 'neutralize' it, the whole batch turned PICKLE GREEN. I'm so disappointed! All those hours of work for pickle soap!? I don't have the exact measurements on hand but the soap called for mainly olive oil, some coconut oil, water, potassium hydroxide, and LOTS of time. Cook down, add to water to liquefy, then add borax to neutralize. I have tried to search Google and this forum and have not been able to find anything on why this would happen. Please help

 

[Susie]

Hey and welcome!

Did it happen to be the Soaping 101 liquid glycerin soap? If so, I have heard of a lot of different results, but never green soap. We are going to need an exact recipe, including the brand of borax you used to start troubleshooting. While you are waiting for other replies, we have a wonderful Liquid and Cream Soap Forum...including a behemoth of a thread on the S101 Liquid Glycerin Soap.

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=46114

Just a thought, did you happen to use a dark green EVOO for the oil?

 

[mrs_junn]

Exact recipe

I got the recipe from here:

http://www.diynatural.com/how-to-make-liquid-soap-natural/

It lists these to go in:
16.5 ounces olive oil
7 ounces coconut oil
5.5 ounces potassium hydroxide

I used Vigo olive oil (bulk jug from Sam's Club), organic coconut oil, and flaked potash. Bottled water. 20 Mule Team Borax. Right before I poured in the borax I snapped a photo while stirring it with my red spatula, the picture of it in the (clean/sanitized) pickle jar (ironically) is now. There are pictures of the ingredients I used as well as the bottom of my pot (stainless steel Revere Ware). I used a digital scale to measure all the ingredients out after taring it with the weight of my cup/bowl. I know it doesn't look too off from what it was in the beginning, but trust me, to start with in the red spatula picture it was clearing up and had a very light "Budweiser" color to it. The jarred picture is just pickle green. I'm so sad!

 

[Susie]

Yep, the revenge of the EVOO, I'm afraid. This is why I soap with the cheap yellow stuff from Sam's.

There is an easier way to make liquid soap than that, though. Just use a lye calculator and a 0-3% superfat and cold process it. No neutralization, no cooking.

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=49852&highlight=cold+process+liquid+soap

 

[mrs_junn]

Easier way

Thank you sooooo much for that! I'm excited to try that method, just wish I had found this forum much sooner! :mrgreen: