Liquid Soap Intimidation...

sudszensoaps · Nov 17, 2019

Hi All,

I've been making CP soap for many years and I'm quite comfortable with the process. I would like to make some liquid soap, but everything I read makes me feel it's quite intimidating!

Does anyone have a very basic recipe, not one that makes a huge amount (so as to minimize the risk of investment). All the books and recipes I've researched have recipes that make very large amounts. I'm not asking you to share your recipe...maybe you know of a resource/book/website?

Thanks for your help! This forum is a great resource!

Zany_in_CO · Nov 17, 2019

Hiya Sudszensoaps!

First things first... There are as many different ways to make LS as there are LS-ers! LOL So it does get confusing.

If you want to learn the basics, you'll find an excellent tutorial, plus tips & tricks here:

Alaiyna B's Basic Beginner Liquid Soap

What you need to know, coming from making CP, is that the process for making LS is very similar except for the following:

MAKE THE PASTE/BASE
Use KOH instead of NaOH.
Choose KOH 90% (optional) and 0% SF (optional) to ensure full saponification of fatty acids, i.e., clarity of finished LS.
When calculating the ratio of water to KOH on SoapCalc, drop down to where it says "water : lye ratio" and type in 3:1.

TRACE: It takes longer than CP. 100% Coconut oil should trace in 12-15 minutes. 100% Olive Oil takes 45 minutes or so, depending on other factors:
For Cold Process LS, Temps are important. Combine when oils are @ 160°F (71°C) and lye solution @ 140°F (60°C). Stir by hand, then SB to hard trace (on & off), over low heat (160°F).

Once you have hard trace you can stop there and let it sit 1-2 weeks to reach full saponification. OR you can process it by whatever method you're most comfortable with.

NOTE: The area where Newbies have the most trouble, in my 15 years experience, is knowing how long to cook the soap to make it viable because it varies with the type of fats used.

Before diluting, you need to test the soap for neutrality, 3 methods: Zap test, soap-in-water test, pheno drops -- see link above for details.

Zany_in_CO · Nov 17, 2019

DILUTION PHASE
Weigh the soap.
For 100% Coconut Oil LS: 40% soap to 60% dilution water.
For 100% Olive Oil LS: 15-20% soap to 85-80% dilution water.
All others fall somewhere in between. You know you have reached the perfect amount of dilution water when a film forms on top. Stir while adding more water until the film no longer forms. (Optional) Some prefer to dilute to a thicker viscosity, but waste a lot of soap going down the drain and it takes a bit more effort to rinse off.

NOTE: Liquid soap tends to be watery. It's just the nature of the beast. But even 100% OO LS has excellent lather. There are ways to thicken watery LS and those are discussed here:

http://alaiynab.blogspot.com/search/label/tutorial

SEQUESTER PHASE
Sequester the batch for 2 weeks. This allows for any corrections to be made before bottling up.

ADVICE: Make small 12-16 ounce batches to start. 12 oz fats makes 16 oz soap which can then be divided into four 4-oz portions to experiment with dilution water amount and additives.