Liquid Soap Stumbling block
- Thread starter sephera
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This is not a stupid question. For a liquid soap, you REALLY should consider using a stickblender so that you can get you soap to emulsion much quicker than hand stirring. After that, it's up to you if you want to cook it or not. I personally cook it until it's firm but you could really just leave the soap alone once it is emulsified thoroughly.
Hi Sephera- I used to think the same way about liquid soap as you until I heard about the glycerin method of making liquid soap. Once I tried it out, there was no stopping me from continuing to make more and more. I couldn't believe how easy it was. No need to cook or stir endlessly- just mix to emulsion and leave it alone off the heat to turn into paste on its own before diluting. Have you checked out this thread yet?: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=46114
or Susie's method?: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=49852
Both those threads will change the way you think about making liquid soap. It's not hard at all, and is much, much easier than some people make it out to be.
IrishLass
or Susie's method?: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=49852
Both those threads will change the way you think about making liquid soap. It's not hard at all, and is much, much easier than some people make it out to be.
IrishLass
If you can make CP, you can make liquid soap. There is just no need for all that cooking and stirring. I do not cook mine, and have not since that first batch a couple or three years ago. Follow IrishLass' liquid glycerin soap recipe. It is easy, thick, and foolproof. Only mix the KOH with an equal part water, then add the remainder of the liquid as glycerin to the oils. (Oh, and if you don't get flying bubbles, don't worry, it will still turn out fine as long as it is emulsified.)
nickbar
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IMO liquid soap is very easy to make (much easier than CP for bar soaps) for someone who knows how to make CP soap first.
I dont cook either during the process. I only use a stick blender from the begining when i mix oils,glycerin and lye till i got a thick translucent paste and thats it. The next part is the dillution which is something easy too.
So like others said follow IL's recipe. It's simple, easy and fun for making crystal clear gls.
I dont cook either during the process. I only use a stick blender from the begining when i mix oils,glycerin and lye till i got a thick translucent paste and thats it. The next part is the dillution which is something easy too.
So like others said follow IL's recipe. It's simple, easy and fun for making crystal clear gls.
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I am a member of a couple of liquid soap groups, and whenever someone bemoans how long they had to cook their soap, DeeAnna or I point out that we make great liquid soap with no cooking. It is inevitably ignored by many, but we keep on trying.
nickbar
Well-Known Member
When i wanted to make some ls for first time i was like this: "Hey guys! How much time do i have to cook my paste after mixing and what temperature do i have to reach to get the paste?"
In many yt vids/blogs/fb discussions unfortunately that story continues...
Also some blogs and discussions are a little bit inaccurate to be honest. For example last time i read on a homemade blog that in order to get a crystal clear soap you have to cook it till a super golden translucent paste (like vaseline) but dont go over 75 deg Celsious...
Also i read many to suggest a 100% CO with 0% SF as hair shampoo... Thats something that i wouldnt recommend to anyone...
Thank God for following your advices and IL's recipe, i learned a lot and now i can say that gls is super easy to make and very much simply than i was thinking...
In many yt vids/blogs/fb discussions unfortunately that story continues...
Also some blogs and discussions are a little bit inaccurate to be honest. For example last time i read on a homemade blog that in order to get a crystal clear soap you have to cook it till a super golden translucent paste (like vaseline) but dont go over 75 deg Celsious...
Also i read many to suggest a 100% CO with 0% SF as hair shampoo... Thats something that i wouldnt recommend to anyone...
Thank God for following your advices and IL's recipe, i learned a lot and now i can say that gls is super easy to make and very much simply than i was thinking...
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They must have some really lovely hair for human scarecrows.
I do not cook mine either. I take it to a very thick trace, cover and walk away. No cooking
Do you have to use a "special" recipe for liquid soap? Can I use my go-to favorite CP recipe to make liquid soap? It is lard, olive, coconut, shea butter and castor.
You could use that recipe, but it will not be clear. And if you would like to have the best outcome for a first go, I would highly suggest IrishLass' GLS recipe. Just for a first batch, mind you, then you can go make whatever recipe you like once you have it down. You know I love lard, but it just is not the best oil for liquid soap in this case. I use my regular recipe when I make Soap2Go that I leave as a paste, as I like the extra unsaponifiables and creamy lather it gives.
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Have you ever got that piggy smell in a lardy liquid soap? I have and it was the only time I made that said soap. It was a good soap and all but the smell lingered.
So how do I start crafting my own recipe. Do I just sub water for glycerine and run it through calculator. What are best oils and percentages I would like something that keeps well, bubbly and suspended lather and gentle. I would like to up super fat like 7% or more preferably with Jojoba oil. This one I won't used to do any laundry. I like creamy lather and lotion like.
I always, always, always use a fragrance in my lard soaps, whether they are bars or liquid. Why? That lardy smell. I had to stop using lard in my laundry soap, as even with fragrance, I could smell the lardy smell on the clothes when they came out of the dryer. I have a super sensitive nose. The solution was simple, though, just use CO for laundry soap.
I do not use lard (no matter how much I love it) in liquid soap that is going to be diluted. The lovely white soap it starts out as becomes cloudy soap with a large layer of white stuff at the bottom within 24 hours of dilution to the foamer thinness.
1. The jojoba and palm are going to give you cloudy soap. Too many unsaponifiables.
2. If this is your first batch, do yourself a favor and use IrishLass's recipe in post #8 in http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=46114 .
3. Your recipe is super tiny. Try using at least 500 g/1 lb of oils.
4. A 3:1 water/KOH ratio works better for me in liquid soap. The paste is easier to dilute.
2. If this is your first batch, do yourself a favor and use IrishLass's recipe in post #8 in http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=46114 .
3. Your recipe is super tiny. Try using at least 500 g/1 lb of oils.
4. A 3:1 water/KOH ratio works better for me in liquid soap. The paste is easier to dilute.
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Like Susie said- it won't be a clear soap, but if having a more opaque soap is not a deal-beaker for you, I say go for it.
Just remember to use KOH instead of NaOH. One of the other GLS liquid soap formulas I make contains 20% cocoa butter, 5% shea butter, and also some straight stearic acid (as well as the usual suspects of castor, coconut and olive oil), and it makes an incredibly lovely, opaque, creamy liquid soap that in the end has a superfat of somewhere around 7%. I posted the recipe and process for it here. It's a tiny bit more involved than the 100% clear GLS formula that I make with 65% olive oil, which Susie just linked to above, but it's still very easy to make.
IrishLass
Before trying to craft your own, I think it would be much, much easier in the long run to first start out with something simple like the 65% olive oil recipe that Susie just posted a link to. Making a very simple, well-known, time-tested, trouble-free recipe like that will not only get you started off on the right foot by allowing you to familiarize yourself with the process without being bogged down with the unforeseen troubles that a new, untested recipe may cause, but once you try the resulting finished soap out on your skin, it will also give you a better baseline idea of how to go about crafting your own formula in a more deliberate manner (i.e., instead of shooting in the dark).
IrishLass
Ok thanks, then I will follow Irish Lass recipe then. And I will just add a dash of jojoba later, once it's all diluted. I add a dash of a Almond oil or jojoba to my Bronner's soap sometimes for body wash etc.
Sorry just so I not missing anything. Below is recipe for IrishLass combination. So instead of 202.6 grams of water I use glycerine.
This is calculated at 33% lye.
