Liquid soap too...liquid?

[EAStewart]

Hi all. This was my first attempt at making liquid soap. I went to dilute it with distilled water at a 1:2 and a 1:1 ratio, but it’s way more fluid than I want. I thought with a heavy paste to water ratio it would be thick. Right now it just looks like slightly cloudy water. It’s only been sitting for a day, and it’s thoroughly mixed. Will it thicken over time? Or should I try something specific? Any help is appreciated.

Here’s the recipe I used:
20 oz Coconut Oil
3 oz Olive Oil
1 oz Shea Butter
5.94 oz potassium hydroxide
18 oz water

 

[LaureLive]

Hi , This is one of unexpected conclusion actually in liquid soap making Beacuse koh soap paste made with saturated oils like coconut oil, Shea butter , stearic acid needs less water for dilute , so big possibility it won’t get thicker in time , but when it is hot it is more liquid and clear ,but if it is cold enough, I don’t think it will thicker , but you can make it thicker adding Salty water , add little bit and stir , until you get enough consistency, but too much will make it too cloudy and too thick so be careful!! And my suggestion for your next Liquid soap recipe try using olive oil high percentage around 60%, coconut oil is good enough around 15-20% for bubble and %5 castor oil for More clear , so You ‘ll have clear and high viscous soap even if you dilute 1:1.5 , happy soapy day [emoji5]

 

[cmzaha]

salt water will only work for OO or very high OO liquid soap. You can order some Modified Hec, which is the easiest product I find for thickening. The modified blends the best for me and is available here https://www.makingcosmetics.com/HE-Cellulose-Modified_p_310.html

 

[LaureLive]

I don’t think so, salts acts as a hardening and thickening agents , just like Sodium lactate salts and sodium chloride acts as a hardening agent in Naoh soaps, and there won’t be any change if you use it any type of liquid soap not only oo soap, and also imagine coco Betain, although it’s synthetic agents but acts as a salt which enhances the viscosity of every type of Liquid soap , but thank you , I learned something new that I also prefer HE-cellulose too if it keeps the clearance besides carbormer

 

[DeeAnna]

"...I don’t think so, salts acts as a hardening and thickening agents..."

Have you actually tried to thicken a mostly or all coconut oil soap such as the original poster's recipe? If you haven't actually tried it, you need to do so before you make these claims. Carolyn is correct -- soap very low in oleic acid such as the OP's recipe will NOT salt out (thicken) by adding salt. That is the reason why "marine soap" or "sailors soap" is mostly coconut oil -- coconut oil soap remains highly soluble in salt or brackish water, unlike other types of soap.

 

[Susie]

There is a point where theory hits reality that confuses people in soaping. This is one of those times. Carolyn is correct. Please go make that recipe and try to thicken it with salt water before making those statements.

 

[gloopygloop]

I tried once to salt high CO LS to no avail so learned that one early on!, but you could add grated bar soap which often gives it some body or maybe make up some more past and add to the diluted soap to give it more soap v water if that makes sense.

 

[Susie]

The OP can indeed make more paste to mix in, or they can gently heat their soap, and let evaporation take some of the liquid out.

 

[gloopygloop]

The OP can indeed make more paste to mix in, or they can gently heat their soap, and let evaporation take some of the liquid out.

Completely agree and evaporation is probably where I would start as it will make a difference.

 

[DeeAnna]

Even if the OP evaporates some water out of the mix, the end result is likely to be a liquid soap that is still fairly thin. That is simply the nature of a high coconut oil soap.

If you want a thicker soap with this type of recipe, one needs to look at a separate thickener that doesn't rely on the soap's solubility in water. You dilute the soap to whatever % soap you want in the final product and then add the thickener to get the viscosity you want.

Carolyn has mentioned she uses HEC with good results. Another one is HPMC per my reading. Faith has some good tutorials on how to use these and other thickeners: http://alaiynab.blogspot.com/search/label/tutorial

 

[toxikon]

My first batch of liquid soap turned out thick like honey. I followed Irish Lass's recipe and directions.

65% OO, 25% CO, 10% Castor, 3% SF. Equal amounts water and KOH, with 2x amount of glycerin (ex. 150g KOH, 150g water, 300g glycerin)

1 part paste to .62 part water. You could start with 1 part paste and .5 part water and SLOOOOWLY add more until you get the consistency you want.

 

[gloopygloop]

Even if the OP evaporates some water out of the mix, the end result is likely to be a liquid soap that is still fairly thin. That is simply the nature of a high coconut oil soap.

If you want a thicker soap with this type of recipe, one needs to look at a separate thickener that doesn't rely on the soap's solubility in water. You dilute the soap to whatever % soap you want in the final product and then add the thickener to get the viscosity you want.

Carolyn has mentioned she uses HEC with good results. Another one is HPMC per my reading. Faith has some good tutorials on how to use these and other thickeners: http://alaiynab.blogspot.com/search/label/tutorial

I have used HEC in the past but I did find that a part of it tended to fall to the bottom, the soap was a good consistence but with some thick gloop at the bottom, this happened on more than one occasion and I was very careful with the mixing to ensure dispersion.

 

[gloopygloop]

My first batch of liquid soap turned out thick like honey. I followed Irish Lass's recipe and directions.

65% OO, 25% CO, 10% Castor, 3% SF. Equal amounts water and KOH, with 2x amount of glycerin (ex. 150g KOH, 150g water, 300g glycerin)

1 part paste to .62 part water. You could start with 1 part paste and .5 part water and SLOOOOWLY add more until you get the consistency you want.

YES!!!!!! I second that, works a treat! thank you Irish Lass.