LS dilution: distilled vs. tap water

[ResolvableOwl]

tl;dr: Dilution of LS paste with (hard) tap water is possible, but at the expense of clarity and viscosity.

These are dilutions from the same single-oil peanut LS paste; the only difference being that in the left, I diluted the paste with tap water (net Ca/Mg content: 1.8 mmol/L aka hardness range “hard”); the right is made with distilled water.

Besides the turbidity (and some pearlescence), the tap water LS is also thinner. Both are diluted to the same 19% oils absolute. The distilled water LS is a very stiff to soft consistency, still a bit gooey, too thick to work well with a regular dispenser bottle, and not easy to transfer. It'd better get another few drops of water, to land around 15–17%.
The tap LS, however, is on the other side of the “perfect honey consistency” with semi-viscous – flow. Not bad at all, but next time I'd aim for 20–22%.


As always, all that must be understood with the caveat that LS is incredibly sensitive to changes in composition (looking at you, castor and coconut oil) and additives (glycerol, citrate, sodium, EOs/FOs).

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Interesting! As always!

As always, all that must be understood with the caveat that LS is incredibly sensitive to changes in composition (looking at you, castor and coconut oil) and additives (glycerol, citrate, sodium, EOs/FOs).

It should also be noted that all tap water is not the same. I feel confident making CP soap and LS with Denver water collected and processed from the Rocky Mountains. I would not recommend the practice to everyone. It all depends on where you live and the quality of water in your tap.

ETA: High Quality Tap Water in Germany

 

[ResolvableOwl]

ETA: High Quality Tap Water in Germany

Poor Regensburg got really badly cropped in that header background photo.