Newbie to liquid soap

[Obsidian]

I'm ready to take the plunge and try a liquid soap but I am in need of some assistance. Is there a good site with easy instructions some where?
I've read about different methods and I want what ever is easiest for now. Also, if I want around 1/2 gallon of finished soap, how much oil will I need to start with?
I wanted to use 100% OO but I guess thats not a good idea? Whats the max I can use and not get a snotty mess?

 

[Second Impression]

If you make LS with KOH, you can go up to 100% OO and not have snot. Snot happens when you try to turn NaOH soap into liquid.

Soaping101 has a pretty good tutorial for the glycerin method, that's a great recipe to start with. LS is one of those things it's really helpful to see someone else go through all the stages, photo and written tutorials don't quite do it justice. 1lb of oils should get you somewhere around a whole gallon of finished soap, depending on how much you have to dilute. OO requires more water to dilute than say CO. I make my LS high in CO and 2.5lbs of oils yields a little less than 2 gallons of finished soap.

Sent from my XT907 using Soap Making mobile app

 

[lsg]

I love the glycerin method. Soaping101 has a video tutorial on making gylcerin soap. If you want a larger batch, just run her recipe through Summer Bee Meadow Liquid Soap calculator and resize it to the amount you desire.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VUGV_H7bZU&list=TLXpJLwHwcqaMyj1ImzK5YT8nKnny1JYP2[/ame]

 

[Obsidian]

Thank you. The soaping 101 method seems pretty easy and I like that there isn't any additional additives to make it thick. I'll try a small batch at first, no need to waste a bunch of ingredients if I mess something up.

 

[Obsidian]

Couple more questions.
Is there any benefit from using glycerin instead of water beside a shorter cook? If I use a bit of mica for color, will the shimmers stay suspended?

 

[lsg]

Well, I never have to neutralize my glycerin liquid soap. I can't guarantee how the mica would turn out, but it would be beautiful if it did stay suspended. I wonder about colored jojoba beads too.

 

[Obsidian]

I'll stick with the glycerin, just sounds easier. I'm making this tomorrow, cross your fingers that it works. I'll let you know how the mica does, I have a bit of copper and I think it would look real nice.

 

[whitetiger_0603]

If you want a good resource for liquid soap making, go for Catherine Fallor's Liquid Soap book. I got mine on Amazon and i have to say, her method has made a load of difference in my soap compared to when i first started. There are some vague spots in her book, but they aren't essential. Otherwise, she outlines 2 methods for making liquid soap, and even more so goes into how you can get transparent soap, so when you go to color it, it literally looks like a jewel. She doesn't use a crock pot though, so i had to wok around that cause I'm not giving up my crock.

 

[whitetiger_0603]

Couple more questions.
Is there any benefit from using glycerin instead of water beside a shorter cook? If I use a bit of mica for color, will the shimmers stay suspended?

I've used Mica in my soap and the color stays suspended for the most part. You may find a little has collected at the bottom of the bottle near the end, but it's not noticeable.