Preservative, Thickening, and Essential Oil; Which order?

[Carl]

I got a nice liquid hand soap that I'm really starting to like.

I'm using Germall Plus as a preservative.

Guar Gum in glycerine to thicken.

PS80 with my essential oil.

This is a nice soap so far. It's holding together well, no separating. It's a nice color and it's a little thicker which is nice. But I didn't add the preservative yet to this one.

Part of the process of thickening with Guar Gum though is putting it in the microwave and heating it. And I know that Liquid Germall Plus is sensitive at higher temperatures.

So what order would you add these 3 things?

My first guess is:

1. Thicken
2. PS80/EO
3. Preservative last

But I'm not sure. Do you agree?

 

[Zany_in_CO]

You didn't say whether you're making LS (water for the KOH solution) or GLS (all or part glycerin sub for water for the KOH solution)? or SF at o% or 3%?

That being said, thickening and adding fragrance is best done after a 2-week sequester to allow any unsaponified oils to rise to the top, or any sediment to settle to the bottom. Then I would warm the LS to about 140°F or so and add the Guar Gum (according to manufacture's directions), then fragrance. I don't use preservative in LS so I can't help you there. But I do use antioxidants ROE & Vitamin E and that's added to the warmed oils before adding the lye.

I have experimented with Guar Gum to thicken LS. I found that while it did thicken up at first, it went flat after a while. LOL But it did give the LS a very nice "feel" -- kinda silky. A better way to thicken LS is during dilution. Once you reach a point where a skin forms on top, that's the correct amount of dilution water. Just add a bit more water to fully incorporate the skin back in.

As a general rule of thumb, 40% soap to 60% water is good for formulas that contain 50% or more coconut oil and most won't require thickening; 100% olive oil requires 15-20% soap to 85-80% water and you thicken with salt brine. All others fall in between but the dilution phase is where it begins, as well as the choice of fats used, IMHO and IME. Here are a couple of links to learn more.

THICKENING (scroll down)
http://alaiynab.blogspot.com/search/label/tutorial

PRESERVATIVES (scroll down)
http://alaiynab.blogspot.com/2014/07/basic-beginner-liquid-soap-and.html#more

HTH

 

[Carl]

"I found that while it did thicken up at first, it went flat after a while"

Went flat? What do you mean by that?

Thanks!!

BTW, water for the KOH solution @3% superfat

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Went flat? What do you mean by that?

Um, lost it's viscosity; thinned out; didn't stay thickened. Hope that makes sense.

BTW, water for the KOH solution @3% superfat

Good. Then the above info would apply.