Soaping 101 liquid soapmaking video?

[Susie]

OK, let's define "superfat" first. Superfat is truly fat added at the end of gel in a HP soap. If you are referring to the lye discount we normally see called superfat on a soap calculator, then it is not true superfat.

If you make liquid soap, you typically use either a lye excess and then neutralize, or use a lye discount of 0-5% to avoid neutralizing.

However, if you use >3% lye discount(AKA superfat, although it is an erroneous term), you have a much better chance of having cloudy soap, or separation of the fatty acids with a layer of cloudy matter on top. So, many of us use on 0-3% lye discount to avoid this.

You can also get a layer of cloudiness on the top of the liquid soap with some FOs or EOs.

You only NEED to use an emulsifier when you have separation and a fatty layer on top. If you don't have that issue, you don't need PS80 or PS20.

I would never add "just a splash" of oils to my carefully weighed and calculated soap.

 

[IrishLass]

Hi Sara!

If your finished soap with the added splash of oil does not separate on you, then you have no need to add an emulsifier. I add one to mine because it separates asfter a few months if I don't. As an aside, I add PS80 instead of PS20 for this job because it is more suited for emulsifying things like fats than is PS20.


IrishLass

Edited to add: Just saw Susie's post and I must agree that I would never add 'just a splash' of oil to my finished soap. Everything is carefully weighed and calculated.

 

[ngian]

OK I 've got everything I need to try for the first time the CP LGS. I only need to find some time.

I just have a few questions :

1) can I use a herbal tea made with distilled water for the dilution (chamomile, calendula ect.)?

2) can I use sugar or anything else like in CP for more bubbles and when?

Thank you in advance.

Nikos

 

[DeeAnna]

The general rule is to only use distilled water for dilution because there is too much potential for microbial growth with anything else. I don't think adding sugar at the time of dilution is any wiser than using a tea. If you're determined to do it, however, a suitable broad spectrum preservative is an absolute must.

Whether sugar adds bubbles if used when making the paste, I can't say -- I've never tried it.

 

[Susie]

^ What DeeAnna said! Only distilled water for dilution! If you want to use teas, use them as the batch water(to mix with the KOH), so that all possible pathogens are killed with the KOH.

I have never found sugar to help liquid soap with bubbles, whatsoever. Castor oil does help stabilize the bubbles that the CO gives, though. I use it in hand soaps, but not laundry soap.

 

[IrishLass]

Ditto what DeeAnna and Susie said.

Re: sugar- Although I use it in my bar soaps, I've never used it in my liquid soap. I find my GLS lathers perfectly fine without it.


IrishLass

 

[Rowan]

I read through this amazing thread and decided to give GLS a go. I was completely muddled initially by the different figures given by the LS calculators. There was even a difference between SBM advanced and basic calculaors! I finally settled on SBM advanced, as suggested by Irish Lass and decided to use my American scales as oz differ between England and the USA.

I wanted to stick exactly to the tutorial on my first attempt. The first picture is just after the flying bubble stage. What a wonderful feeling when the bubbles start flying. Pure magic!!

for some reason I can only load one photo at a time. My second photo is 2 hours later. I was a bit concerned about the solid white layer but could see the taffy coloured soap underneath. By accident it looks like a face!

My final photo shows the final diluted GLS. I'm so excited that it turned out ok and really wanted to share (image of me running round the kitchen like a mad woman, shouting it worked, it worked!) I just want to say thankyou so much to Irish Lass for posting this amazing amazing recipe from Catherine Peterson and fantastic tutorial Thanks to everyone else for inputting some fantastic advice on this thread, that made it easier to problem solve. It worked :clap:

 

[Rowan]

2nd photo

 

[Rowan]

Final photo

 

[ngian]

Well done Rowan I'm jealous, I'm waiting for the moment that I'll feel the same with you.

Thank you girls for your answers about sugars and Susie for the tip about tea.

I have another technical question that may not be very relative to this thread but it is used as an ingredient at least.

I have KOH and I'm thinking of buying 1 kg Lactic Acid, to make Potassium Lactate (maybe 60% or 50% solution what do you suggest?) for the liquid soap . I know that sodium lactate can be used in both CP bar soap and liquid soap as IrishLass is using it. Potassium Lactate can be used for surely in liquid soap, but can it be used for CP bar soap too with the same effect as sodium lactate?

Nikos

 

[Rowan]

Good luck with your GLS. I'm sure it will work out great, it's an awesome recipe. It's like liquid gold.

 

[IrishLass]

Yay! I'm so happy for you Rowan! That makes my day!
Is this what you looked like? :arrow:


IrishLass

 

[IrishLass]

Thank you girls for your answers about sugars and Susie for the tip about tea.

I have another technical question that may not be very relative to this thread but it is used as an ingredient at least.

I have KOH and I'm thinking of buying 1 kg Lactic Acid, to make Potassium Lactate (maybe 60% or 50% solution what do you suggest?) for the liquid soap . I know that sodium lactate can be used in both CP bar soap and liquid soap as IrishLass is using it. Potassium Lactate can be used for surely in liquid soap, but can it be used for CP bar soap too with the same effect as sodium lactate?

Nikos

That looks like a question for DeeAnna! Hopefully she'll chime in soon.


IrishLass

 

[Rowan]

Yay! I'm so happy for you Rowan! That makes my day!
Is this what you looked like? :arrow:


IrishLass

That's so funny, it's exactly what I looked like! I must have looked like some mad scientist with a Eureka moment!!!!

 

[DeeAnna]

I don't know that potassium lactate will perform the same as sodium lactate in soap, but it's certainly worth a try.

10 g lactic acid neutralizes 4.44 g NaOH
10 g lactic acid neutralizes 6.23 g KOH

 

[Pepsi Girl]

Okay I have read and reread this lengthy post. Here's my questions

Irish Lass do I understand you no longer use the advanced calculator?

Am I not seeing it or is there no way to change the SBM to oil % versus oil ozs?

And this is not a question this is a fact I totally dislike the tongue zap test, it so reminds me of childhood.
My mother was a firm believer in washing your mouth out with soap!

 

[IrishLass]

Okay I have read and reread this lengthy post. Here's my questions

Irish Lass do I understand you no longer use the advanced calculator?

I still presently utilize it at this time.

Am I not seeing it or is there no way to change the SBM to oil % versus oil ozs?

No- there's no way to change it (at least as far as I know, anyway). It was a bit of a hassle, but what I did was to type the recipe into SoapCalc to get the percentages (and the gram amounts), then I went back to SBM and got the proper KOH and glycerin amounts. Then I wrote it all down in my notebook for all posterity so that I could go by what I wrote instead of typing the recipe in afresh each time I make it. This works out fine for me because I pretty much always make the same size batch of the formula each time.

And this is not a question this is a fact I totally dislike the tongue zap test, it so reminds me of childhood.
My mother was a firm believer in washing your mouth out with soap!

LOL Well, one of the cool things about making liquid soap via the glycerin method is that the soap actually tastes sweet (from the glycerin).


IrishLass

 

[ngian]

Well I finally found the time to make the CP Liquid Glycerine Soap

-65% Olive Oil
-25% Coconut Oil
-10% Castor Oil
-Superfatted @ 3%

except that instead of Coconut I used PKO. I 'm amazed of how easy and quickly is for anyone to make the paste.

I used DeeAnna's method of dissolving KOH into water first, and then adding glycerine where water equals KOH and glycerin = 2x water.

It took me 30-40 minutes to create the paste from scratch, and after additional 20 minutes the paste passed successfully the zap test. The initial time to create the paste would be much sorter if :

1) I would melt PalmKernel oil in a microwave oven (that we don't have on purpose) instead of my oven or melt it right away with the hot lye solution.

2) I would mix KOH+water+glycerine solution with the oils at its higher temperature (70C - 158F) instead of the cooler 50C-122F that I finally did. This resulted in stickBlending for more than 15min in order to reach trace.

The next day I diluted some portion of the paste with 1 part paste and 75% of its weight with deionized water and because of the fact that the paste was cut in big pieces, some of them were outside the water surface even when I tried to squeeze them a little. So I decided to add more water reaching the 89% water amount. I also added 3% Sodium Lactate. The day after that the liquid was ready!

It has an olive oil color, so I must hide it somewhere that no one will think it is food grade oil! It is more watery in thickness than honey but not as water. It has a nice feeling when I wash my hands. But I feel like that it is not making as fast and as much bubbles as a CP bar would do with almost the same % of oils.

a) Is it for the rate of dilution?

b) Adding little salt solution (20%) would thicken even more the soap, but would also cut from lather?

c) If I lower the superfat to 2% or 1% would that also add more bubbles as the same would happen to a CP soap?

Next time I will add sugar and maybe sodium citrate in water prior mixing KOH, so as to see if they would also enhanced bubbles.

Thank you all for all the tips and advices!
Nikoshttp://www.soapmakingforum.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

 

[Susie]

Liquid soap does not lather like CP soap. It is just the nature of the product.

Salt will not help a soap with 25% Coconut Oil. I am not sure about the PKO. I would not have used PKO in liquid soap. It is not interchangeable in liquid soap like it is in bar soap, IMHO. I was unimpressed with PKO in the two times I tried it. It just costs too much for too little return.

The SF at 3% or below is about the best you are going to get for bubbles. It may just be the PKO, but again, liquid soap does not produce the plentiful bubbles like CP bar soap does.

Glycerin acts like a sugar here. Adding additional sugar will not boost lather.

"I used DeeAnna's method of dissolving KOH into water first, and then adding glycerine where water equals KOH and glycerin = 3x water."

I think you mean that the water/glycerin amount equals the KOH x 3? If so, that is the correct proportion.

 

[ngian]

Thanx Susie for your input.

Well I was thinking of making a liquid shampoo that's why I was looking for more bubbles to easily wash, or at least feel that my hair is actually being washed.I'll try use less superfat along with CO instead of PKO.

Yes I did a typo on the glycerin amount. I added 2 x the amount of water with glycerine.