Soaping 101 liquid soapmaking video?

[IrishLass]

I've never used any added surfactants to it, but I suppose you could try it with a small portion to test it out.

I just did some looking around to see what I could find out about adding it to liquid soap, and I noticed that WSP uses LAL/SLSa in a liquid bubble bath recipe on their site. They measure it out into a large glass measuring cup and then pour the bubble bath base over it (on a scale to weigh it) and mix together with a whisk. Sounds simple enough, but use a mask/respirator, though- I hear that LAL/SLSa is pretty airborne when dry and you don't want to breathe in any of it. WSP uses 4 tablespoons LAL/SLSa per every 32 oz. of bubble bath base.

If it were me, I would first use a pouf (like Carolyn suggested) before deciding to add any surfactants to it, but for what its worth, if I were ever to add any LAL/SLSa, I would try it out on 4 oz. of the soap, using a conservative 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. to start.

I personally find that my soap bubbles up quite nicely, but then again- I only use it at the sink for washing hands- because I'm quite partial to using only my bar soap in the shower.

Did you add any of the stearic to your cocoa/shea soap? I ask because from your picture it looks like mine does without it.


IrishLass

 

[smengot0]

Yes IL, I did use stearic acid. 3% of finished paste weight. I plan to try the LAL in a small portion. Thanks all

 

[smengot0]

I've never used any added surfactants to it, but I suppose you could try it with a small portion to test it out.

I just did some looking around to see what I could find out about adding it to liquid soap, and I noticed that WSP uses LAL/SLSa in a liquid bubble bath recipe on their site. They measure it out into a large glass measuring cup and then pour the bubble bath base over it (on a scale to weigh it) and mix together with a whisk. Sounds simple enough, but use a mask/respirator, though- I hear that LAL/SLSa is pretty airborne when dry and you don't want to breathe in any of it. WSP uses 4 tablespoons LAL/SLSa per every 32 oz. of bubble bath base.

If it were me, I would first use a pouf (like Carolyn suggested) before deciding to add any surfactants to it, but for what its worth, if I were ever to add any LAL/SLSa, I would try it out on 4 oz. of the soap, using a conservative 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. to start.

I personally find that my soap bubbles up quite nicely, but then again- I only use it at the sink for washing hands- because I'm quite partial to using only my bar soap in the shower.

Did you add any of the stearic to your cocoa/shea soap? I ask because from your picture it looks like mine does without it.


IrishLass

See pictures. First was after I removed it from the hot water (post dilution. Then 4 hours later) ......stearic acid doing its thing lol AND

 

[NitaB]

My soap turned clouding in the bottle

Hi, I am new to the boards. I made the liquid soap based on the video. Here is what I didn't do: let it warm over night, my crockpot was too small, so I warmed it on the stove; some of my ingredients were a bit past the expiration date, but I wanted to try the recipe. This was my 1st time making liquid soap. my bars are great. But I think my ingredients could have been the problem. It still lathers, but I will let I cure for a few weeks... any suggestions would be great. Thank for your time!!!!

 

[Susie]

Liquid soap does not need to cure like bar soap. Have you diluted it? And did you follow the original recipe in the video, or did you read down and follow another recipe/method?

If you followed the recipe in the video, read down to post #8, and follow IrishLass' recipe/method. It makes awesome soap, and is oh, so much better and easier!

 

[NitaB]

Thanks for the response! I will check out the other recipe!

 

[biarine]

I've been using the glycerin method to make my liquid soap for 2 years now and I really love it. I have 2 different formulas that I use and I dilute them in such a way that they both come out nice and thick (as thick as honey). The cool thing with the glycerin method (from what I've been told from those that use Failor's method) is that you have better control over the thickness of your finished soap with the glycerin method. I've never used Failor's method, but I can vouch that it's not hard at all to get a thick liquid soap with the glycerin method. Over at the Dish forum they have a looooooong glycerin liquid soap thread (it's a huge thread with a bazillion pages....well, maybe not a gazillion, but close enough! lol), and that's where I learned how to make it.

I make mine differently than Susie. I dissolve my lye in glycerin. Basically, I mix the KOH and glycerin when they are both at room temp, bring them to a boil together, and simmer and stir until all the lye is dissolved and all is clear. It takes less than 10 minutes for me. Some people heat the glycerin before adding the KOH, but that can cause sputtering and hissing, so that's why I do it the way I do (which goes very smoothly for me). Then I dump the lye/glycerin solution into my pre-melted oils and whisk the mixture (off heat) until I see tiny little bubbles flying/floating up in the air around my head (about 10 to 12 minutes max). Then I cover (still off heat) and leave it alone to let it do it's thing while I busy myself with other things. Usually, in about 6 hours, it's paste. Then I dilute with only enough water as needed to get it to the thickness I like. That's just a bare-bones outline of my procedure, but I can be more detailed if you wish.


IrishLass

Sorry IrishLass but I need to ask as I am newbie in LS. Are you using whisk not stick blender? And you don't cook for 4 hours or until it saponified? I need to try this method. Because mine I used stick blender and I cook it for 4-5 hours.

 

[IrishLass]

Sorry IrishLass but I need to ask as I am newbie in LS. Are you using whisk not stick blender? And you don't cook for 4 hours or until it saponified? I need to try this method. Because mine I used stick blender and I cook it for 4-5 hours.

Sometimes I use a whisk, and sometimes I use a stick-blender (depends on my mood)- either one will work perfectly fine.

I don't cook until saponified- there's absolutely no need to cook at all. I just whisk or stickblend (off the heat) until it's emulsified or at a very light trace, which is usually (but not necessarily always) accompanied by the appearance of tiny bubbles floating up from the pot into the air, then I cover my pot and walk away, leaving it to saponify to the paste stage all on its own.

It's a wonderfully simple method.


IrishLass

 

[CassieLouisa]

Storing Paste

8 ) When it's paste, I spoon out little globs of it from a couple of different areas of the pot and apply the tongue test to check for zap. Some people use pheno drops, but I'm kinda partial to the tongue test. It's accurate, instantaneous, easy, and best of all I don't have to shell out any money for it. lol If it doesn't zap, I proceed to the next step- dilution. So far, I've never had a GLS batch zap on me yet, but if i did, I'd just let it sit for ahile longer and test again.

I will have to write my diluting procedure in the next post (below) since I've exceeded my word limit for this post.

IrishLass:

I'm new to liquid soapmaking and I love this recipe and love your instructions. I'm wondering if you dilute all your paste at the same time or if you store it and dilute it in small batches? I've heard you can store it and I've also heard it needs to be diluted in one batch. Can you please advise?

 

[IrishLass]

IrishLass:

I'm new to liquid soapmaking and I love this recipe and love your instructions. I'm wondering if you dilute all your paste at the same time or if you store it and dilute it in small batches? I've heard you can store it and I've also heard it needs to be diluted in one batch. Can you please advise?

Hi CassieLouisa :wave: ,

I only dilute parts of it at a time and store the rest of the paste in a Ziploc bag in the fridge until needed.


IrishLass

 

[Susie]

I keep mine in the fridge, also. Not that it needs refrigeration, IMHO, no more than bar soap would. But I keep losing it if it not in the fridge. That's why I date the Ziploc bag.

 

[CassieLouisa]

Irishlass,

I may have overmixed my batch. I followed your recipe using the soap calculator from meadow bee and I stick blended maybe for too long. Right now the batch is covered and I'm letting it sit but it was a mousse type consistency when I stopped and left it. I did see the tiny bubbles for a moment but the consistency didn't seem solid enough so I kept on blending. When I took my blender out and tried some of the paste - mousse - it is a very nice texture and lathering already. Do you think it will be okay if I let it sit or did I ruin it by overmixing?

 

[IrishLass]

Hi Cassie!

Be encouraged- you did not ruin it. The fact that it is lathering tells me that all is well. Liquid soap paste is very forgiving. It's hard to ruin it, even if you set out to try.

When you see the flying bubbles, you do not have to keep mixing. They are just a visual confirmation that the batter has reached a good emulsification. At that point you can just cover it and walk away even though it's not solid yet. As it sits, it will saponify/grow more solid all on its own over the next few hours without any further help.

At this point, since it is lathering, I would check for zap. If there is none, you can go ahead and dilute if you desire. If it does zap- just let it sit for longer and check again later.

By the way, once it is zapless you can wait for as long as you desire before you dilute. There's no rush to do it right away or anything like that. It'll wait patiently until you are ready. Just keep it covered.


IrishLass

 

[CassieLouisa]

IrishLass you are too kind! This is my very first batch of liquid glycerin soap. I've been studying it, reading about it, watching tutorials, and going over many step by step instructions. They are all slightly different. Some soapers insist on leaving mixture on heat but that seems even more complicated.
I've been wanting to try the glycerin recipe for awhile now but I've been nervous that it would fail. This batch was 20 ounces of oil which is quite perfect for me.
I know this kind of soap making is ambitious but I am determined to make soap that I like!
If you say I can let it sit for as long as I'd like now I'm going to consider what fragrances to add and whether I need a thickener and maybe colors.
And next on my list is body lotions and creams!
Again thank you for your guidance and great advice - and especially for your wisdom. I remember how many batches of fudge I made before I got it just perfect !

 

[CassieLouisa]

This is a photo of the "cross section" of my batch.

 

[biarine]

This is a photo of the "cross section" of my batch.

Congrats

 

[CassieLouisa]

Okay- to continue.......

To dilute, I use Carrie's canning jar method. It's easy and it prevents evaporation as your're diluting:



Is it okay to just dilute the paste in the crockpot? Warm the paste till it's liquid then add the water and let it do its thing in the crockpot - with the cover on?

The whole canning jar thing is a little too involved for me and I'm only diluting enough for my own use.

 

[IrishLass]

Okay- to continue.......

To dilute, I use Carrie's canning jar method. It's easy and it prevents evaporation as your're diluting:

Is it okay to just dilute the paste in the crockpot? Warm the paste till it's liquid then add the water and let it do its thing in the crockpot - with the cover on?

The whole canning jar thing is a little too involved for me and I'm only diluting enough for my own use.

I've only ever used the canning method myself, but lots of folks dilute in their crockpot, so I would say certainly- by all means. I would not heat the paste on it's own first without any water, though. That sounds like it's asking for trouble. To get a head-start on things, I would separately heat the dilution water to boiling instead, and pour it over the waiting paste inside the crockpot before beginning to cook/heat the paste.

Do you know that you can even dilute without cooking or heating at all? It'll take a few days, but it can be done from what others tell me. I'll be trying it with my next batch.


IrishLass

 

[CassieLouisa]

Do you know that you can even dilute without cooking or heating at all? It'll take a few days, but it can be done from what others tell me. I'll be trying it with my next batch.


IrishLass

I've read about that - just put the paste in a jar and let it do its thing! I'm not ready for that just yet! I am at work though and can't wait to get home and start my new batch with babassu oil!

What is a good volume of oils to do for a batch? Last time I did 20 ounces and that was almost too small for me. 32? 40?

 

[IrishLass]

A good volume to make is whatever works for you and your needs. For what it's worth, I only ever do 1lb batches at a time when I make my liquid soap paste, which is plenty enough to keep us in diluted soap for a few months with paste enough leftover to spare (which I store in the fridge). I make it for just our own household and a few of our other family members/friends, and since we only use it for washing hands, we don't go through gobs of it at a time like we would if we all showered/bathed with it.


IrishLass