Unknown lye concentration and aloe vera

[KiwiMoose]

@Lemoert - aloe contributes to a creamy and more abundant lather

 

[n6561echo]

Hi all,

I have two separate questions. First of all, I have a lye solution made from hardwood ash and water (pH 13) and wanted to make olive oil based soap through hot process. Seeing as the lye strength is not certain, would it be possible to check the pH of the soap when it hits the gel stage to verify whether I have used the correct amount of oil? And, if so, is it possible to correct the mixture at that point by either adding more lye or oil (as suitable) or would that create issues?

Secondly, I have a few aloe vera plants that tend to create a whole lot of offspring which I often do not know what to do with. I was thinking of incorporating it into the soap, recipes for which abound plenty online, but seeing as I still have hardwood ash available and aloe gel is 98 % water or so, I was wondering if I could just not make the lye with aloe instead of water and skip a later stage in the process. Has anybody experimented with anything similar to this before or have any thoughts on it?

Thanks,
Martin

There are only 3 books listed in WorldCat addressing wood ash. Two of them I am familiar with from my days doing wood fired ceramic. These
books contain detailed chemical analysis of a variety of different woods. The first is Ash glazes by Robert Tichane (ISBN:978-0873416603), the
second is, Ash Glazes by Phil Rogers (ISBN: 978-0801982439). The one by Tichane was my bible, and I highly recommend it if you want to know
the chemical composition of wood ash. I would get them from the library, either directly, or through the interlibrary loan system, and Xerox what you need. The third book entitled Making Lye from Wood Ash, is a 16 pg pamphlet, located in a library in the Philippines.

I have two separate questions. First of all, I have a lye solution made from hardwood ash and water (pH 13) and wanted to make olive oil based soap through hot process. Seeing as the lye
I left you information on two books with tables detailing the chemical composition of the ash from a variety of woods. Some how it wound up in
#22. Who knows??

 

[linne1gi]

- Thanks for the information KiwiMoose. We also have quite an overproduction of Aloe, so using it as a base for soap could be a good option. Do you notice any difference in the end product compared to using straight water?

- Yes, I have considered that as well. The seep method would likely not work, as you mentioned, but simply mixing water with hardwood ash left me with lye (or at least some liquid with pH 14+), so I was considering if the same could be done with aloe vera as a base. However, perhaps leaching would change the chemical structure of aloe vera and thus nullify any potential benefits it might have.

- Will do, but wanted to check if anybody else had done before. The same goes for trying to make lye straight from aloe vera gel instead of water. Thanks!

I routinely use Aloe Juice for 100% of my lye water. I buy my Aloe Juice at Walmart.http://www.walmart.com/ip/Fruit-of-the-Earth-Aloe-Vera-Juice-Original-128-Fl-Oz-1-Count/10314798

 

[KiwiMoose]

I routinely use Aloe Juice for 100% of my lye water. I buy my Aloe Juice at Walmart.http://www.walmart.com/ip/Fruit-of-the-Earth-Aloe-Vera-Juice-Original-128-Fl-Oz-1-Count/10314798

WOW so that's like 3 litres for $US6?? You guys don't know how lucky you are over there. If I were to buy completely pure aloe vera gel in a 3 litre bottle I'm sure it would cost in the region of $US40. It is considered a specialist 'health' product here and is priced as such. The stuff I can buy at the supermarket which is more reasonably priced is only 40% aloe.

 

[Rsapienza]

WOW so that's like 3 litres for $US6?? You guys don't know how lucky you are over there. If I were to buy completely pure aloe vera gel in a 3 litre bottle I'm sure it would cost in the region of $US40. It is considered a specialist 'health' product here and is priced as such. The stuff I can buy at the supermarket which is more reasonably priced is only 40% aloe.

I think the aloe here at Walmart is quite a bit of water as well. I don't believe it's all aloe vera.

 

[cmzaha]

Walmart's is Aloe Juice which is Aloe and Water

 

[linne1gi]

I think the aloe here at Walmart is quite a bit of water as well. I don't believe it's all aloe vera.

Yes, it’s Aloe Juice and water. I don’t have the percentages at the present time as I am away from home. It also has a small amount of citric acid as a preservative. I’ve been using this for a long time and I really like it.