Wondering if I messed up...

[flashley]

I have been doing CP soap for quite some time and I finally decided to move up to liquid soap at the request of some of my customers. I cooked my first batch of paste for about 4 hours and it came out cloudy. It lathers and works great, just not as pretty as I had hoped. I made a second batch and cooked it for six hours, then turned off the crock pot and let it sit in the heat over night. After I diluted and neutralized the second batch of soap it was crystal clear when I poured it into the big ol' jar, but the longer it sits, the cloudier it is getting. Where did I go wrong and how can I fix it?

Here is the recipe I used:
12 oz Coconut Oil
5 oz Olive Oil
5 oz Castor Oil
1.5 oz Jojoba Oil
5.5 oz Lye
16.5 oz water

 

[Susie]

Your first issue is the jojoba oil. It has too many unsaponifiables to make clear soap.

Your second issue is that recipe did not need neutralization. I show 1.5-2% superfat depending on the calculator. If you use a calculator with the 90% KOH option, you do not need to neutralize unless you intentionally use a negative superfat value. Which I would not. Not having to neutralize is a GOOD thing. Use 1-3% superfat and no jojoba, tallow, or lard if you want clear liquid soap.

The clarity test does not test for safety, just for unsaponified oils. If I cook a batch, I zap or pH test at hour 3. If no zap(or under 10), I dilute. Period. But, I don't even cook mine any more. I use cold process. Much easier.

 

[flashley]

Thanks. I used another person's recipe for my first try. I think I'll mess around with a calculator for my next attempt. What other oils or ingredients get in the way of clear soap?

 

[Susie]

Pardon the brevity of the replies, I have injured my hand, and am hunting/pecking or getting help.

Jojoba, tallow, lard are the only 3 I have had a problem with thus far. I have not tried shea or cocoa butter, so I can't answer from personal experience.

 

[flashley]

No need to apologize, I appreciate your insight and experience. I have another question for you. The woman who wrote the recipe that I used said to use a sugar water solution to clear it up. That was the only recipe that I found that said that, but I followed her instructions anyway. Have you ever done that? Does it work or should I stick to the borax?

 

[Susie]

I am really into keeping my process as simple as possible. I don't use borax or sugar. I just don't find it necessary. As far as I know, there is no way to fix jojoba cloudiness.

 

[flashley]

Thanks.

 

[flashley]

One last question for you? This soap is VERY thin. How do I go about thickening it up? Or do I just throw it in a foamer bottle and call it good?

 

[Susie]

It works marvelously in a foamer bottle. Most home made liquid soaps are really thin unless you add in things to thicken it. Just use the search function if you want suggestions on how to thicken. Lots of conversations on that issue.