Liquid Soap Process The Materials 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Ingredients in Recipe Phenolphthalein for testing for neutrality Bowls, Pots, Spoons, spatulas, etc for the recipe Scale Thermometer Stick Blender Stove Gloves, Goggle and face mask Always use safety measures and good manufacturing practices
The Recipe 37.6 oz. Olive Oil 36 oz. Coconut Oil 6.4 oz. Castor Oil 19.2 oz. Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) (lye for liquid soap) 3 oz Potassium Carbonate (helps paste be more easily stirred 57 oz Water Fragrance 0.5-1.0% (1 pound of paste uses 0.48oz fragrance) (optional) Citric Acid Solution ( 1 ounce of Citric Acid dissolved into 4 ounces water) (neutralizer) Boric Acid Solution ( 4 ounce of Borax dissolved in 8 ounces of boiling water) (thickener)
The Method Making the Paste Step 1: Weigh the Coconut Oil in an oven-safe pot large enough to hold all of the ingredients in the recipe and melt over low heat. After it is melted add the Olive Oil and Castor Oil. Step 2: Weigh the water and set aside. In a separate container weigh the Potassium Hydroxide and add it to the water. Never add water to the Potassium Hydroxide. Remember snow falls on the water, not water on the snow. Lye always goes into the water, never water into the lye. Volcanoes can occur if you do this backwards. Step 3: Weigh the Potassium Carbonate and stir it into the lye solution. I usually leave this in the sink until I am ready for it since if it spills it goes down the drain. Step 4: Allow the temperature of the oils and lye to reach 160 You may need to use an ice bath to reduce the lye solution quicker, or make it first and set it aside. Step 5: Remove oils from stove and move to sink. Slowly stir the lye mixture into the oils until a thin emulsion forms. Step 6: Check the temperature of the mixture. If below 160 return to the stove to heat it up over low heat, constantly stirring, until the desired temperature is reached. Step 7: Once the temperature is reach, and stick blend the soap stock past full trace. Full trace is achieved only when the soap stock is almost impossible to stir even manually. Once the lye starts reacting with the oils the temperature will start to climb rapidly. Keep an eye on the temperature and once it begins to increase , remove pot from the stove and continue stick blending. Allowing the solution to overheat will cause boil-over. Step 8: Once the mass reaches full trace (unable to stir in any way shape or form), place a lid on the pot and put it in the oven at 175 for 3-4 hours. Stir the bottom to the top every 15 minutes for the first hour to assure no separation has occurred. Step 9: Check the soap for free fatty acids by dissolving a small amount in a glass of hot water. It should be clear, if cloudy continue to cook longer until you get a clear result.
Step 10: Turn off the oven and allow the soap to rest as the oven cools off. This helps assure that the reaction has reached all parts of the pan without overcooking to soap paste. Step 11: If you are keeping a really close eye on the solution, somewhere between steps 9 and 10 the paste will turn from opaque to almost transparent. This is referred to as the Vaseline Stage and is a good indication that all the fatty acids have been saponified. You are now ready to dilute your paste. Step 12: I added this step because this recipe makes a large amount and I don’t need it all at one time. After the paste has cooled, I weigh out the paste in one pound increments and put them in a ziplock storage bags..these bags will store in the refrigerator for up to one year and each one makes approximately 3 pounds of liquid soap.
Diluting the Paste: Soap solutions should range between 12% and 40% anhydrous soap(lye plus oils). Less than 12% reduces the ability to clean and above 40% will cause the soap to separate with pasrts of it reverting back to paste. You want to dilute the paste with 1.5-4 times the amount of the paste. I use 1 pound of paste to 2 pounds of water and like the results. Step 1: I use a crock pot for this stage of the soap making. It has a high and low setting and stays on until I turn it off. Some of the newer ones out there turn off after a certain amount of timje and since I am a tad forgetful of remembering when to recheck the mixture, it helps me to have one that doesn’t turn off until I tell it too. Measure out one pound of soap paste and 2 pounds of water. Step 2: Put the water in the pot and then add the paste. Step 3: Turn on low(or if using a regular pot put on stove over low heat) Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Heat until all paste has dissolved into the liquid. You now have liquid soap but it needs to be neutralized. Most liquid soap recipes over-alkalized the paste to assure transparency in the final soap. Excess alkali will be neutralized using the citric acid solution as stated below.
Neutralizing Excess Alkali: Step 1: Take a sample of the liquid soap solution in a clear glass container ( I use a shot glass). Add a few drops of the phenolphthalein to the solution. The solution should turn a shade of pink. The darker the pink the more citric acid solution you must use to neutralize the soap. Step 2: Create the citric Acid solution by dissolving 1 ounce of the acid into 4 ounces of boiling water. This solution can store in the refrigerator for future uses also. This is why I use the Citric Acid solution for this instead of the Boric acid solution that could also be used. Boric Acid separates into borax and water when it cools down so can’t be stored for future use. Step 3: Begin slowly neutralizing the soap solution by using 0.1% of citric acid solution to total weight of the soap. For the 3 pounds we are working with (48 ounces) I use 0.048 ounces which is about ½ a teaspoon. Stir into the stock soap and all a few minutes for it to completely react. Step 4: Repeat Step 1. Hopefully this time the result is clear. If not add a bit more of the citric acid solution, stir, wait a few minutes and repeat Step 1 again. Do this until you get a clear result. Discard all samples used for testing, do not add them back into the soap mixture. It will contaminate the liquid soap.
Thickening the Soap: Liquid soap is thin by nature. There are many methods of thickening out there. I use the borax method since to me it is one of the most natural methods. Step 1: If you used the crock pot to melt and neutralize your soap paste, then continue to use the crock. If not then bring your mixture slowly to the temperature of 140 – 158 on the stove over low heat. Step 2: Make a solution of Boric Acid using 4 ounces of Borax to 8 ounces of boiling water. Stir and don’t let it cool down much or it will go back into crystal form. I use the ratio of ½ - 1 ounce of boric acid solution to 1 pounds of soap. Other thickeners will give you thicker results but I like mine the way I make it. I start out with the ½ ounce and then add more if so desired. Usually I use the full 1 ounce so recently I have just added 3 ounces of the boric acid solution to the 48 ounces of neutralized liquid soap. I continue to stir the soap until it is all blended together and not cloudy at all.
Adding Fragrance if so desired: I have found out that if I add fragrance to the warm solution still in the crock pot I use less fragrance, but am stuck with about 5 8 ounce bottles of the same fragrance, Not something I always want. So I usually pour the liquid soap from my crock pot into a mason jar ( a big one ) and set it aside until I decide what fragrance I want. I can then take a little more than 8 ounces (use liquid measurement here not weight) and put it in a mason jar, add 1 tsp of fragrance to it and cover with plastic wrap and microwave it for about 30 seconds. Fragrances will cloud your soap if not heated when added. You can do this over the stove also, just be careful not to boil it over. The plastic wrap prevents the fragrance from evaporating since it will be the first to go until mixed thoroughly. When liquid soap is scented, and gets cold it will cloud up a lot, almost look like opaque pearl soap, this can be reversed just by letting it warm up again.
I hope this helps those who want to know how to make liquid soap. I know it is lengthy but it is a long process. There is more information available at the site http://candleandsoap.about.com/ Dave gives good advice on making soap of all kinds. He also has different recipes listed there. I copied the one given me at the conference I learned it at with a few minor changes as to how I do things. I also use this soap to wash the dog with since it is easier than bar soap when the dog hates bathes. There are many things I want to try with it but this is my recipe I use for the liquid soap I sell, tweaks can be done, but those I would only use for family members. Then there less chance of being sued if something goes wrong. Happy Soaping! Adele This is added only to protect myself and my family from liability claims. The author disclaims any responsibility for any inaccuracies without guarantees and disclaims any liability resulting from the use of the information presented. You assume all risks associated with the use of this information including but not limited to accidents, injuries, losses or damages.
