Can you use soda?

[ChelsieW]

Hi everyone,
So I have a weird question. Lately I've been branching out with my cp soap and was wondering if you can use soda instead of water? I've used milk and beer but I've never heard of anyone using soda before. I'm sure there is a reason but have any of you ever tried it? I know with beer you have to boil out the alcohol and let it sit to release the carbonation. Would the same thing work with Dr. Pepper or would the sugar cause a problem?

 

[shunt2011]

I don't see why not. I would just be sure to make it flat and then watch if for overheating due to the extra sugar.

 

[snappyllama]

I'd worry about the pH of soda... a quick google search showed it at 2.5 (falling between lemon juice and vinegar). Compared to water (7) or beer (5), I'd be concerned with it neutralizing too much of your lye before it has a chance to soaponify your oils. You would need to take that in account.

 

[Seawolfe]

Good point llamallama, soda even has citric acid (among other acids like phosphoric) it in - so I would worry about it neutralizing too much of the lye and leading to an excess superfat.

 

[Susie]

Hmmm...I bet someone smart on here is going to come up with an amount to increase the lye by so we can all make Dr. Pepper soap for our family addicts, I bet we all have at least one.

 

[newbie]

I would try it if you're interested after it's all flattened. Small batch and adjust your recipe through a lye calculator, using 1% SF. Then whatever lye is neutralized will probably leave you with a decent SF and you won't have lye-heavy soap.

 

[kchaystack]

Just remember it is going to get HOT when you add your NaOH. Much hotter than when you add it to water. Acids and alkali are funny that way

 

[DeeAnna]

And think about the amount of sugar the soda is going to add to your recipe. What's the usual dosage for sugar -- 1 tsp to 1 TBL ppo? I'm too tired right now to do the math, but I'd sure check that.

Also, if the soda has high fructose corn syrup in it, the fructose will darken the soap. If it has table sugar instead, the sucrose will not have the same darkening effect.

 

[boyago]

I've done it. Nothing supper scientific but I've made soap with 100% cola sub. I did it at 2% SF knowing that the phosphoric acid would react with the lye some. It was just screwing around but came out nice. I did it HP. In the pot it was a really nice dark burgundy but cured out a kind of dull brown. When I made it I was just screwing around to see what would happen and also used fats I had never used. The soap was good though but again I was playing so now I don't know if it was the new oils or the cola that I liked. Anyway another batch is in the works with my normal oils so we'll see.

 

[cmzaha]

I have also made soap with soda. My fizzy lemonade soap is made with Fizzy Lemonade. It does nothing special. I just had some around and no one liked it, so instead of dumping it down the drain it went in the soap. Just another liquid to use

 

[ChelsieW]

Thank you everyone for the great feedback. I knew I was missing something and the pH is it. Maybe I'll try just adding a little bit to my water and see what happens. For those who have tried it I'll keep that in mind because now I know it can be done! Thanks again!