First try

[Megan]

So I tried out my first batch of liquid soap last night using the no paste method we were discussing several weeks ago. Followed the recipe to the T and used grams instead of oz (she has a PDF online that was very helpful). I started out hot process in my crock pot but put it in a plastic tub for the dilution step. Then I put it back into the crock pot for a bit. It just barely fit in mine and I was nervous, so before I went to sleep for the night I put it back in the plastic bin for overnight.

All in all I really liked this method. My plan is to try the paste method next with the same recipe so that I can compare the two.

Two questions:
1. It seems pretty clear, but there was a layer on top. When I stirred it back in, it gets "cloudy" again but it seems like bubbles. When I drop a drop on a surface, it is crystal clear...so really think bubbles. I wonder if it is prudent to dilute further to see what happens and if it clears up more. I plan on measuring the soap mass tonight to see how much water was lost but with all of the transferring, I did lose a fair bit of material through that which I will have to estimate.

2. I zap tested this morning and there was no zap at all (like 8 hours sitting in the container overnight), is it normal to not zap at this point? I really did not cook for very long after the dilution (but it did start to gel right before I diluted so the reaction was proceeding at a fast rate I guess).

I'm going to upload pictures of the final product when I get them.

 

[Megan]

So: cooking a few more hours worked to completely clear it.

I really had fun making this. Still have to get pics this weekend.

 

[Megan]

Update: I hate the soap! haha! This soap is going to be waaaay too drying for me. It is nice and clear, but I think too much CO. I also made a mostly OO paste yesterday and I'm not liking that one very much either (although I will let that one sit for a couple of weeks to revisit it). This will definitely teach me to make 2kg batches a go (You think I would have learned after doing the same thing with CP at the start).

I'll have to figure out a way to save it, and may end up mixing the two batches to get a more even mix of CO to OO.

It was still super fun to make, and I'm pretty much as addicted to this as I am to CP.

Also, still have not taken pics...but what else is new.