Help with 100% Coconut Oil Liquid Soap Please

[Ahuvah]

Hello, I need advice Please.
Today i tried a 100% coconut oil soap using this link - https://www.soapmakingforum.com/members/zany_in_co.22120/ (hope I copied that properly>
Recipe:- Using Soapcalc
Water 386g
Lye = KOH 129g
Coconut Oil (76deg) 500g
Lye concentration 25% or 3:1 water Lye ratio

I warmed the oil in a crock pot to 160f and added the Lye solution at 140f. I stick blended/mixed for approximately 15 mins to thick trace. I then covered the crock and turned the settings to low and let the soap cook. I checked every 20mins to 30mins or so and turned the mixture. I did read that liquid soap may not go through all the stages and I do not think that I did anything incorrectly. My question is, Is this normal? or maybe I need to add more water? I turned the Crock pot to keep warm and will leave that way for another hour. Can anyone kindly assist? Thanking you'll in advance.

 

[DeeAnna]

Given you're making coconut oil soap and given the temperatures you are using, this soap was probably saponified and done in about 20 minutes. Even though I know many tutorials say to cook for hours . . . honestly there's no need to cook for hours.

The soap looks rather dry at the 2 hour mark, which doesn't surprise me. If you feel you need to cook that long, be really careful to keep evaporation at a minimum. Stir only briefly, and otherwise keep the lid on the soap pot as much as possible.

The main problem I see is your superfat for this recipe is probably way too high -- I estimate it's around 9-10%. One big difference between bar (NaOH) soap and liquid (KOH) soap is the limitation on superfat. KOH soap cannot handle superfat over about 2% max. That means when you dilute this soap, it is probably going to separate into clear soap on the bottom and a white layer of fats and fatty acids on the top.

Assuming 90% KOH purity, your 500 g coconut oil should probably have been saponified with about 140 g KOH.

 

[Ahuvah]

Thank you DeeAnna. Question please? The sodium Hydroxide said 100% on the label and I did put this through SoapCalc at 0% Superfat and those were the the numbers (see attached). I also diluted and it is very clear (pic attached). Finally, this zapped the day after cook, but I just tested and it no longer zaps.

 

[DeeAnna]

If the only ingredient the manufacturer used to make this product is KOH, then, yes, it's 100% KOH. Nothing else should be listed in the ingredients list.

But everything contains impurities. KOH (and NaOH) react easily with carbon dioxide gas in the air. They also absorb water from the air very easily. So the ingredients might be 100% KOH, but the purity of that KOH is never 100%.

In Soapcalc, you have the option in Section 1 to select the alkali -- either NaOH or KOH. Then right below the KOH button, there is a checkbox (tick box) that you can select to set the purity to "90% KOH". I don't know what the purity of your particular KOH is, so I don't know if it makes sense for you to use that 90% KOH option, but most people do choose this option and typically get decent results.

Keep a close eye on the surface of the diluted soap for separation. I mis-spoke earlier -- fatty acids from coconut oil are liquid at room temperature, not a white solid. So if your soap has some separation due to high superfat, you will see a thin layer of clear or yellowish oily liquid on top of the diluted soap. That thin liquid is the excess fat and fatty acid.

 

[Ahuvah]

Thank you DeeAnna. I appreciate your assistance.