I have made bar soaps for many years now. But I'd like to try making some liquid soap, especially a 100% olive oil Castille. I watched videos and seen how people make this thick paste and I was wondering if instead of making a paste I could add more water at the beginning and have it be thinner and easier to use. Has anyone done this and is it feasible?
Higher water content
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Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
Before answering, it's best for you to start at the beginning:
http://alaiynab.blogspot.com/2014/07/basic-beginner-liquid-soap-and.html
Once you have a basic understanding of how Liquid Soap is made, it will be easier to answer your question.
I've been making LS for 20 years and I can think of 3 answers: "No", "Yes", and " Maybe". It all depends. Not only that, but when it comes to 100% Olive Oil there's a whole better option than your idea of how to go about it. However, it's an advanced technique not recommended for Beginners until after you have at least a few batches successful batches under your belt.
- No. It's feasible but it's not the smartest way to go about it.
- Yes. I believe that's Jackie Thompson's approach - Lye water plus dilution water is added at the start. I could be wrong about that but there was a gal on the old Liquid Soapmakers Yahoo Group (now defunct), Delores Boone, an experienced soapmaker, who wrote the best "picture book" about handcrafted soap who made liquid soap that way:
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/handc...3d-143ed37675b2#edition=4419018&idiq=12983041
- Maybe. From my experience, 100% Olive Oil liquid soap takes the longest time of all to reach trace -- 45 minutes (!) and the longest time to cook -- 10 hours (!) for me the first time I made it. If you're willing to go the distance with the dilution water added at the beginning then you're in for a heckova slog, to my mind at least. I'm not trying to discourage you, I'm just saying... the is a better way.
There are about as many different ways to make liquid soap as there are LS-ers! LOL With knowledge and experience you can go at it any way you like.
HAPPY SOAPING!
http://alaiynab.blogspot.com/2014/07/basic-beginner-liquid-soap-and.html
Once you have a basic understanding of how Liquid Soap is made, it will be easier to answer your question.
I've been making LS for 20 years and I can think of 3 answers: "No", "Yes", and " Maybe". It all depends. Not only that, but when it comes to 100% Olive Oil there's a whole better option than your idea of how to go about it. However, it's an advanced technique not recommended for Beginners until after you have at least a few batches successful batches under your belt.
- No. It's feasible but it's not the smartest way to go about it.
- Yes. I believe that's Jackie Thompson's approach - Lye water plus dilution water is added at the start. I could be wrong about that but there was a gal on the old Liquid Soapmakers Yahoo Group (now defunct), Delores Boone, an experienced soapmaker, who wrote the best "picture book" about handcrafted soap who made liquid soap that way:
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/handc...3d-143ed37675b2#edition=4419018&idiq=12983041
- Maybe. From my experience, 100% Olive Oil liquid soap takes the longest time of all to reach trace -- 45 minutes (!) and the longest time to cook -- 10 hours (!) for me the first time I made it. If you're willing to go the distance with the dilution water added at the beginning then you're in for a heckova slog, to my mind at least. I'm not trying to discourage you, I'm just saying... the is a better way.
There are about as many different ways to make liquid soap as there are LS-ers! LOL With knowledge and experience you can go at it any way you like.
HAPPY SOAPING!
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
You're welcome so much!
YouTube Videos are good for inspiration, but experience is the best teacher.
The time you spend at Alaiyna B's Blogspot (linked above) is well worth it. You will be ready to make your first batch as soon as you gather all your equipment and ingredients. You are also more likely to be successful at the first try.
Make as many small 12 - 16 oz. or 450 gram batches as often as you can to get comfortable with the process.
I'm kind of late to your post. I hope you aren't discouraged from trying to make LS. I went from bar soap to LS rather quickly with no problems.
It's not brain surgery. The only differences in bar soap and LS is 1) KOH & 2) Time. It's so simple I taught a random stranger online how to make & and formulate it in 3 e-mails. She was selling it very shortly after learning.
Take ANY bar soap formula and turn it into LS by simply changing the lye. And if you want to try the higher water content, go for it. Hell, I'll do it with you! I've learned much more from experimenting than any book or advice on a forum.
That is all I've got. Good luck!
I highly recommend Ashley Greene's e-book, Ultimate Guide to Liquid Soap. It's a little pricey but you can usually find a coupon on her FB group, especially around holidays, including Fourth of July. This e-book is full of fantastic information about:
1. Creating good LS recipes. These are often not the same as great bar soap recipes, because some soap calc values (hardness and longevity, for instance) are inapplicable to LS.
2. Making fully diluted LS in 30 minutes by using more water to start (your original question).
3. Eliminating myths that unnecessarily complicate your LS-making process. Boy, there is a lot of that type of info out there! This book will help you to skip unnecessary steps, while maintaining the crucial steps and ingredients that are scientifically necessary, or perhaps just beneficial for certain outcomes that you may, or may not, desire to achieve.
... and much more. Some of the things I learned from this e-book were not published by any free public sources, at least, not that I could find.
There are so many myths and so called rules that were created in soaping forums and I've watched a few new soapers become discouraged & frustrated.
I read that you can't use the same formulas for cpbs as LS and that has not been true for my for me-Good thing I didn't read that until I'd already done it and filled a couple notebooks with successful experiments.
Some of these rules and myths are born from the personal experiences of many soapers and that whole thing goes pretty deep when it comes to sharing info online.
It's best to do your own research and then research that research.
When I accepted a forum challenge to leave lurk mode and make soap(contrary to what I'd read while lurking) it wasn't at all complicated. And no one actually said just how easy it was. It was always the opposite. Idk I hope the op comes back and shares her soap in the gallery.
I agree, lots of myths out there, especially around LS! I do find that my nice bar soap recipes don't always translate into nice LS, but that's ok. I've learned how to make LS that I do like, so it's all good.
And I agree, I do hope the OP and the second poster both return with a success story and some pics! Or come back and let us help.
And I agree, I do hope the OP and the second poster both return with a success story and some pics! Or come back and let us help.
Indeed! My original purpose for turning bar soap formulas into LS was to thicken the LS and enhance it with bar soap properties. It worked and was nice, but I've come a long way from there. If you're not selling, it really does come down to what YOU like.I agree, lots of myths out there, especially around LS! I do find that my nice bar soap recipes don't always translate into nice LS, but that's ok. I've learned how to make LS that I do like, so it's all good.
And I agree, I do hope the OP and the second poster both return with a success story and some pics! Or come back and let us help.
Have a good night or morning!
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
I've always said, and I believe it holds true, "There are about as many different ways to make LS as there are LS-ers!"
