How to thicken liquid soap

[walkinwounded]

Hello,

Can someone please please help me. I am new to making soap and have started making liquid soap now. I can not find a way to thicken it with natural products. Borax will work nicely but I would like to use something else like Xanthan Gum.
I will dilute 1 pound of soap paste with 1 lb (16oz) of water, then I will add 1/2 tsp of Xanthan gum to the hot soap dilution but it does not do anything, it will all settle to the bottom within an hour and will not thincken, I have tried adding extra water and more Xanthan Gum , whcih will thicken it a bit, but sediment still collects at the bottom and my soap does not foam properly. Please help.

Eric

 

[Guest]

Well, I never made liquid soap per se (only from solid soap), but I am wondering ... if you simply add less water, your soap will be thicker, right ?

 

[krissy]

i have been wondering this too and was considering trying Silica

 

[walkinwounded]

Yes, less water does help a bit, becuase I am cooking/boiling it to dissolve the soap paste, much of that 16oz of water evapourates, and if you take to much water from the dilution, it begins to conjeal back to its "paste" form, so you need a certain amount of water left in it.

 

[Deda]

Salt is the easiest way to thicken liquid soap.

 

[Deda]

Starum, attempting to make liquid soap from solid soap pieces is not making liquid soap. It's making snot.
Liquid soap is made with KOH. Different animal all together. Soap made from NaOH will always eventually return to a solid state.

When I make liquid soap with KOH I use plain table salt. The salt will cause the surfactants in the water:surfactant mix to swell, effectively thickening the solution.

 

[Guest]

It's making snot.

One man's snot is another man's soap I use this every day to happily wash my hands.

It never showed any desire to return to solid state.

Also, I am aware that you are supposed to use KOH, but it isn't easily available in my area.

 

[walkinwounded]

Deda
Site Admin


Salt is the easiest way to thicken liquid soap.

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When I make liquid soap with KOH I use plain table salt. The salt will cause the surfactants in the water:surfactant mix to swell, effectively thickening the solution..

Just plain table salt? That is great news, does the table salt create any dryness to the skin? also what are you using as a surfacant? if anything, considering you are referring to the soap itself as a surficant?

 

[Kleine Teufel]

It's making snot.

One man's snot is another man's soap I use this every day to happily wash my hands.

It never showed any desire to return to solid state.

Also, I am aware that you are supposed to use KOH, but it isn't easily available in my area.

Lol. I do the same thing! I use Sodium hydroxide to make a bar, then cube it and let it dissolve. I think it makes a pretty darned good texture to be honest. I don't see any difference between it and some of the store bought pump soaps.

 

[krissy]

I am not convinced that liquid soap can behave all that different from solid soap.

have you actually made "real" liquid soap? i have tried both real liquid soap and the "liquid from solid" and there isn't any real comparison.

you can't just remove some of the water for dilution because at a certain point, the soap paste returns to it's paste form.

 

[walkinwounded]

I am making liquid soap using Potassium Hydroxide and I am looking for ways to thivken up the final product. I am making 25%-30% dilutions, I have tried Borax which works great but is not that natural or healthy by debate, I have tried Xanthan Gum with no success as it just remains sediment in the bottom of the bottle, I have used Xanthan Gum with a higher water content which in turned need more Xanthan Gum whcih left my soap more sludgy and slimmy with little or no lather. I am looking for advice or ideas around thickening up Potassium Hydroxide liquid soap after I have diluted/dissolved the soap paste. I use the traditional way of making liquid soap with Potassium Hydroxide because it makes nice transparent soap and have found a big differnece in the end productas oppose to the shaved Sodium bar method as I have tried that long ago and was not a big fan, but if you like it then it does not matter what anyone else thinks, thanx for the advice, I will try table salt next time, please leave more ideas if you can help out.

 

[Deda]

Walkinwounded, I dont have an exact formula for all LS. It will depend on your batch. Try as little as an 1/8 tsp in a pint.

I don't salt my soap until after it's scented. Some EOs and FOs thin LS and some even thicken. Careful notes and lots of testing. It's the only way I've found to maintain a uniform viscosity between different scents from the same recipe.

 

[walkinwounded]

SALT, this is how you thicken soap, it works great. Thanx Deda, tried it today on a 25%-30% Potassium Hydroxide liquid soap solution "real" liquid soap.

Another question, what are you using as a surfacant(s)?

and what else do you put in your soap solutions?

 

[carebear]

SALT, this is how you thicken soap, it works great. Thanx Deda, tried it today on a 25%-30% Potassium Hydroxide liquid soap solution "real" liquid soap.

Another question, what are you using as a surfacant(s)?

and what else do you put in your soap solutions?

What am I missing? I personally use soap. As a surfactant.

 

[Deda]

Soap is the surfactant.

 

[walkinwounded]

I assumed as much, but some add other surfacants to, for what reasons I was curious as to me asking you if you used others.

 

[walkinwounded]

Thank everyone for emails with this dilema. After much testing I have found THE perfect solution to make beautiful, thick, emulsified liquid soap.

I make the soap paste with KOH the hot press way, I then devide the paste into 1 lb bags.

I take the 1 lb paste and dilute it with 16oz of water, I then add the neutralizer, 2 tsp of Xanthan Gum diluted in 1 oz Glycerin, then 1/2 tsp of table salt/ or dead sea salt, then 1 tsp of Ceytl Alcohol powder (I grind to powder myself) this stuff provides the skin with a conditioning protective barrier and is "kinda" naturally derived, then 2 tsp of Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate (This product is milder to the skin than other typical foaming agents such as Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. It is hard water stable and will not leave any soap scum. It will help emulsify oil based soap emulsions), then 2 tbsp of powdered goats milk, waite until cooled enough to add essential oil, and finished, the nicest liquid soap I ever made, with tons of bubbles and foam.

I forgot to mention that this is a recipe for body wash for my wife, it was not my intention to make a transparent liquid soap, I used titanium dioxide as a whitener (2 tsp) and the surfacanst-conditioners-additives also contributed to the opaque-white color.

 

[chibilightangel]

Wow, thanks for the update on your thickening process! Very detailed.

With the titanium dioxide, does the finished body wash have a 'pearly' look?

 

[walkinwounded]

Yes, it is very pearly looking because of the titanium dioxide as well as the milk powder and the Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, as well as the salt and ctyel alcohol powder. You could then add any color you wanted to give it a nice colored cream look.

In my little experience, I have learned that: If you want clear, transparent liquid soap, you have to use KOH, not KOH and NAOH. For thickners, Borax(yuk!) and Xanthan Gum leave the soap clear and transparent, whereas salt and other vicosity enhancers leave the soap opaque or whitish.

 

[walkinwounded]

I also learned that soap pastes made of mostly soft oils can be boiled down a bit to make a thicker soap, were as using soap paste high in hard oils tends to conjeal at the top reverting back to soap paste a lot easier making it harder to get a more concentrated soap stockéthicker.

Using a mix of KOH and Naoh for making soap paste is also another way to get a thicker soap. I have not tried this yet and can not tell anyone much about it, other then I read that it is a possibility that results in thicker soap without having to put some kind of additive in it. But you sacrifice having a clear/translucent as using Naoh and KOH result in a cream coloured soap.