Questions on beginning liquid soap

[Yooper]

I just read Catherine Failor's wonderful book. I still have a couple of questions, though, if anybody can help!

First, is liquid soap like CP soap, in that I can reduce the batch size as long as I run it through a lye calculator? Her recipes are all 48-49 ounces- way too much for me to start with since I want to try several different formulations.

The next question- I have a pH meter. Instead of buying phenolphthalein and looking for color, it would be easier to use my pH meter. But what is "neutral" with soap? I know it wouldn't be 7.0, so I wonder what pH I'm looking for to ensure no excess alkalai.

And last (if you're still with me!) in several places she mentions skipping the neutralization step if you're using borax as an emulsifier. Since you're using the borax after sequestering, I assume that the soap would remain lye-heavy until that is done, so that you absolutely have to use borax at that point.

I guess my last question then is, should you just go ahead an neutralize, and then add more borax as a thickener/emulsifier later on if needed? That would take the "guess work" out of the safeness of the sequestered soap.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Mommysoaper]

You should be able to reduce just about any recipe as long as you use a lye calculator such as soapcalc.net where they give the option to adjust the batch size. I think BB's lye calc allows for this too.

The ph of soap should be around 9-10. I don't have any experience with a ph meter so maybe someone else can help with that.

As for the neutralization of liquid soap, a lot of this depends on your soap recipe. I superfat my liquid soap at 3% and have not needed to neutralize. I did try using borax as a thickener, but it did not work well for me. Maybe someone that uses borax could answer this part of your question better. Also, the way I make my liquid soap I do not need to sequester. I could use it right away, but usually wait a week or two just to see if there are any changes such as clouding after everything is completed.

Hope that helps! I also read Failor's book, but ended up learning a lot just from plain ol' experimentation to see what worked best for me! Good luck!

 

[Mrs. Bubble]

I am NO expert as I have made one batch but it was crystal clear and smooth BEFORE I destroyed it with too much FO. I used glycerin and superfatted and cooked in the crockpot and did not have to neutralize it. I got a $2 bottle of phenolphthalein from a pool supply store that will last an eternity and it was super easy to tell by smearing some paste on a napkin and adding a drop. It will turn hot pink until neutral. But I am also a newbie so take that with a grain of Borax haha

 

[Lindy]

As has already been stated you can change your batch size by running it through soapcalc.net. I do make mine at 0% and I add just a bit of Citric Acid to adjust my pH. For thickening I like to use two products. One is Glycol Distearate and the other is Crothix. The Glycol Distearate gives me a beautiful pearly product and does do some thickening and then the Crothix takes it just a bit further with the thickening. I am not a fan of thin liquid soap and crystal clear doesn't do much for me :shifty:

 

[Yooper]

As has already been stated you can change your batch size by running it through soapcalc.net. I do make mine at 0% and I add just a bit of Citric Acid to adjust my pH. For thickening I like to use two products. One is Glycol Distearate and the other is Crothix. The Glycol Distearate gives me a beautiful pearly product and does do some thickening and then the Crothix takes it just a bit further with the thickening. I am not a fan of thin liquid soap and crystal clear doesn't do much for me :shifty:

I don't really care about crystal clear- as it's not unattractive to have a cloudy/milky hand soap to me. Plus, maybe a milky looking soap can be perceived as "richer" anyway!

I don't want it runny, though- so thanks for the tips on thickening!

I'm going to do a glycerine/castille batch on Saturday. My understanding is that using glycerine for the base (instead of water) means no neutralizing or thicking. Of course, I'll find out for sure once I try it!