Ok, thanks again. I think I will just order the basic stuff I need and start with a hard soap to get a feel for it. If this turns out ok, I'll have the stuff on hand that I'll need to to liquid soap.
Soapmaking
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Ok, thanks again. I think I will just order the basic stuff I need and start with a hard soap to get a feel for it. If this turns out ok, I'll have the stuff on hand that I'll need to to liquid soap.
Why is the dilution necessary? Is it just a question of consistency or is there a chemical reaction going on with the dilution water?
When making mixed liquid soap, do you just follow the hot process protocol as if you wouldn't use two different sapronification agents?
Can liquid soaps be superfattened like hard soap?
OP
OP
You make the liquid soap into a paste- it's 100% soap. Then you add the water to dilute into liquid soap.
It's done the same way (I often use the crockpot), cooked for quite a while until translucent. It's soft because of the KOH, and not hard like soap made with NaOH.
You can superfat, a little, but not too much because it will get very cloudy.
Thanks Yooper. If it is only the cloudyness, that wouldn't be a problem for me. The main reaso why I would want to make liquid soap is that I can design something which suits my skin and my girlfriend would probably also like to use it as a shower gel, but clarity is not an issue for us.
I have now ordered the essentials for the first soap (hard soap) and also the chemicals for the liquid soap. I will make about 1kg hard soap first and then will probably experiment with smaller amounts of liquid soap.
I designed a recipe based on what I have read here and on the main soap making pages to suit my dry skin which sometimes has dermatitis kind of itchy spots. The really hard and heavily chlorinated water in the UK certainly does not help....
The recipe for a hard soap goes as follows:
5%Castor oil for the skin
20%coconut for hardness, foam and cleansing
30%palm oil, hardness, goes well with coconut oil
35%olive oil, for the skin (kind of a"base" oil)
10%cocoa butter for the skin and texture
7% super fattened
0.7% essential ginger oil
0.7% essential lemongrass oil
... personally, I would skip the essential oils, but I have a girlfriend
I ordered acually some more essential oils, I might split the batch and try two combinations, cedarwood and black pepper also somehow smells appealing in my mind. I read that the oils are best mixed in after medium tracing occurs, so technically it should be easily possible to devide the base before this point.
Hahaha, I even had to oerder a handheld blender.
If you guys see any flaws, please point them out before I have to find out by myself.
I have now ordered the essentials for the first soap (hard soap) and also the chemicals for the liquid soap. I will make about 1kg hard soap first and then will probably experiment with smaller amounts of liquid soap.
I designed a recipe based on what I have read here and on the main soap making pages to suit my dry skin which sometimes has dermatitis kind of itchy spots. The really hard and heavily chlorinated water in the UK certainly does not help....
The recipe for a hard soap goes as follows:
5%Castor oil for the skin
20%coconut for hardness, foam and cleansing
30%palm oil, hardness, goes well with coconut oil
35%olive oil, for the skin (kind of a"base" oil)
10%cocoa butter for the skin and texture
7% super fattened
0.7% essential ginger oil
0.7% essential lemongrass oil
... personally, I would skip the essential oils, but I have a girlfriend
I ordered acually some more essential oils, I might split the batch and try two combinations, cedarwood and black pepper also somehow smells appealing in my mind. I read that the oils are best mixed in after medium tracing occurs, so technically it should be easily possible to devide the base before this point.
Hahaha, I even had to oerder a handheld blender.
If you guys see any flaws, please point them out before I have to find out by myself.
Last edited:
rhoadsrage
Well-Known Member
Also as an FYI, if you make liquid soap and want to put it in those foaming hand soap dispensers add 50% water to 50% liquid soap to get them to foam properly.
Yep commercial foaming soap is 1/2 the soap at the same price.
This is the recipe I followed.
Yep commercial foaming soap is 1/2 the soap at the same price.
This is the recipe I followed.
JONNYROTTEN
Well-Known Member
Essential oil scent disappear in soap. I "think" you're supposed to use the fake stuff if you want it to smell like anythingThanks Yooper. If it is only the cloudyness, that wouldn't be a problem for me. The main reaso why I would want to make liquid soap is that I can design something which suits my skin and my girlfriend would probably also like to use it as a shower gel, but clarity is not an issue for us.
I have now ordered the essentials for the first soap (hard soap) and also the chemicals for the liquid soap. I will make about 1kg hard soap first and then will probably experiment with smaller amounts of liquid soap.
I designed a recipe based on what I have read here and on the main soap making pages to suit my dry skin which sometimes has dermatitis kind of itchy spots. The really hard and heavily chlorinated water in the UK certainly does not help....
The recipe for a hard soap goes as follows:
5%Castor oil for the skin
20%coconut for hardness, foam and cleansing
30%palm oil, hardness, goes well with coconut oil
35%olive oil, for the skin (kind of a"base" oil)
10%cocoa butter for the skin and texture
7% super fattened
0.7% essential ginger oil
0.7% essential lemongrass oil
... personally, I would skip the essential oils, but I have a girlfriend
I ordered acually some more essential oils, I might split the batch and try two combinations, cedarwood and black pepper also somehow smells appealing in my mind. I read that the oils are best mixed in after medium tracing occurs, so technically it should be easily possible to devide the base before this point.
Hahaha, I even had to oerder a handheld blender.
If you guys see any flaws, please point them out before I have to find out by myself.
You just need to add more. Also, for soaps that get cooked for a while (e.g., shaving soap) you need to wait until the end of the cook to add the EO (same time superfats are added).
JONNYROTTEN
Well-Known Member
Funny this thread came up I'm making soap today. I kinda forgot the steps
mix ingredients. nuke till....what temp?
Add lye and water together....wait till what temp to add to the other stuff?
Pour in mold, cover...Anything else I'm forgetting Not adding any coloring maybe a scent, maybe not
Hard soap?
JONNYROTTEN
Well-Known Member
Ya... I looked it up 120-130.
This is going to be a messed up batch. after mixing the ingredients I went to switch the scale from oz to grams and shut it off instead not knowing how much the bowl weighed. So now I'm guessing. I took ll the numbers and will see how much the bowl weighs after pouring in the mold and see how close I was.
I "think" I was over so I shook a little more lye in the water....and a nice size blob went in by accident....I weighed the lye water mix and I added an additional 1.4 oz to the 7 oz lye/16 oz water mix
So then I added a little more olive oil and coconut oil without measuring to make up the difference LOL
I'm waiting for the lye to cool now....messed up batch to say the least
JONNYROTTEN
Well-Known Member
So judging by the 2 loaf pans filled My amount looks just about perfect.
So now I'm 1.4 oz heavy on the lye...same water.
2 loaf batch
40oz olive oil
10 oz coconut oil.....batch called for 6.9 lye and I'm 1.4 oz over.
Any ideas on what to expect?
Is the Lye "within reason" not to have ruined the batch?
So now I'm 1.4 oz heavy on the lye...same water.
2 loaf batch
40oz olive oil
10 oz coconut oil.....batch called for 6.9 lye and I'm 1.4 oz over.
Any ideas on what to expect?
Is the Lye "within reason" not to have ruined the batch?
Have you put the numbers into soapcalc? Use 5% for superfat number. It's a little confusing the first time, but it works great once you've figured it out.
http://soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp
http://soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp
JONNYROTTEN
Well-Known Member
Looks like it turned out OK.
OP
OP
Ok, now take a bar of the soap and touch your tongue to a side of it. If it "zaps", it's lye heavy. If not, you're fine. If it does zap, try it again tomorrow. If it still zaps, you'll have to rebatch with more oil.
"Zap" is not painful- it's a bit tingly like sticking your tongue on a 9 volt battery top. Don't tell me you didn't do that as a kid- because I know I'm not the only one!
OP
OP
My new favorite is https://www.soapmakingfriend.com/soap-making-recipe-builder-lye-calculator/ I like it for many reasons, but mostly because I had quite a bit to do with building it from the beginning.
And of course it's free!
If you go there and want some sample recipes, you can click "load recipe" and get a choice of some sample recipes:
Those are some of my favorite "can't miss" recipes. I hope you like them!
JONNYROTTEN
Well-Known Member
I feel like your messing with but I'm going to go try
I tongued my soap....Tastes like...soap.
I didnt feel any type of zap. I guess/hope it will be OK??
And yes I did...I actually got suspended in 8th grade for for touching brillo to a 9 volt in the hallway....Fire Fire
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As a kid? I do this every time I pick up a 9 volt! How else are you supposed to make sure it's still good???
My new favorite is https://www.soapmakingfriend.com/soap-making-recipe-builder-lye-calculator/ I like it for many reasons, but mostly because I had quite a bit to do with building it from the beginning.
And of course it's free!
If you go there and want some sample recipes, you can click "load recipe" and get a choice of some sample recipes:
View attachment 616140
Those are some of my favorite "can't miss" recipes. I hope you like them!
I saw that in the banner when I visited that site, but never tried it. I made (literally) a lifetime's amt of hard soap a couple of years ago and never did it again.
Just to be sure, bite a big chunk off and chew it for a few minutes
I think that's the one I used for my recipeMy new favorite is https://www.soapmakingfriend.com/soap-making-recipe-builder-lye-calculator/ I like it for many reasons, but mostly because I had quite a bit to do with building it from the beginning.
And of course it's free!
If you go there and want some sample recipes, you can click "load recipe" and get a choice of some sample recipes:
View attachment 616140
Those are some of my favorite "can't miss" recipes. I hope you like them!
OP
OP
Yep, if it didn't zap it's not lye heavy, so completely safe. It could be more fat heavy (higher superfat), but it might turn out to be perfect and you won't have any way to recreate the soap in the future.
JONNYROTTEN
Well-Known Member
I tried it again...a few times. I want to say I felt a tingle in my tongue but its probably in my head.Yep, if it didn't zap it's not lye heavy, so completely safe. It could be more fat heavy (higher superfat), but it might turn out to be perfect and you won't have any way to recreate the soap in the future.
Lets just say they're is a slight tingle....will that burn my skin when I use it in a few weeks?....kinda nervous I'm going to burn my skin off now.
It also seems to have hardened up quick compared to all the other soaps I've made. In 2 days I can hardly squish it. Amost like my other soaps were after a week or more.
Is that the extra lye or the extra coconut oil I put in this batch because I thought I was short?
Recipe is nothing but olive oil and coconut oil
OP
OP
Let it sit for at least another week, then test it again with the zap test. Olive oil soap is usually slow to harden, but coconut oil soap will get hard pretty fast- so it's hard to say. If it still zaps after a week (or a few days if you can't wait that long), you can rebatch it.
We make some soap. About 100lbs a week. Oil and lye pots in the first pic. Bars curing on the racks in the second. It's a lot of fun. My wife turned it into a business. So far, it's still fun.
OP
OP
Apparently, my daughter and her friends have been customers of yours.
When I'm home, my daughter, her boyfriend and some of her friends "shop" at my house by stopping by and then flattering me. I make enough soap that I can give plenty away. But now that we're gone in the winter for 4-5 months, they have to buy some. There is one in particular that my daughter's boyfriend likes, but I can't remember which one it is.
Your daughter buys soap???!!!Apparently, my daughter and her friends have been customers of yours.
OP
OP
Yes- when I'm not home! I was so surprised when she told me. I think she bought charcoal soap for Dave because he loves mine. Crazy- I'll have to give her more when I leave for the winter next time!
It's fine if they want to buy it from us
Seriously though. it's a lot of work for a job but it's a great hobby. I really enjoy it.
Seriously though. it's a lot of work for a job but it's a great hobby. I really enjoy it.
Thanks Yooper. If it is only the cloudyness, that wouldn't be a problem for me. The main reaso why I would want to make liquid soap is that I can design something which suits my skin and my girlfriend would probably also like to use it as a shower gel, but clarity is not an issue for us.
I have now ordered the essentials for the first soap (hard soap) and also the chemicals for the liquid soap. I will make about 1kg hard soap first and then will probably experiment with smaller amounts of liquid soap.
I designed a recipe based on what I have read here and on the main soap making pages to suit my dry skin which sometimes has dermatitis kind of itchy spots. The really hard and heavily chlorinated water in the UK certainly does not help....
The recipe for a hard soap goes as follows:
5%Castor oil for the skin
20%coconut for hardness, foam and cleansing
30%palm oil, hardness, goes well with coconut oil
35%olive oil, for the skin (kind of a"base" oil)
10%cocoa butter for the skin and texture
7% super fattened
0.7% essential ginger oil
0.7% essential lemongrass oil
... personally, I would skip the essential oils, but I have a girlfriend
I ordered acually some more essential oils, I might split the batch and try two combinations, cedarwood and black pepper also somehow smells appealing in my mind. I read that the oils are best mixed in after medium tracing occurs, so technically it should be easily possible to devide the base before this point.
Hahaha, I even had to oerder a handheld blender.
If you guys see any flaws, please point them out before I have to find out by myself.
I made the soap I quoted above
I had to recalculate the recipe, as I lost my notes and the calculator suggested by @Yooper was most helpfull. I really like the chart that shows the attributes of the final soap! It was showing it as I planned it, which is good.
Everything went well. I split the batch into two, 750g each, and added 5ml ginger essential oil and 5ml lemon gras essential oil to one of them and to the other 5ml pepper essential oil and 5ml cedar wood essential oil from virginia to the other. Both smell really good. The cedarwood/pepper version smells a bit like my favourite perfumes which is a big win for me
Next on my list will be a sandelwood soap, but this stuff is REALLY expensive. Anyhow, I will have enough soap for at least half a year (at least half of it goes to my girlfriend and friends), so theres no rush for the next one.
I am tempted to touch it every 5 minutes, just to see how hard the soap is now, so far I could resist
Today (one day after I poured it into the forms), I cut the soap into bars. The soap is already quite hard and of course I couldn't resist washing my hands with a small piece of each variant. They both foam very well and clean the skin without leaving it too dry. I guess my mission is accomplished
Now I will wait a week or two till I start using it. I have aproximately 15 bars, this will last anyway... no problem with starting to use it a bit to early.
Both smells are really nice but the superior one seems to be ginger lemongrass. It comes through really nicely. The other one needs more of the essential oil, I guess.
Now I will wait a week or two till I start using it. I have aproximately 15 bars, this will last anyway... no problem with starting to use it a bit to early.
Both smells are really nice but the superior one seems to be ginger lemongrass. It comes through really nicely. The other one needs more of the essential oil, I guess.
crosschk
Working on a good one.....
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Just dicovered/found/was pointed to this thread. Just wanted to say I enjoy making soap. Its usually boring unscented soap. I like the chemistry part of it. Heres a picture of my full curing rack
And i just cut this castile this morning
And i just cut this castile this morning
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Castile is real nice when it's had about a year to cure. Unfortunately our water is sdo hard I'm left with commercial detergent-based soaps till we get the house built and a water softener.
crosschk
Working on a good one.....
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You should be using distilled anyway not tap. Unless its beer soap, then you use beer
I mean to actually shower. Real soap just curdles up and makes a mess here. There's not enough EDTA in the world to make a soap survive.
crosschk
Working on a good one.....
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Oh lol gotcha
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