# Liquid Soap



## jimandpj (Mar 11, 2008)

I've taken the plunge into the liquid soap world. Following Barbara's method using a roasting pan. 

Here was my recipe (from Failor's book)

18 oz coconut oil
22 oz olive oil
5 oz palm oil
11 oz potassium hydroxide
33 oz goat milk

Except I multiplied it by 4 because with 8 kids I can't do anything in a small way. LOL

Looks like an amber, goopy mess right now in my roasting pan (which I think is how it's supposed to look). I've got the roasting pan set at 150 (although it was at 200 for a few hours last night).

My question is this - is it supposed to stink this badly??? It smells terrible! 

The good part is that I'm not tempted to continually check on it because of the smell. But when I just went and stirred it, around the edges, it was definitely jelly like, so I think it's working. But it truly does smell bad.

Anyone??
PJ


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## adillenal (Feb 6, 2009)

I haven't noticed a bad smell when I amke liquid soap. But I certainly don't use all goat milk for the liquid either. That could be the cause. Maybe.


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## jimandpj (Mar 11, 2008)

I was hoping it was just the large quantity and the all goat milk.

Why don't you use all goat milk?

PJ


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## Guest (Mar 10, 2010)

I don't use all goat milk either, which is probably the smell and it should turn to a carmelized color and smell... 
I cook my soap for three days until it is all vaseline looking, or you will have cloudy soap, no matter what the book says.. just stir it once or twice a day... on the end of day three.. take a look and if need, cook another day.. most batches don't need more.. then you are ready to dilute and neutralize... it is a wonderful wonderful soap... and so gentle on your skin..
Barb


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## newbie nubian (Feb 7, 2009)

PJ - I have been making my first batch of liquid soap since a week ago yesterday and during the first two days of the cook in my crock pot it smelled HORRIBLE - like vomit. It was disgusting. 

I've had beautiful amber jelly since Saturday morning and I've been trying to dilute it to a liquid since then. I started small with the liquid because I didn't want it to get too thin, but I can't get it past the jelly stage. The bad smell is gone.

Would you let me know when you're done cooking how long it takes you to get it to liquify? I keep adding - what seems like - a ton of distilled water every day and by the next morning it's soaked up, but the soap is still a gel.

Also - what are you going to use to neutralize it. I want to use borax but I can't get the stuff to dissolve in the ratio from the recipe. Would you mind letting me know how that goes for you? I'd really appreciate it.

My family is having a huge laugh about the never-ending liquid soap in the crock pot on the kitchen counter. My husband got all excited on Saturday that I was making some fabulous new recipe for dinner...he was really bummed when he found out it will be (I hope) soap.

By the way, I tested the pH at the end of the three-day cook and it was 6.5, so I know I need to neutralize it. Sara.


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## Guest (Mar 11, 2010)

Sara, it will thin out with time... caution on making it thinner than you would like. but its still usable.. 
Boil the water you are mixing the borox with to get to dissolve and take a stick blender to it.. 
Barb


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## newbie nubian (Feb 7, 2009)

Thank you - I'll try the stick blender. I did boil the water, but I'll double-check my weights to make sure I'm doing it right. 

I appreciate the feedback!


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## jimandpj (Mar 11, 2008)

I'm assuming because I made four times the batch that it's going to take longer than 3-4 days. Barb - would you agree? Can you over cook it?

Right now, there are parts of it that look perfect, but spots that still aren't all jelly-like. Today is day 3.

Thanks,
PJ


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## Guest (Mar 12, 2010)

Yes, it can take longer when you make a huge batch.. you cannot overcook... keep cooking and stirring till it all looks like jelly
Add just a little water if it is too hard to stir
Barb


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## adillenal (Feb 6, 2009)

jimandpj said:


> Why don't you use all goat milk?
> 
> PJ


I never found a reference that recommended using 100% milk in liquid soap.

Did you use a LS calculator or did you just multiply everything by 4?


jimandpj said:


> Except I multiplied it by 4 because with 8 kids I can't do anything in a small way. LOL


I don't use the roasting pan or cooking 3 day method but I cook for hours but at a higher temeprature than 150. I am not at home during the day and cooking for days doesn't work for my lifestyle. Whatever works is my motto.

I make the regular Failor quantities and end up with a 5 gallon bucket of diluted liquid soap. I think you will have plenty of soap if you made 4 times that amount. :biggrin


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## jimandpj (Mar 11, 2008)

Yes - lots of liquid soap, that's what I want. LOL It's been something my customers have been requesting for a while and I have tons of people wanting to test it . 

OK - Failor's book says you need to let it age for 2 weeks. Since we cooked it so long, do we still need to do that?

I know Barb that you wait 8 months to a year, but what's the minimum you would wait before giving it to your testers? or use it on your own children?

PJ


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## Guest (Mar 15, 2010)

Just a couple of wks... after you dilute and neutalize, you can use it right away.. waiting is just a preference of mine.. I make it that far ahead anyway..
Barb


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## newbie nubian (Feb 7, 2009)

Okay, I started my liquid soap two weeks ago tomorrow. Today I'm finally done diluting and neutralizing it. It's nice, except without any fragrance, it doesn't smell so good. Anyway, it's a beautiful clear soap on the bottom, but gets a cloudy thicker coating on the top. Is that normal? It mixes up to a cloudy thick liquid, good consistency but cloudy. Does this sound right? Thanks.


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## Guest (Mar 16, 2010)

Sara, some of my batches come out that way too.. depends upon the oils you used,, how much lye etc... it is usually excess fatty acids... its good to use.. Or you can add alcohol to clear it up.. but that to me defeats the purpose of a natural soap that is gentle on the skin... 
Barb


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## newbie nubian (Feb 7, 2009)

Thanks! I plan to use it - it feels great.


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## newbie nubian (Feb 7, 2009)

I've never scented any of my soaps, the whole reason I started making them is because I became sensitive to the dyes and perfumes in bath and body products. I LOVE the liquid soap, but my husband and daughter don't like the smell.

If I scent it, should I use essential oil or should I use fragrance oil? Thank you.


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## Guest (Mar 16, 2010)

I love essential oils in mine.. the four theives blend is wonderful in liquid soap... any thing with peppermint etc. 
Barb


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## jimandpj (Mar 11, 2008)

At what point does the liquid soap go from cloudy to clear? After diluting? After neutralizing? After sequestering?

I'm in the middle of diluting, and it is still opaque. I cooked it for six days, so I'd be surprised if there were still excess fatty acids in there. 

PJ


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## adillenal (Feb 6, 2009)

I also age my liquid soap for many, many months. It gets milder with age. I keep enugh made up ahead to be able to do this. 
The reason I would not make HUGE quantities of LS at one time is that my soap varies from batch to batch although I use the same formula. Different oils from different suppliers seem to react differently. I have soap ranging from crystal clear to cloudy with a layer of crud on top. LS is so much fun but I never know what I will end up with. Still working on that SPECT OF ls.


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## Guest (Mar 17, 2010)

Its just like LaNell says, different oils from different supplies.. I think sometimes they have impurities in them and it causes cloudy..
PJ, Mine clears alot when it sequesters.. one of the reasons that I make it months ahead and it does get so much gentler.. 
I skim the stuff off the top and use it my self.. 
you can make a fabulous gentle facial soap with LS... add clay, jojoba beads or vitamin E bead, put in pump jar... 
Barb


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## newbie nubian (Feb 7, 2009)

The LS that I "finished" a couple of days ago has that thick cloudy stuff on top. I'm using that and figure I'll get to the clear stuff eventually. I may take the cloudy stuff off the rest of it if I decide to give it away. I LOVE the soap. It feels great and has a wonderful lather. I cannot believe the change in my skin from using my own soap, first the bars and now the liquid. I just ordered more KOH and I'm hoping our hospital thrift store has a roaster for sale so I can take back my slow cooker for actual food. 

One question, can I add honey to liquid soap? Before all of my bees succombed to this horrible Nebraska winter, I started a little line of bath and body products using my honey and beeswax. I'm one of those people you guys are talking about in another thread who don't have the oomph to try to sell it, I'm making these for gifts and fun. However, I really like the idea of sticking with all products that have honey and/or beeswax in them and am wondering if I can add honey to the liquid soap. I'm re-colonizing my hives in a couple of weeks so I'll have honey again in 2011, hopefully. Thanks.


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## Guest (Mar 18, 2010)

Sara, I don't see why you can't add honey to your soap,, you could try with a small batch and see what happens... YOu can add other things and even superfat it later, so why not honey... I think I would add it during the cook tho..
Barb


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## newbie nubian (Feb 7, 2009)

Thanks, I'm going to try with my next batch. I'd really like to make some coffee liquid soap, but I'm wondering if the coffee grounds will just sink to the bottom. I like to have something at the kitchen sink to get the garlic smell off my hands.


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## jimandpj (Mar 11, 2008)

Two more questions 

1. Can you dilute it further after neutralizing?
2. What percentage dilution is best for foamers?

PJ


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## Guest (Mar 18, 2010)

Yes, you can dilute it further after neutralizing, but you have to use distilled water.. the minerals in your tap water will make it cloudy or cloudier..
dilution for foamers is easy... Its about 3/4 water and 1/4 soap...
Its actually the bottle that makes the foam
Barb


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## adillenal (Feb 6, 2009)

I sell my LS ONLY in foamer bottles. Each batch I have to experiment to get the perfect ratio but 3/4 to 1/4 is a good place to start. The thinner the better actually for foamers. I use natural colored bottles so it doesn't matter if the soap is crystal clear or not. 

I discovered that the batch I have with the layer on top continues to develop a layer after I remove the layer. SOmething didn't work with that batch but I have plenty of places to use it up at my house and at work so nothing lost. 

I LOVE LS.

You can also sell refills for your foamers. I sell a 4 oz bottle full of LS with directions to pour into foamer bottle and fill with distilled water. I use a very good foamer that doesn't wear out easily. The purple topped ones and the copper topped ones have not worked as well. But I bought them off someone that had several thousand and I do not know where I will get them once these run out. But refills sell well too.


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## jimandpj (Mar 11, 2008)

Thanks, guys for all your help. You've been super.

My ls is completely opaque. Am I correct in my understanding that opaque liquid soap is safe, just not as visually appealing? I want to have my customers test it and gather their feedback. We've been using it and like it a lot.

PJ


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