Make liquid soap and turn into an alchemist for a while

In today's fast-paced times, when other unpleasant things in the form of pandemics besides various obligations are rolling in on us
and viral diseases, it is very important to make sure that we are constantly improving our hygiene habits. After all, you know. You come home from work, you've travelled by bus and the first thing you do when you step into the house - you wash your hands. Or remember sending your children to wash their hands before meals or when they come in from outdoors
and interrupt their play with the dog.


That's why we at Handymade have decided to share with you a great recipe and procedure
and make homemade liquid soap.

LIQUID SOAP AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The key to making soap, whether liquid or solid, is saponification, that is, using potassium hydroxide - KOH to turn the oils into a soap paste and then dissolving it in distilled water. It is the potassium hydroxide that ensures the softness of the paste, easy dissolution in water and also that the soap remains liquid. Be careful, though! KOH is also a corrosive and safety precautions must be taken when working with it.

Of the oils, it is advisable to use solid oils containing saturated fatty acids, such as coconut oil, then the soap will remain beautifully transparent. However, coconut oil alone can dry out the skin, so we bring you
two recipes. One will be purely with coconut oil alone and with the addition of orange essential oil - it is suitable for
for washing dishes and cleaning different surfaces. But since we mainly wanted to make a hand soap so that the skin would stay supple and moisturized at the same time, we tried several versions with different oils added. The soap calculator helped us.


We liked the version with castor, almond and olive oils the best. We tested this version at our company workshop and the soap came out beautifully transparent.


Turbidity is not a defect, however; it occurs when all the fatty acids do not go through the saponification process. That is why it is not recommended to overfat - that is, a higher fat content than the hydroxide is able to saponify.
On the contrary, a slight excess of KOH, roughly 3%, is recommended. This slight deficiency can be cleverly covered by adding, for example, mica powder. You can colour and scent your homemade natural liquid soap exactly as you wish. By adding tea tree and lavender essential oils, your soap will have antibacterial properties.

LIQUID SOAP AND THE PROCESS OF MAKING IT

Liquid soap and its creation is not rocket science, it just looks like it. However, the whole process is subject to rules,
without which we will not get to the final result. As it happens, it is necessary to follow all the steps
and work in stages to get the result the way it should be.


The preparation is quite lengthy, so make sure you set aside enough time. Just cooking the soap paste alone takes at least 3 hours and we will still be dissolving the paste in water, adjusting the PH and finishing.

LIQUID SOAP AND THE INGREDIENTS USED

Moisturizing soap:

600 g coconut oil
400 g almond oil
320 g castor oil
100 g pomace olive oil
326 g potassium hydroxide 90%
652 g distilled water

Coconut soap:

475 g coconut fat
143 g potassium hydroxide 90%
400 g distilled water

essential oils for fragrance
mica powder for colouring (can be omitted)
distilled water for dilution
20% citric acid solution (approximately 100 ml)

LIQUID SOAP - AIDS

Aids we will need:

a scale, a thermometer, one large and a slightly smaller pot with a lid for the water bath, a whisk to stira whisk, a hand blender, possibly a potato masher if the paste is too thick, a container for diluting the hydroxide,
ph papers, gloves and goggles for working with the hydroxide.


The production of liquid soap can be divided into 2 phases:

1. production of the base paste

2. dilution of the paste in water

LIQUID SOAP - STAGE 1 PROCEDURE

In a water bath let the oils heat up to 70°C, try to maintain this temperature.
In the meantime, prepare the hydroxide solution.


Hydroxide is corrosive, so use protective equipment - goggles, gloves - when working with it,
long-sleeved clothing, and work in a ventilated room so as not to breathe in the fumes.

Important tip: ALWAYS POUR HYDROXIDE INTO WATER, NEVER POUR WATER INTO HYDROXIDE !!!

Weigh 400g of distilled water, preferably in a glass container and slowly pour the hydroxide into the cold water. This reaction will cause a high temperature up to about 90°C. Watch out for fumes. When stirring, it is better to put your head away. Measure the temperature of the solution and wait until it reaches 60 - 70°C. In addition, measure the temperature of the oil. If it is also 60 - 70°C, stop heating. Then slowly add the hydroxide solution to the oil. Stir with a whisk, or use a hand mixer. If the mixture starts to bubble (too high a temperature), cool in cold water - cool by stirring. Keep the mixture at 70°C until it has set. Cover with a lid and leave to cook in a water bath for 3 hours. Check every 30 minutes to see if the fat has rendered out of the mixture, if so, stir in and continue cooking.


After 3 hours, make a test: dilute 40g of the mixture in 80g of warm distilled water and leave to cool. If the liquid is cloudy, boil for another 30-60 minutes. Then repeat the test.

LIQUID SOAP - PROCEDURE 2ND STAGE

Dilute the mass 1:1 in warm distilled water, stirring until dissolved, or allow to dissolve freely. You can dissolve only part of the paste, store the rest in a bag in the refrigerator to use later.
Measure the pH and adjust with a solution of citric acid and water (1:4 acid : water).
Add it sparingly, a tablespoon at a time, stir, let stand for a while and remeasure,
until a pH value of 8-9 is reached. Don't know how to properly measure the pH of a product? You can find out on our blog in the article Measuring the pH of a product.

Then we can add essential oils and colors depending on what someone likes. I didn't dye mine, but it's suitable
are mica powders, which we dilute in a little liquid soap and then mix in the desired amount.
You can also add essential oils, we prefer to add less and gradually max 0.5 - 1% by weight.

The essential step of the whole liquid soap making process is to let the soap mature and stand for at least 1 to 2 weeks. Aging is important to allow all the mixed ingredients to settle and for the whole soap to get the right pH.
If aging does not occur and the soap is used right away, it could have adverse effects on our skin. Let it rest and it will repay you with its quality.

LIQUID SOAP - CONCLUSION

We hope you enjoyed making liquid soap with us. We hope you enjoyed our post
with the procedure and important tips has helped you throughout the whole process.

Have you made your liquid soap following our process? Share your tricks and tips with us. What ingredients did you use? What is your favorite scent? We're interested in all of that. Let's discuss, let's create a community
and learn from each other.


Do the saponification, my friends.