Make your own liquid soap and turn into an alchemist for a moment

In today’s fast-paced times, when in addition to various obligations other unpleasant things in the form of pandemics and viral diseases are pouring down on us, it is very important to pay attention to the constant improvement of our hygiene habits. You know how it is. You come home from work, you travelled by bus and the first thing you do when you step into the house – you wash your hands. Or remember how you send your children to wash their hands before eating, or when they come in from outside and interrupt their game with the dog.


That is why at Handymade we decided to share with you an excellent recipe together with the procedure and to make a homemade liquid soap.

LIQUID SOAP AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The essence of soap making, whether liquid or solid, is saponification, which means that by using potassium hydroxide – KOH we turn oils into a soap paste and then dissolve it in distilled water. It is precisely potassium hydroxide that ensures the softness of the paste, its easy dissolution in water and also the fact that the soap remains liquid. However, be careful! KOH is also a caustic substance and when working with it, it is necessary to observe safety precautions.

Among oils, it is suitable to use solid oils with a content of saturated fatty acids, for example coconut oil; then the soap will remain nicely transparent. However, coconut oil on its own can dry out the skin, which is why we bring you two recipes at once.

One will be made purely with coconut fat and with the addition of orange essential oil – it is suitable for washing dishes and cleaning various surfaces. But since we mainly wanted to make a hand soap so that the skin remains supple and at the same time hydrated, we tried several versions with the addition of different oils. The soap calculator helped us with this.


We liked the version with the addition of castor, almond and olive oil the most. At our company workshop we tested this version and the soap turned out nicely transparent.


Cloudiness, however, is not a defect; it occurs when not all fatty acids go through the saponification process. Therefore, superfatting – that is, a higher fat content than the hydroxide is able to saponify – is not recommended.
On the contrary, a slight excess of KOH of roughly 3 % is recommended. You can cleverly mask this small imperfection, for example by adding mica powder. You can colour and scent your homemade natural liquid soap exactly according to your wishes. By adding tea tree and lavender essential oil, your soap will have antibacterial properties.

LIQUID SOAP AND THE CREATION PROCESS

Liquid soap and its creation is not rocket science, it only looks that way. However, the whole process is subject to rules without which we will not reach the final result. As is usually the case, it is necessary to follow all the steps and work gradually so that the result is as it should be.


The preparation is quite time-consuming, so set aside enough time. Just the cooking of the soap paste itself takes at least 3 hours and we will then still dissolve the paste in water, adjust the pH and finish it.

LIQUID SOAP AND RAW MATERIALS USED

Moisturising soap:

Coconut soap:

Essential oils are used as needed for fragrancing, mica powder for colouring, distilled water for diluting the mass and a 100 ml solution of 20 % citric acid for pH adjustment.

LIQUID SOAP – EQUIPMENT

Scales, thermometer, one large and a slightly smaller pot with a lid for a water bath, whisk for stirring, hand blender, possibly a potato masher if the paste is too thick, a container for diluting the hydroxide, pH test strips, protective gloves and goggles for working with hydroxide.


The production of liquid soap can be divided into 2 phases: 1. production of the basic paste and 2. dilution of the paste in water.

LIQUID SOAP – PROCEDURE PHASE 1

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


Hydroxide is a caustic substance, therefore when working with it we use protective equipment – goggles, gloves, clothing with long sleeves, and we work in a ventilated room so that we do not inhale the fumes.

WE ALWAYS POUR HYDROXIDE INTO WATER, WE NEVER POUR WATER INTO HYDROXIDE!!! 

We weigh out 400 g of distilled water, preferably into a glass container, and slowly sprinkle the hydroxide into the cold water. This reaction causes a high temperature of up to around 90 °C. Beware of the fumes. When stirring, it is better to turn your head away.

We measure the temperature of the solution and wait until it reaches a temperature of 60 – 70 °C. At the same time, we also measure the temperature of the oil. If it also has a temperature of 60 – 70 °C, we stop heating it.

We then slowly add the hydroxide solution to the oil. We stir with a whisk, and we can use a hand blender to help. If the mixture starts to foam up (too high a temperature), we cool it down in cold water – we cool it by stirring. Keep the mixture at a temperature of 70 °C until it thickens. Cover with a lid and let it cook in a water bath for 3 hours. Every 30 minutes we check whether any fat has separated from the mass; if so, we stir it back in and continue cooking.


After 3 hours we perform a test: we dilute 40 g of the mass in 80 g of warm distilled water and let it cool. If the liquid is cloudy, we cook it for another 30 – 60 minutes. Then we repeat the test.

LIQUID SOAP – PROCEDURE PHASE 2

We dilute the mass in a ratio of 1:1 in warm distilled water, stirring until it dissolves, or we let it dissolve freely. We can dissolve only part of the paste and store the rest in a bag in the refrigerator and use it later. We measure the pH and adjust it using a solution of citric acid and water (1:4 acid : water).
We add rather less, spoon by spoon, stir, let it stand for a while and measure again until we reach a pH value of 8–9. Do you not know how to measure the pH of a product correctly? You can read about it on our blog in the article Measuring the pH of a product.

Then we can add essential oils and colours according to what each person likes. I did not colour it, but mica powders are suitable; we disperse them in a little liquid soap and then mix them into the desired amount. We can also add essential oils; we add rather less and gradually up to a maximum of 0.5 – 1 % of the mass.

An essential step in the whole creation of liquid soap is to let the soap mature and stand for at least 1 to 2 weeks. Maturation is important so that all the mixed ingredients stabilise and the entire soap obtains the correct pH. If maturation did not occur and the soap were to be used immediately, it could have adverse effects on our skin. Let it rest and it will repay you with its quality.

LIQUID SOAP – CONCLUSION

We believe that you enjoyed making liquid soap with us. We hope that our contribution with the procedure and important advice has helped you throughout the entire creation process.

Have you made liquid soap according to our procedure? Share your tricks and tips with us. What ingredients did you use? What is your favourite scent?
We are interested in all of this. Let us discuss, create a community and learn from one another.


Until the next saponification, friends.