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Mybathco Liquid Soapmaking Instructions
Mybathco Liquid Soapmaking Instructions
http://www.mybathco.com
All soap, whether hard bar type or liquid, starts with the chemical reaction of oils and an
alkali. The difference comes in the alkali used to saponify the oils. For bar soaps, it's
sodium hydroxide (NaOH) while liquid soaps, use potassium hydroxide (KOH). Many
variations in both bar and liquid soaps can be achieved using different oils and slight
alterations in techniques to change the final product - from a light liquid hand soap, to
shampoo, or shower gel.
Recipe:
4.5oz. Coconut Oil
8 oz. Corn Oil
5 oz. Distilled Water
2.6 oz. Lye - Potassium Hydroxide (KAOH)
Safety Note: ALWAYS add the lye to the water, never the other way around. Adding
the water to the lye can cause an unpredictable violent reaction or splashing.
5. Bring to Trace:
Depending on your mixture of oils, it may take a while to reach trace. Don't give
up...this is the stage for patience and perseverance. Trace appears as a thick
pudding or applesauce like consistency.
In a glass measuring cup, mix your neutralizing solution. I use a 33% borax (20
Mule Team) solution. Some soapers use a 20% boric acid solution. For the borax,
use 3 oz. borax in 6 oz. of boiling water. For the boric acid, take 8 oz. of boiling
water and add 2 oz. boric acid. It's important to stir this solution extremely well
and keep it very hot for it to completely dissolve. If the mixture cools, the borax
or boric acid will turn gritty and precipitate out of the mixture - and it won't mix
into your soap!
Add about 3/4 oz. of neutralizer for every pound of soap paste (the paste before
you added water) Too much neutralizer will cloud your final product, so it's best
to round down and be conservative.
Slowly pour the neutralizer into the re-heated soap mixture and stir well.
Soapmaking Terminology:
Neutralize to balance the pH. For skin care products a pH of 6-8 is desirable otherwise it
could be too harsh on the skin. At pH 7, the balance is just right. If there are more
positive hydrogen ions, a material is acidic (between 1-7 on the pH scale). If the are
more hydroxyl ions, the substance is alkaline or basic (between 7-14 on the pH scale).
Potassium hydroxide is a caustic base, also known as lye. Also known as caustic
potash, was the alkali used most thoughout history to produce soap. Water steeped
through wood ashes yields this caustic chemical which reacts with fats or oils to form
liquid or soft soaps.
Saponification is a chemical reaction that occurs when fats or oils (fatty acids) are
combined with lye (alkali base.) Saponification literally means "soap making" from the
root word, "sapo", which is Latin for soap. The saponification reaction yields the by-
products of glycerin and soap.
All fats and oils have a “saponification value” or SAP value, which is the amount of lye
needed to completely neutralize them into soap with no lye left over. Each has a different
value, which is why it’s important carefully calculate your recipes. There are many
online lye calculators which can make this task easier.
Soap a mixture of salts of various fatty acids made by an alkali acting on the fatty acids.
Fats or oils mixed with an alkali form one molecule of soap and three molecules of
glycerin.
Sodium hydroxide a strong caustic base, also known as lye or caustic soda. This highly
alkaline chemical combines with fats or oils to form hard soaps.
Trace the point in soapmaking when the soap mixture leaves a line, footprint or trace,
across the top of the mixture before blending back into the mixture.