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Some of the liquid soaps that we prefer to use are difficult to find. Usually they are imported. Or if ever it is available locally, stores which sell this are very few. But actually, we can make liquid soaps on our own by using a different recipe but will provide us nice liquid soap that we can use under shower. Procedures in doing this are the same. We only change the recipes that are easily available.

The use of bar soap and liquid soap almost has the same effect. The difference is that in making a liquid soap, 0% of lye discount is used. Using 0% lye discount makes the soap not too mild to the skin. Lye which is known as sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is usually used to make soap. Oils used such as linseed oil also contributes on how the outcome of the soap would be. When making a liquid soap, kalium hydroxide (KOH) is used in place of lye so we use either of the two methods; the use of alcohol and the use of borax. These two methods are known to neutralize any excess lye.

Generally, In order to make a liquid soap, the following ingredients will be needed:

• Oils
• Potassium hydroxide
• Water for dilution which is 2-3 times the amount of oil
• 1 part borax for every 48 parts of resulting total soap weight to be used as neutralization fluid. Using the 1:3 ratio, borax is dissolved in boiling water
• Coloring (depending on what color would you like the soap to look)
• Scent/aroma
Note: make sure that materials used are at 0% lye discount based on lye calculator

In this specific example, you may use these recipes with the same procedures:

Recipe 1
Coconut oil-35%olive oil-35%
Castor oil-25% sweet almond or any “soft” oil-5%

Recipe 2
23 oz coconut oil25 oz soft oils
12 oz KOH33 oz distilled water
2 oz borax dissolved in 6oz distilled water
2-3 tablespoon sulfonated castor oil
122 o distilled water
3-4 oz fragrance

Procedure

1. Measure the amount of oil to be used depending on the quantity of soap to be made. Mix and melt them.
2. While wearing the safety equipment like gloves and goggles, and by using cold water, dissolve the measured KOH by stirring. This procedure is better done in the sink to ensure safety if ever lye is spilled.
3. Add the KOH solutions to the mixed oils and blend. Blending this may take to at least 25 mins. So, in order to avoid overheat of the motor, you can use stick blender at gap.
Trace or how the liquid soap will look like is different from soap made from NaOH. It will undergo several stages before it reaches trace. If ever the liquid would try to come out of the pot, cool the outside of the pot and stir it.
4. Continue to blend until the mixture looks grainy then eventually it will resemble a thick trace.
5. When the mixture is like a very thick HP, put a cover and cook the soap in the double broiler for approximately 3 hours. During the first hour, stir it occasionally and ensure that the boiler has sufficient water.
6. You will know if you already have soap when the mixture starts looking a little translucent. This will occur after about 2 hours, but you will still have to boil it for another hour.
7. When you already have the soap, dilute it by breaking it into chunks if necessary, and then add the boiling dilution water. Let it rest overnight.
8. In case not all the soap are dissolved, put it back on fire with cover. Wait the for the soap paste to completely dissolve.
9. Using the proportion of 1 part of borax per 48 parts of resulting total soap weight in it, boil the calculated volume of water to be used as the neutralization fluid.
10. The neutralization fluid must be added to the diluted soap before it cools down to prevent the precipitation of the borax again.
11. Allow the soap to cool down.
12. After cooling down, finally, you can now add the coloring and the scent that you prefer.

Note: If the transparency of the soap is not important for you, you may use any oil. Just add polysorbate 20 to make the oil water soluble. You can only use sulfated castor oil if you want your liquid soap to be clear.

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