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                                 How to Make Liquid Soap: The Recipe

This gorgeous liquid soap can be used as shampoo, body wash, hand soap, and even dish soap!

Ingredients

• 10 ounces coconut oil 

• 10 ounces olive oil

• 3 ounces rice bran oil 

• 13 ounces other oil  

• 5.5 ounces sunflower oil 

• 9 ounces KOH, a.k.a. potassium hydroxide 

• 25 ounces distilled water

• 60 ounces distilled water 

• 16 ounces liquid vegetable glycerine 

• 3 ounces (more or less to your taste) of essential oil or fragrance oil of your choice 

• the natural colorant of your choice, use a very small amount

Instructions

Liquid Soap Process

1. Ventilate your work area well, cover your workspace with newspaper, and put on your gloves and goggles. Be sure pets and kids are not running underfoot as you begin this project.

2. Start by measuring your oils and placing them into the crockpot. Remember: For this recipe, we'remeasuring all ingredients by weight, not by volume, so you must have a scale (like this).

3. Turn your crock pot on high and melt all the oils. I use a smaller crock pot to cook my ingredients down and then move to a larger one once I start adding the liquids.

4. Place 25 ounces of the distilled water into a glass or stainless bowl. Measure out the KOH and slowly pour it into the water (never the other way around) while stirring. You may notice it making groaning noises as it dissolves; this is normal.

5. Once mixed, add the water/KOH mixture to the oils. Combine by hand to blend the solutions, then start using the stick blender. The mixture will be kind of chunky and want to separate, but don't worry. Blend for about 5 minutes, then walk away.

6. Cover and keep on high for the first 30-60 minutes, then turn to low.

7. Keep coming back once in a while to stir or blend. It will start to take shape soon. After about 2 hours it will look kind of translucent like petroleum jelly. By this point, it is harder to work with - heavy and sticky. I use a stainless steel potato masher to break it up more easily. Once it looks cooked through with no opaque spots, you can test it.

8. To test: Place a small spoonful in some hot water and stir really well. It'll take a bit to dissolve it all. If the water is clear, you can continue to the dilution stage. If it's at all cloudy, continue cooking.

 

Liquid Soap Dilution

Once your soap paste is fully cooked, you can dilute it.

1. Heat 60 ounces of water until hot, not boiling. (Remember to measure by weight, not volume.)

2. Add the liquid vegetable glycerin. Mix together well.

3. Add this mixture to the crock pot and stir, or use the masher if needed. Leave on low, cover, and walk away. You can leave it for a few hours and then go back to it. I like to do this step in the evening so I can leave it overnight.

4. In the morning, stir the soap well and let it settle an hour or so. The soap paste that's not diluted should rise to the top, leaving good liquid soap underneath. I push the chunky stuff aside and spoon the good stuff into pint or quart jars. Then I can scent and color each one differently if I want to.

5. For the chunky stuff that remains, add a bit more water and turn the heat off. Leave this overnight and it should all be diluted by morning. Depending on the consistency you want, you may need to add a bit more distilled water. Start with a very small amount (1 teaspoon) so it doesn't get too thin.

                                         Notes

                                                                     ALL ingredients are to be measured by WEIGHT