Made with only olive oil, this pure liquid Castile soap is easy to make and mild. It’s perfect for face and body, and for cleaning around the house.
A couple of years ago, I showed you how easy it was to make a basic beginner soap, even if you’ve never done it before.
Making solid soaps can be a lot of fun, but not everybody likes using bar soap. Many people prefer using something in a dispenser like a shower gel or a liquid soap.
I made many different types of bar soaps before attempting to make a true liquid soap. There aren’t as many resources about making liquid soaps, so I had to do a lot of trial and error before posting this first liquid Castile soap recipe.
Once you find a good recipe, it’s pretty simple to make. While it does take a little more time and effort than whipping up some bars of cold process soap, I think you’ll find that it’s well worth it, especially when you take a look at the price of a store-bought liquid castile soap.
How does liquid soap differ from bar soap?
The main difference between bar soaps and liquid soaps is the type of lye used to make them. Liquid soaps are made with KOH, or potassium hydroxide, rather than NaOH, or sodium hydroxide.
You can read more about the different types of lye in my post about lye and why it is needed in soap.
While some people like to make a “liquid soap” of sorts by diluting bar soaps in water, you can’t really get a true, transparent liquid soap that way. Some people are happy with the result, but every time I’ve tried it, I’ve ended up with a gloopy mess. It doesn’t have the same cleaning power as either a bar soap or a true liquid soap, and the texture and appearance aren’t the same either.
What is pure Castile soap?
Technically, by definition, Castile soap is a type of soap made with only olive oil. The name “Castile” soap originates here in Spain. (You can read more about the origin of Castile soap and other soaps in my post with a recipe for pure Castile bar soap.)
Over the years, the definition of Castile soap has broadened to include other types of vegetable oils such as coconut oil. Dr. Bronner’s liquid Soap, which may be the most famous commercial liquid Castile soap, actually has a greater percentage of coconut oil than olive oil. (I made a Dr. Bronners liquid Castile soap copycat recipe for those who are interested!)
When it came to making a homemade liquid Castile soap, though, I was a bit of a purist and made the real deal: a soap made with only olive oil.
Olive oil in soap
Soaps made with different oils have different properties.
Soaps made with olive oil are more conditioning for your skin than soaps made with coconut oil. On the other hand, they don’t lather up as much as a coconut oil soap, nor do they leave you feeling squeaky clean in the same way (partly because they are more conditioning).
Some people find pure Castile bar soap to be “slimy” and not cleansing enough. On the other hand, pure coconut oil bar soap can be drying.
- Pure coconut oil soaps are great for general cleaning and for laundry. That’s why I made my homemade laundry soap only with coconut oil.
- Pure olive oil soaps tend to be gentle on the skin and great for gentle body cleansing.
Read my post about the properties of different oils in soaps.
Ideally, you’d combine different oils to get the qualities you want for your soap. That’s exactly what they did when they formulated Dr. Bronner’s soap, and what I did when I showed you how to make a basic beginner soap which uses a combination of olive oil and coconut oil.
Combining liquid soaps
When you make a bar of soap, you have to decide what combination of oils you want to use from the very beginning and your entire batch will have that very same combination.
With liquid soaps, though, you have the advantage of being able to combine your various soaps after the fact, making it easier to experiment with smaller combinations until you find the perfect soap for your need.
That’s why I made a pure liquid castile soap, using only olive oil, and then later made a pure liquid coconut oil soap. Once you’ve made both of them, you can combine them, as needed to get the type of soap you want.
Coconut oil liquid soap vs. liquid Castile soap
When I first started making liquid soap, I assumed that liquid soaps would be just like bar soaps. The difference between a pure Castile bar soap and a coconut oil-based bar soap is HUGE!
I was very surprised to find, though, that liquid soap made with coconut oil was actually quite similar to that made with olive oil. Sure, the olive oil-based liquid soap was darker in color than the coconut oil-based liquid soap. For me, that was probably the most notable difference.
Yes, the coconut oil soap does make a bubblier lather than this one and may be slightly more drying. It does give more of a “squeaky clean” feeling.
In the end, though, the difference isn’t as pronounced as I expected. In fact, I normally just make the coconut oil liquid soap recipe these days. I can buy refined coconut oil cheaper than olive oil, but also love the look of a lighter-colored soap. I also love the fresh, subtle scent of the coconut oil soap when left unscented.
Both soaps give a decent lather. They are also both relatively mild for skin. If you have sensitive skin, though, this soap is probably the better choice.
Those who have very sensitive skin may find that they have issues with the higher pH of any soap. In those cases, it may be best to use something like my DIY Baby Wash and Shampoo. (I made it pH balanced for a baby’s delicate skin.)
Ingredients
This soap uses 4 main ingredients: olive oil, potassium hydroxide, water, and glycerin.
You can use extra virgin olive oil or a lighter olive oil. What is important, though, is that you are using pure olive oil. (If it’s not pure olive oil, it may need a different amount of lye.)
For the water, it’s best to use distilled water. Tap water has minerals and may have other impurities that can affect the clarity of your soap.
Why use glycerin when making liquid soap?
One of the methods of making liquid soaps is called the glycerin method. It replaces part of the water with glycerin.
Adding glycerin moves the soap-making process along more quickly. Because I wanted to share a beginner liquid soap recipe, I chose the glycerin method to have this soap be as quick and fool-proof as possible.
Using glycerin may have some other benefits:
- The resulting soap paste dissolves very easily in water. I don’t need to heat the water nor do I need to leave it for days at a time. I can cover my soap paste with distilled water and usually, in a couple of hours, I have a beautiful, clear liquid soap effortlessly.
- Glycerin is a humectant, meaning it draws moisture into the skin. I find that even my liquid coconut oil soap doesn’t feel drying, despite the fact that it hasn’t been superfatted at all. I think the extra glycerin helps to make a really great, hydrating soap that is clear and doesn’t need extra oils. (I think my homemade glycerin bar soap has the same benefits.)
Materials
Procedure
Making a liquid Castile soap isn’t difficult and it can save you a lot of money.
To get the clearest soap we can, we’ll use a hot-process method. That means that we will be cooking the soap. During the cooking process, the saponification process will complete and our soap will be ready to use immediately afterwards. (Liquid soap doesn’t need a curing time in the same way as bar soap does.)
The easiest way to make this and have it come out perfectly is to use a slow cooker. If you don’t have access to a slow cooker, though, you can also try baking it in the oven. (I showed how I used this method in the post and video for the coconut oil liquid soap.)
Making the lye solution
Weigh out the glycerine, water, and potassium hydroxide (KOH).
Add the glycerin to the water and then carefully add the KOH to the water and glycerin mixture. (Not the other way around!) Make the lye solution in a well-ventilated area.
Stir the KOH into the water until it dissolves. It will be cloudy at first, but then it will clear up.
Making the soap paste
Measure out the olive oil and heat it over low heat directly in the slow cooker.
Slowly add in the the KOH mixture to the warm olive oil, and gently stir them together over low heat.
Once combined, use an immersion blender to blend the ingredients together in the slow cooker. In a few minutes the mixture will begin to thicken and look like mayonnaise. Soon after, it will look like a creamy pudding. (If you aren’t doing this over heat, it will take a bit longer.)
A few minutes later, the mixture will begin to look grainy and look like mashed potatoes or applesauce. Continue to blend.
If, at any point, the mixture becomes too thick to blend with the immersion blender, switch to mixing with a spatula or wooden spoon. It’s also a good idea to take breaks during the blending process so as not to burn out the blender.
As you continue to blend, it will start to get creamy again. It is now time to cover it and cook it for a while.
Cooking the soap paste
Cooking the soap paste will allow the soap to finish the saponification process and will also help achieve a perfectly clear liquid soap immediately. The process will take 3-4 hours, and you will want to check on it and stir it up every half an hour or so.
As you cook the mixture, it will begin to thicken up and become more translucent.
To check for “doneness,” we will look to see if our paste is dissolving into a completely clear liquid soap. To do this, take a small amount of the soap paste and dissolve it in water, and look to see if the water is clear once the soap paste is dissolved.
If the liquid is cloudy, you should continue to cook the soap in the slow cooker. Let it cook another half an hour before checking on it again. If it dissolves clear like the soap in my picture, you are finished making the soap paste.
Note: If you aren’t using distilled water, the soap paste may stay cloudy no matter how long you cook it! (For more reasons your soap paste may be cloudy, read my post about troubleshooting liquid soap problems.
How to dilute the soap paste
Once you have made your soap paste, you’ll need to dilute it to obtain a liquid Castile soap.
To dilute a soap paste you can:
- Let it dissolve by itself into water over the course of several hours (or overnight).
- Speed up the process by warming the water and soap paste over the stove or other heat source (like the slow cooker).
For clear soap, use distilled water. That will also help ensure the water is free of contaminants and the soap will keep as long as possible. By choosing distilled water, not only are you keeping the possibility of microbial contamination to a minimum, but you are also ensuring that minerals and other substances in your tap water won’t cloud your soap.
If you are making small batches that are going to be used relatively quickly (and aren’t concerned about clearness), you can probably get away with tap water without any issues. I still recommend using distilled water when possible.
Read more about how to dilute a soap paste here.
Customizing your liquid soap
How else can you personalize your soap?
Adding fragrances
Unlike with bar soap, you can add in additives like essential oils after the fact. So, you don’t have to divide your batch at trace and work quickly to make soaps with a variety of fragrances. Instead, you can make a large batch of concentrated liquid soap paste base. The soap paste can be stored away and keeps well for a very long time. (I’ve successfully stored soap pastes for several years without issues.)
You can then add in the essential oils or fragrance oils as you dilute the soap paste. This gives you the freedom, even months after making the soap, to play with fun combinations.
At the time of dilution, I mix the soap paste with distilled water and then I add essential oils to give my soap a personalized fragrance.
Does it need a preservative?
Whether or not liquid soap needs a preservative is a controversial subject. Personally, I don’t use one as the pH of soap is high enough that it’s not a favorable environment for the growth of most of the microbes that we’re trying to avoid.
If I were going to sell a liquid soap, though, I’d do proper microbial testing of the liquid soap to see if a preservative was needed or not. Most natural preservatives on the market aren’t effective at the high pH of soap anyway. (Euxyl® K 900 is an exception and would be a great preservative to consider for using in soap.)
For more liquid soap FAQ’s, read my post How to Make a Liquid Soap: Start Here.
Video
Easy DIY Liquid Castile Soap Recipe
Materials
Instructions
- Measure out the olive oil and add it to the slow cooker on low heat.
Make the lye solution
- Weigh out the glycerine, water, and potassium hydroxide (KOH).
- Mix the water and glycerin.
- Carefully add the KOH to the water and glycerin mixture. (Not the other way around!) Do this step in a well ventilated area.
- Stir the KOH into the water until it dissolves. It will be cloudy at first, but then it will clear up.
Make the soap paste
- Slowly add in the the KOH mixture to the warm olive oil, and gently stir them together in the slow cooker.
- Once they are mixed together well, use an immersion blender to blend the ingredients together. In a few minutes the mixture will begin to thicken and look like mayonnaise. It will later look like a creamy pudding.
- Shortly afterward, the mixture will begin to look grainy like mashed potatoes or applesauce. Continue to blend.
- As you continue to blend, it will start to get creamy again. Once you reach this point, you can stop blending with the hand held blender and can leave the soap paste cooking covered in the slow cooker.
Cook the soap paste
- As you cook the soap, it will continue to thicken and will become more translucent. To achieve a clear liquid soap we'll need to cook the soap paste for 3-4 hours. During that time, check on it and stir it up every half an hour or so.
Check for doneness
- To check for "doneness," we will look to see if the soap paste dissolves clear. To do this, take a small amount of the soap paste and dissolve it in distilled water. If the resulting soap is clear, the soap is finished cooking. If it's cloudy, continue to cook the soap paste for another half an hour before checking on it again.
Dilute the soap
- To make a liquid Castile soap, dissolve some of the paste in distilled water. I ususally use a ratio of one part soap paste to 2-3 parts distilled water. It can be left overnight to dissolve on its own, stirring ocassionally, as needed. You can also use heat to speed up the process.
Notes
- A slow cooker is perfect for this sort of job because it will gently warm without burning, and keeping things at a steady temperature. If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can bake the paste in an oven or cook it in a double boiler.
- Take breaks while blending so as not to burn out the motor of your immersion blender.
- If at any point the mixture becomes too thick to blend with the immersion blender, switch to mixing with a wooden spoon.
- If you’ve cooked for more than 3-4 hours and it still isn’t clear, there may be other issues. Tap water can give a cloudy soap. For other possibilities, check my post on troubleshooting liquid soaps.
- This recipe makes 4.5-5 lbs. soap paste which can be diluted to 10-20 lbs. soap or more. That ends up being 1-2 gallons, or more, depending upon the desired concentration.
- Keep in mind that liquid soap is not as thick as commercial gels and surfactants. Liquid soap is of a thinner consistency and doesn’t need to be thick to be concentrated and work well.
- Undissolved soap paste can be stored in glass or plastic containers in a cool dry place for more than a year. (I’ve had some for several years without problems.)
DIY liquid body soap recipe:
If you would like to combine this soap with a liquid coconut oil soap to obtain a bit more lather and a squeaky clean feeling, try using this ratio:
60-70% liquid Castile soap (made with only olive oil)
30-40% liquid coconut oil soap (for bubbly lather, link goes to the recipe post)
Essential oils of choice.
Mix all of the ingredients together, and keep a bottle in the shower to use instead of shower gel.
Add essential oils for fragrance. Lavender essential oil gives a lovely herbal scent. I also like citrus blends using lemon and bergamot.
What are your favorites?
This post was originally published on June 29, 2016. It was rewritten and republished in June of 2021, adding new information, more photos, and video.
Ann Pollak
Just curious whether the ounces are volume or weight? They all convert to grams using the button on the website, but that seems odd, and would make a huge difference for the KOH, a modest difference for the oil, and no difference for the water. Just want to make sure I get the KOH right, as that could go very wrong.
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Ann,
All of the soap recipes are by weight. I normally post them by grams, but the lye calculator that I use for liquid soap recipes works with ounces. That’s why those happen to go the other way around.
But, yes, go by either the grams or use the ounces by weight.
Denise
I was wondering if I can cut this recipe and the coconut recipe in half by just dividing by two or…?
Thanks!
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Yes, that’s fine!
Nikki S
Hi, how much essential oil do you add for it to be diluted enough? Do you use a calculation like so many drops per so much ml? Thanks so much for sharing this!
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Nikki,
Usually, the percentage limits for essential oils in rinse off products is pretty high. I use a conservative estimate- that it can go up to 2% (by weight).
That said, I usually go by scent now as I normally never add anywhere near that when I dilute the soap. I usually just add a few drops to my dispenser when I fill it with soap. For me, that’s enough.
If you want a stronger scent, it would be wise to weigh it when adding it.
Sarah
Hi,
I was wondering, do we still need to wash our hands after lathering this liquid soap on our hands or we don’t have to. Thanks!
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Sarah,
I’m not understanding the question. You should lather and rinse, just as you would with any other soap.
Tracy Lee Strassburg
Hi, sorry, but what is koh? In the UK it is a brand of all purpose cleaner, but I’m interested in not buying products in plastic, so that would cancel out my ambition. Is there another ingredient that I can use to make my own?
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Tracy (great name!),
KOH stands for potassium hydroxide. It’s the type of lye that is used to make liquid soap. (You can read more about lye and why it’s a necessary ingredient in my post about lye.) Without lye, one can’t make soap.
I’m not sure about buying it in glass or something similar. When I’ve bought it, it has been packaged in plastic bags. That said, the amount that comes in a small plastic bag is enough to make several large batches of soap (enough to last my family years), so I think it is still very sustainable.
Grace
Hi! I just made some today and it’s cooked for 4 hours the paste is clear but still very cloudy in water. Looks like diluted milk when I add the paste to the water. I’ll keep cooking it and hope it works
Grace
Hello!
So I realized I was attempting to dissolve the soap in really cold water and that was causing it to be cloudy. Once I heated the water and dissolved the paste it is perfectly clear! Although it’s not as foamy as the store bought kind. I’m ok with that i think. Anyway thanks for the recipe this is so cool! I love it.
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Grace,
Yes, the temperature will affect it a lot! Mine gets cloudy in the winter sometimes!
I’m glad it worked out well for you, in the end.
Marie
Thank you for the recipe, nice and simple to use. I am still cooking it right now and have been all day so far and it’s still cloudy.
Tracy Ariza
Hi Marie,
Don’t worry too much about cloudiness. It can be caused by a number of factors. I’d rest and try to dilute some of it and see how it performs as a soap. You may find that once you dilute it and let it rest, that it clears up on its own. That’s very common.
I’m working on a general post about liquid soaps to add some of this troubleshooting information as it seems to be a common problem that often resolves itself!
In any case, you can always cook the soap paste later on if you think it needs further cooking. I’ve found that once you’ve started cooking it (even if it was done for a very, very short time and it completely opaque still) that it eventually becomes transparent on its own.
I hope that helps and that you are able to enjoy your soap!
karen
well looks like it aint gonna happen! KOH is a controlled substance here in Ecuador. Even for simple home use I would need to get a licence and for one year make a monthly report on amounts used.
However i can buy one litre of a 10% solution, no problems (go figure). is it possible to adapt the liquid recipe for this?
Tracy Ariza
Seriously? That’s crazy!
I’ve never worked with a solution before, so I’m not completely sure how it would work. It seems a bit silly that they allow the solution but not the flakes!
I guess it could be calculated out- rather than mix the KOH in water- use the solution. Let me see if I can figure it out when I get back home.
Tom
The old fashioned way of obtaining KOH is from plant ashes (called “potash” because of the way its made). Clean your fireplace, fill a pot with the ashes, and add boiling water. Wear eye protection and work in a well ventilated area! ..because once dissolved in the water the ashes and resulting fumes are extremely caustic. After leaching for a day or two, pour the mixture through some kind of filter (dead grass if there is nothing better) into another pot. This is a dilute mixture of KOH and water. You need to boil this down until its reduced to ~1/4 original volume (takes several hours). Test the final PH (it should be close to 13). Use a test strip, or drop a feather into it (it should dissolve), or put an egg into it (it should float).
I’m honestly not sure how this compares to the commercial stuff. Its a much more primitive way of doing things (and soap making is very old). I don’t know about the legality of boiling up a pot full of ashes, but if you don’t tell anyone what it is exactly, I doubt anyone will have any reason to ask.
Tracy Ariza, DDS
I actually tried it once. Mine turned into a gel-like solid soap. It was kind of weird. It was gray in color and didn’t lather really. Mine didn’t clean well. I’m sure I didn’t do things properly, though. (And I used whatever ashes I had in the fireplace, so I’m not sure about the quality of those either.)
I have a picture of it in my post about lye.
karen
I like the idea of using the slow cooker BUT one I have is only about 4.5 qts and the other is 18! Advice please. and thank you
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Karen,
I’m not sure it would fit in the smaller one. I’m planning on trying to make this in the oven soon. I can let you know what happens in case you’d prefer to try that method!
Michelle
Hi!
Thanks for the soap recipe! I am having a bit of trouble with it and I think it may be because my calculations are a bit off. I mixed everything together and my liquid soap was not saponifying. I added a little bit more lye mixture and it went to the mashed potato phase and now it looks like whipped cream. It almost looks too “fluffy”. Do you think this will still melt down into a soap base?
Thanks!
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Michelle,
I think if you followed the recipe correctly, you’re probably fine. For some reason, the stages look slightly different from time to time and from place to place. In the end, though, it usually has a way of working itself out. 😉
Bryn Isaksen
I’ve looked for someone with a similar comment but I didn’t see one. Sorry if this has been posted!
I’m making this for the first time and I think I added too much olive oil. It isn’t getting clumpy when I mix it. I dont have a mixer like you’ve shown- just a hand held beater. But whatever the deal, it is remaining a liquid in my crockpot. Any way I can save this batch? It was a big trip to get these ingredients and I dont want to start over! ?
Thank you!
Tracy Ariza
Hi Bryn,
Did it ever get to trace and solidify more?
If not, it’s really hard for me to try to troubleshoot without seeing it.
When you say that you may have used too much olive oil, does that mean that you weren’t weighing the amounts out?
These recipes are very precise, so it can make a big difference.
The beater should be fine for making the soap, and the heat of the crockpot should help move things along. That said, olive oil soaps do take a bit longer to reach trace. If you’re using a beater, it may take longer, and that may be the real problem.
I’d also want to know more about the ingredients used if you blended for a long time and it didn’t reach trace.
karen
Hi Tracy. Nice to meet you 🙂 I have gathered all the needed ingredients to “attempt” making this soap. I have never “made” soap, i’ve only recently started making melt and pour. So I’m a real beginner. My question is, and Im so happy to see you’re still responding to this page!, is… to be absolutely sure, the ingredients are all “weighed” correct? Including the olive oil? Im not just going to dump a 32 liquid ounce (1quart) bottle of olive in the cooker right? Im going to weigh out 32 ounces (2 pounds)? This may be some of what the confusion is. Also, at what temperature should the olive oil be when you mix in the other ingredients? Im excited to try this and the coconut castile soap as it is pretty pricey to buy castile soap. Im on a fixed income so I don’t want to mess it up =/ I hope it comes out like yours so I can impress my 4 daughters and teach my grands a new trick. lol. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I’ll be patiently waiting with materials at the ready… ?
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Karen,
Yes! You are completely correct about the weight. I normally write my bar soap recipes in grams to avoid confusion, but I use a different lye calculator for my liquid soap recipes. It calculates in ounces, so I’ve left it that way. If you click on “convert units” under the ingredients, though, it will show you in grams. I calculated it both ways and added that to help people who prefer working in grams (like me)! 😉
If you’re on a fixed income, I’d almost just go with the coconut oil soap. If you can find a cheap, refined coconut oil, it’s the cheapest way to make the soap. I’ve been meaning to make a new post about liquid soaps in general and explaining my new thoughts on this. (I actually started writing it, but never finished it and got distracted with other posts.)
Anyway, I’ll say now that I don’t notice a huge difference in the different liquid soaps. It was very surprising to me as the difference in a bar soap made with olive oil and one made with coconut oil is HUGE! They’re completely different. Here, though, there isn’t much more difference than that the coconut oil one is lighter in color and smells a bit different. (IT smells like Dr. Bronner’s unscented as theirs is mostly coconut oil.)
For me, living in Spain, it’s pretty cheap to make soap with either. Lately, though, I pretty much only make the coconut oil one anymore. I found an inexpensive source for coconut oil meant for soap making and it’s perfect for this sort of recipe. (I used to have to use the only coconut oil I could find here, organic virgin coconut oil, which was very expensive.)
The temperature isn’t a big deal. I just add the oils to the low temperature of my slow cooker. In reality, you could melt the coconut oil and do most of the process in cold, but you’d end up with an opaque soap that may not be fully saponified, meaning you may have some leftover lye.
That’s why it’s best to cook the paste.
I actually did some experimentation with “cold processing” liquid soap. It’s something I want to write about too. I had some fascinating findings. I don’t suggest doing that, though. 😉
Good luck with it. If you have any other questions along the way, let me know. I love that you are introducing new skills to your grandchildren. I wish I could have done this sort of thing with my grandmother.
karen
Hi again Tracy. Thank you so much for your timely reply! I didn’t even know castile soap came in bars! Ha! Yes, extremely new to this soap making business. Ok, so I went to fetch my bottle of olive oil I thought I had in the pantry but of course I couldn’t find it ? so I must have already used it. I use olive oil alot with my cooking. So this recipe is on hold until I get to the store. Im going to try it though and will let you know how it turns out. I do have some coconut oil though and hopefully its enough. Im going to click on that recipe next. And, since I now know you can make bars of castile soap I may try my hand at that as well. One of my 4 daughters really likes castile soap. Im wondering if she even knows it comes in bars ? But thats another project, I’ll have to get the correct lye for solid soap as I only ordered the one you have in this recipe. Until next time… Happy National Womans Day!
Karen
Hello again Tracy. Well I finally got my big bottle of olive oil and my big jar of coconut oil (the one I had wasn’t even enough for 1/2 recipe). I was too busy trying to get some toilet paper =/ I hope you are well during this crisis. So, I clicked on the coconut oil recipe then clicked on a diluting page and “Roger” had me dizzy lol! Then clicked on the PH page and now im so totally intimidated. Talk about Chem class 101 ? so, my new question is (before I even get started) are these liquid soap recipes ok to use as is or do I now have to get some sort of ph tester? We have basically been told to stay home until further notice here in RI so I’ve got plenty of time for my projects now, esp. since I’ve scored some tp ?
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Karen,
No need to buy a pH meter. The recipes on my blog are all calculated exactly. I don’t make them lye heavy and so there is no need to “neutralize” them later. I just give that information so that people who have heard about that sort of thing can understand what it is.
Soap is always going to be on the alkaline side. That’s just the way soap is.
The only reason you might want to check the pH is if you found your soap to be irritating to the skin for some reason. You could check the pH as one of the ways to troubleshoot what went wrong.
We’re fine here. We’re in mandatory confinement in our homes. Luckily, I live on the mountain and have a yard. Most people here live in small apartments, some without balconies. Unfortunately, the rain and bad weather is keeping us indoors anyway.
Stay safe! I think now is a great time to work on skills like soap making! Let me know if you need help along the way!
Karen
Tracy… Im backkk… lol! I made the olive oil paste today and wanted to share my experience. I followed all the instructions and weighed everything as you said. I opened my brand new crock pot/slow cooker and my brand new hand blender. I already wear glasses, I wore a sweat shirt with rubber bands at the wrists and nitrile gloves. I was a little afraid of the lye. First I would like to mention that when I added the lye to the water mixture I was either too scared or maybe got a whiff of scentless gas? So I moved away and calmed down/breathed then put on a face mask! Ha! serious stuff. It was raining outside so I mixed it near an exhaust fan in the window on high. Take away: if you can’t mix it outside wear a mask. Next, I didn’t know the lye, water, glycerin mix was going to get hot. I think you should mention that above, I don’t see it? I did just see it on your beginner bar soap page but I hadn’t read that page yet. Ok, so, my new cooker has high-low-warm settings. My older one which is too small for this purpose only has high or low. I put the heat on low per instructions. Well, I could not get the mixture to do anything, as in thicken, so I turned the heat down to warm and thats when it started to thicken. Obviously the low setting is too hot on this cooker so I thought I’de mention it as some may also have this same issue. I got through all the phases, let it cook 30 min. more and tried the “cooked” test with the water and it was clear. I turned it off, let it cool and put most away in a container. I added maybe a little more then equal parts distilled water to the remaining paste in the cooker and turned it back on to “low” to make a concentrate to go with tomorrows coconut paste trial. I stirred it while making dinner and after dinner and noticed maybe after 3 hours? or so it was finally all melting and getting clear. I turned it off. So long story short ? now I’ve got clear “gel”, not what I was expecting. Tomorrow I will add more water and reheat it. (didn’t want to crack the crock ?) Over on the coconut paste page you have a picture that shows a translucent gel on a spoon. This is what my “concentrate” looks like. My paste looks more like fudge? I did go through all the stages and stopped mixing after the potato stage when it got smooth again, cooked it an additional 1/2 hour and did the disolve test. Any ideas? I am happy with the end results, both the “fudge” and the gel work up a decent lather. Even the little “disolve test” water lathers with a handful and thats “well” water. I also think my hands feel softer after testing it all evening. One of my daughters has terrible eczema on her hands and Im hoping this will help, along with the coconut soap. I was reading through your beginner bar soap page and got a chuckle over the used oil experiment. I think it’s wonderful of you to be here sharing your knowledge and trials and tribulations and want to say Thank You! Im looking forward to making the next recipe ?
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Karen,
Thank you so much for all of the great feedback. I’m going to be updating these posts soon as I also want to make a starting page for how to make liquid soap and add to it (and these individual recipes) my more recent observations. Comments like yours are very helpful to me when I update posts like this one!
So, let me try to understand what happened…
You diluted it somewhat and it was too thick.
When you say your concentrate looks like fudge- does that mean it is opaque? or quite solid?
I end up with more of a pliable putty. It feels kind of like silly putty. Ha!
It should be fine either way. I’ve found that making the same recipe can give slightly different results depending on the current weather and temperature, the crockpot used, etc.
In the end, though, they all seem to work out.
Now that we have more time at home, it’s the perfect time to experiment with these sorts of adventures. ?
karen
Hi Tracy, Sending prayers your way for your wellbeing! So, I made the coconut liquid soap paste yesterday. It was a success! This is awesome! YOU are Awesome! Im like a kid at Christmas with a new toy ? I did a sink full of dishes with just the remnants of the olive soap that was on my cooker and utensils! I was so excited I even considered cleaning out the fridge just to have more dishes to wash. But no, lets not get carried away ? Anywho, I found it to be really good for washing dishes. They weren’t greasy and my plastics had that squeak of cleanliness. However, today I did the same when washing the cooker and utensils and dishes with the coconut soap and I didn’t think it did the plastics as well so I had to use the olive soap for those. But!!! I have been a Dawn user forever and thats all I will use so for me to be happy with this soap for doing my dishes is really, really, REALLY saying something! You’re awesome, did I mention that already? As for the olive soap paste, I think I just didn’t cook it long enough. I misinterpretted 3-4 hours as “up to” 3-4 hours because like I said it melted in the water clear after only 1/2 hour of cooking (after all the phases). The coconut paste didn’t do that and I cooked it about 3.5 hours before it finally did and it looked like your picture. The olive paste doesn’t look like maple fudge any longer either. The next day it had the green tinge to it and has since gotten a little darker and very slightly more translucent. As far as the olive concentrate “gel” I just think its super concentrated? I measured 1 cup of it into a mason jar and added 1 cup of almost boiling water to it and it liquified immediately. I put a little into a foam soap dispenser and it works awesome! Now Im like the mad scientist over here writing out formulas of how much paste and how much water, what do I want the ratios to be if I mix them, how much essential oil, how much do I think i’ve got total to spread between 5 houses etc. Good, no, I mean “Awesome” stuff here! My 4 daughters are all waiting to try it and want the recipe and the cost etc. You will have some new followers for sure ?. Im going to get some regular lye next so I can try the castile bar soap. That wont be for a while though because I already have a ton of melt and pour to use. If only I had found you sooner I could have saved some money on that. I figured out my cost (give or take a cpl pennies) at 6 cents per fluid ounce for the olive soap if it makes 2 gallons, less if it makes more. The coconut was even cheaper. Awesome ?
Sarah
Could you halve the recipe and have it still work? If not, how long does it stay good for and what do you normally store it in? I was thinking this will be perfect for my coconut allergic kiddos.
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Sarah,
Yes, you can halve it, but it keeps for a very long time if you store it in a cool, dark place. I’ve had some of my soap pastes for years now without issues. Some of the older ones, that I’ve kept mostly for curiosity, do start to smell a bit different- almost like if they could be going somewhat rancid. Not all of them have, though. (I think it’s mostly affected the one that had hemp and jojoba oils.)
Personally, I’d make the full recipe once you’re doing it because it can be used all over the house. We now use it in place of hand soap, shower gel, and I even hand wash dishes with it. (Lately, I’ve been making the coconut oil one, but I don’t see that much difference between them. I expected much more of a difference as the bar soaps made with one vs. the other are night and day.)
Huzaifa
I cooked it but I think I didnt cook the paste enough, the diluted soap is very milky. Is it okay ??
Tracy Ariza
Hi Huzaifa,
Yes, it can remain cloudy (with an opaque paste) when it isn’t cooked for long enough.
Most of the time, it will eventually convert to become more transparent on its own.
One time I purposely took some paste out to show the difference in appearance of the fully cooked vs. not fully cooked soap paste. I took too long to take the pictures, though, and several weeks later they looked and behaved exactly the same. I think that if it’s warm where you have it stored, it will finish up even faster.
It shouldn’t be a problem to use the soap. It may be slightly more alkaline and irritating to the skin if it hasn’t fully saponified. That would be the only issue I can think of.
It should still behave like soap and you should be able to use it for general cleaning. With time (if not immediately), you should be able to use it for skin too, and it should eventually be like a fully cooked soap.
Of course, if you find it isn’t behaving as you like, you can always cook it a bit longer too- either in a crockpot or a low-temperature oven. 😉
Kara Cross
Hello! Love your blog, thank you! Right as my soap was about to turn creamy to translucent streaks, the whole thing siezed up into a block. Any suggestions? It took a long time to get to trace, so I turned the heat up, if that might have contributed. Thanks!
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Kara,
In these situations, I suggest just turning off the slow cooker and allowing it to rest. Then, come back and take a look the next day. 99% of the time, the problems seem to resolve themselves, for some reason.
I’m not sure what could have happened, but it’s likely still usable.