Easy, Beginner DIY Liquid Castile Soap Recipe
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
To make liquid Castile soap, you only need a few basic tools. An immersion blender helps mix the oils and lye solution quickly so the soap reaches trace faster. A slow cooker works beautifully for keeping the soap at a steady, gentle heat while it cooks. A kitchen scale is also important here, since soap making relies on accuracy. Measuring by weight instead of volume helps ensure that your recipe turns out perfectly every time.
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 liquid castile soap (made from scratch with olive oil)
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.
- The mixture will go through stages, from creamy to grainy and back to smooth.
- 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. Let it sit until dissolved, or gently heat to speed it up.
Notes
- A slow cooker is perfect for this because it gently heats without burning and keeps everything at a steady temperature. If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can bake the paste in the oven or cook it in a double boiler.
- Take breaks while blending so you don’t burn out the motor of your immersion blender. If your blender gets too hot, you can pause and let it cook before continuing.
- If the mixture becomes too thick to blend at any point, switch to mixing with a wooden spoon.
- If you’ve cooked it for more than 3–4 hours and it still isn’t clear, there may be other issues. Tap water can cause cloudiness. For other possibilities, see my post on troubleshooting liquid soaps.
- This recipe makes about 4.5–5 pounds of soap paste, which can be diluted to 10–20 pounds of liquid soap or more, depending on how concentrated you want it. That’s roughly 1–2 gallons or more.
- Keep in mind that liquid soap is not as thick as commercial gels or surfactants. It has a thinner consistency and doesn’t need to be thick to be concentrated and work well.
- Undiluted soap paste can be stored in glass or plastic containers in a cool, dry place for more than a year. I’ve had some last for several years without any problems. It may eventually develop a slightly rancid smell, but can still be used for general cleaning.
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.
Does the liquid soap require curing time like the soiled Castillo soap does due to the lye?
Hi Julia,
No, you don’t really need to cure the liquid soap paste. It may still get slightly better with time, but it’s not due to anything with the lye. The saponification process has long finished after the cooking time, so you dodn’t have to worry about waiting for the lye to convert.
Some people like to let the soap sit after dissolving the paste in water, too, to give a clearer soap. This is basically just a cosmetic concern.
They do say that some other chemical processes continue on after the saponification process completes that may improve the soap slightly with time, but I haven’t personally found much of a difference with the liquid soaps.
Hi Tracy,
First off, thank you for the great DIY! I’ve been looking for something like this for quite sometime!
I’m attempting to make my own anti-fungal/antibacterial/antiseptic dog shampoo (I have a dog with itchy, yeasty skin) and this will be the foundation of my shampoo I’m hoping. My question is: once I’ve made the castile soap, can I use it as the base for my dog shampoo (adding other ingredients) without ruining the base soap. I see in the comments you mention that this is a fairly precise recipe, so should I add essential oils etc after the soap is already made, or should it be incorporated initially?
Thanks,
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
There is no problem adding in essential oils and other additives when you are going to dilute the soap paste. That’s how I normally do it.
You can read more about how I tend to dilute my soap in my post about how to dilute a liquid soap paste.
If your dog has sensitive skin, you can probably add in other things like small amounts of coconut milk or other nourishing additives too. I wouldn’t mix up large quantities, though; just enough for a one-time use. Adding in organic ingredients makes it easier to introduce bacteria into your soap mixture, so you don’t want to try to keep it for later unless you add a preservative. You can also add in some other oils, but it will probably make your soap cloudy, and too many could definitely reduce the effectiveness of the soap.
You may even consider making a conditioner for a final rinse. I actually use my homemade conditioner on my dog, and it really leaves her hair beautiful. A conditioner is basically formulated in the same way as a lotion, so it’s great for the skin. Mine is a very light one that can even be used as a leave in conditioner, so it doesn’t weigh down the hair. That said, I’d probably rinse it off a dog, just in case, but you don’t have to be super thorough about it.
I talk more about how I wash my dog’s fur, and my thoughts on using soap on a dog in my dog shampoo bar recipe post. You might want to give it a read to help you decide how you want to formulate your shampoo. 😉
I hope that helps give you more ideas!
Oh- in any case- don’t worry about ruining the recipe. Follow the recipe as-is to make the soap paste. Once you have that made, you can easily experiment with small amounts of diluted soap paste. If something doesn’t turn out as wanted, you’ll only have ruined a small batch and will still have the rest of your soap to play with.
Thanks for sharing the recipe. Please clarify the following:
Does the KOH water mixer to be mixed into oil while it is heating?
How long do we keep the mixture on heat? I mean when should be mixture removed from heat source?
Is slow cooker mandatory for making the soap?
I do not have slow cooker? How can i make this soap?
Hi Abhi,
You don’t need to mix the KOH water into the oil while it is heating, it will just hasten the process and make things a bit easier for you. Mixing them together without heat will take a lot longer to get to the point of “trace,” which is when the soap starts to form.
The slow cooker isn’t mandatory for making the soap, it just makes things easier because a slow cooker will maintain a low heat setting which will help you cook the soap paste without it burning. Some people choose to mix the soap over a double boiler instead, or will cook it in an oven in a baking pan.
All of this said- I’m going to say something controversial… you may not need heat this at all to make a soap paste. All liquid soap recipes I’ve seen have always used heat, though. I’ve been experimenting making a soap paste without heat, and I think my experiment will turn out well. Instead of heating, though, you need to wait at least several weeks for the paste to go from opaque to more transparent before you can use it. If you cook your soap, you can use it pretty much instantly afterwards.
In several weeks, if my cold process liquid soap experiment turns out well, I’ll be writing a new post about it and will explain my findings.
some liquid soap recipes call for borax or boric acid mixed with water to be added to the soap to neutralize the excess lye. I see this recipe doesn’t call for that. Why do some need it and others don’t? Who would want to do the extra step if it isn’t necessary?
Hi Lynne,
That’s a great question. I write more about the issue in my post about how to neutralize liquid soap.
When making liquid soap, many people are very concerned about their soap being crystal clear. So, to make sure that there aren’t any excess oils in the soap that can make it cloudy, they make those soaps with extra lye, and then later lower the pH with borax, boric acid or sometimes citric acid (for those trying to avoid borax). Neutralize is sort of a misleading term because soap is never neutral in pH, but it does bring the pH down to make it so that it isn’t alkaline enough to irritate your skin.
I’ve found that when using the glycerin method, not only is the process slightly easier, but the final soap is nice and mild. I don’t use a lye excess in my recipe, but don’t superfat it either. The idea is that the recipe is exact, using just the right amount of oils for the lye used. Of course slight mis-measurements or differences in ingredients could mean that you have a tad of either lye or oil leftover, but in either case it shouldn’t be enough to either cloud the soap or to be alkaline enough to irritate your skin. (If it were, you could always lower the pH a bit with one of the mentioned acids.)
If you don’t care if your soap is transparent, you could always superfat the soap slightly for a more moisturizing soap. When people make recipes for body washes, they often add oils and other moisturizing ingredients to liquid Castile soap. The final product is more moisturizing, but not crystal clear.
I personally prefer to avoid borax and boric acid, as I’m not comfortable using them. Citric acid is better, but a bit harder to work with to get a clear soap. I tried to develop an easy recipe that would give most people a relatively clear soap without having to do that extra step.
I hope that makes sense. 🙂
Hi Tracy! Thank you for posting all of this great information! Two questions for you (1) I am thinking to make a batch of soap paste and then dilute it as needed over several months; how do you store the paste? Does it need to be stored in the refrigerator? (2) when adding essential oils to the paste for purposes of scenting, would you add the oils as you are diluting in water, or add the essential oil to the paste first so it can incorporate with the fats, then wait a while, and then dilute? thank you again!
Hi Kerri,
Great questions.
I do exactly that- I dilute whatever I need and keep the rest as a soap paste so that it will keep longer. I’ve kept batches for over a year in glass jars in cupboards and that has worked well for me. You can probably use plastic or silicone containers, too. I’d stay away from metal, though, as I’ve found it can react with the soap paste somewhat.
I add in the essential oils when I’m diluting. That way I can keep adding to scent. 😉
I have more information about how to dilute liquid soap paste in this post. I also just posted a new liquid soap recipe last night that uses several oils (like Dr. Bronner’s). I haven’t had a chance to link to that post from this one yet, but you can find how to make a multipurpose liquid Castile soap like Dr. Bronner’s here (in case you’re interested in that one instead).
Hi Tracy!
I was wondering if you know…what effect does the amount of water you add to the KOH have on the final product of the soap? I’ve seen recipes with a lot less water added with the KOH and other recipes that say just triple the KOH to get the amount of water needed. Any insight? Thanks!
Hi Christin,
Honestly, I don’t think it really matters. If you use less water, you’ll probably just end up with a thicker soap paste that is harder to dissolve later on. That, of course, will also depend a lot on how long you cook it.
I think pretty much all of the liquid soap information is all based on one book, and I’m finding through experimentation that some of the information written as set in stone may not be. I still want to experiment a bit more before I write a post about it, but I’m finding that even the whole hot processing probably isn’t necessary.
This recipe makes a soap paste that very easily dissolves in water. I don’t even usually heat up the mixture, I just leave the paste with some water for a few hours and let it dissolve on its own. I’ve read from other people that some liquid soap pastes are very difficult to dissolve. I think the glycerin helps, and probably the amount of water in it.
I hope that helps! 🙂
Thanks so much for your insight. I’ll definitely be experimenting some more. Because it seems everything needs to be weighed out so precisely, I just found it interesting that the soap calcs seem to give very different #s for the water. Thanks again!!
Thank you for the recipe. My 100% olive oil soap gel is now beautifully translucent on its own, so I suspect dilution will just get it to usable range.
Yay!
I’m so happy to hear it! Enjoy your soap! 🙂
Hi Tracy!
I just make my own liquid castile soap!
Aaah! So happy that this recipe work so well!
It’s so translucent. I halved the recipe.
At first, it did not turn out like yours step by step. Mine didn’t even reach that mashed potato /grainy stage. Don’t know why. But i just cook it until 4hrs and done the clarity test. And the result looks wonderfully translucent. I’m amazed that i could make my own liquid castile soap!
Thanks so much Tracy!
You’re so welcome, Adrianne!
Thanks for letting me know it worked out well for you. 🙂
Yes, I’ve made this recipe several times since then, and it doesn’t always look exactly the same throughout the process. That said, it always seems to eventually work itself out right.
I think maybe subtle differences in different oils used (from different brands), temperature variations, etc., can all affect the process slightly.
I think liquid soap is one of the best, the most cost effective DIY projects there is. Welcome to the world of liquid soap making!
Can I use the type of immersion blender that has a plastic covering on the “stick”? The one you have pictured has a metal stick. Thank you. K
Hi Kwasa,
I’ve never seen an immersion blender with a plastic covering, but my best guess is that should be fine using that.
Lye can burn through some plastics, like plastic #1, but it’s normally OK to use with most of the more durable plastics. I would expect them to use a more durable plastic for something like that, so I can’t imagine it being a problem.
In any case, by the point you begin to use the immersion blender, you’ve already stirred the lye mixture into the oils, so the reaction has already started to take place. There’s probably not enough straight lye solution left to do anything bad to your plastic covering.
Hi, Tracy.
Can i half the recipe? Because my crockpot not large enough to make the full recipe.
Really want to try this recipe asap! Hehe..
Thanks.
Hi Adrianne,
Yes, that’s fine! As long as you maintain the proportions, you should be OK! 🙂
Good luck! I hope it goes well for you!
Ok, I started this soap last night and it still isn’t ready. My work area is in my basement and it stays around 68-70 degrees in here. Could it be too could?? Should I turn my slow cooker up to high?? I only have low and high on it. I’m about over this soap, but I don’t want to waste it. HELP!!
Hi Dana,
Definitely don’t throw it out. It could be something about the temperature. Other people have told me that theirs started working when they turned the heat up higher. I’m considering updating the post to tell people that they may need to turn the heat up higher on their slow cookers, but I’m afraid of people burning the soap. I’d give it a try, but would keep a close eye on it.
I will say one thing: I recently did an experiment. It actually wasn’t meant to be an experiment, but I separated out a small amount of the paste before processing it in the slow cooker. I wanted to show the difference between processed and unprocessed paste. The unprocessed was more opaque and white. I set it aside for several weeks, and when I took it out again to take final pictures of my soap, guess what I found? The unprocessed paste had become translucent too!
I’ll be diluting both soon to see what happens, and if I can even tell a difference between the two! It may be that you don’t even really need to process the soap in the slow cooker if you aren’t in a hurry to use the soap. It appears that eventually the paste may get where it needs to be on its own. In any case, I suspect that all of the processing is really only done to get a translucent soap. If you don’t care about that, it’s probably not even necessary. (I’ll be doing more experiments with that, and will try to share the results as soon as I can!)
Good luck!
Im curious. Did your unprocessed paste make a translucent liquid soap? How did it turn out?
Hi Nadi,
To be honest, I never got around to adding water to it.
I can add some this weekend, and let you know.
I’ve been meaning to make a full batch of liquid soap without hot processing to see what happens, but I’ve been really busy with back to school stuff and planning for my son’s birthday party next week. After that’s done, I’ll hopefully have more time for experimenting.
I’m sorry. I missed this comment when it arrived. I’ve been finding a few as I clear out the box.
It’s still pretty opaque even now, but I think that’s due to the cold weather. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens as the weather heats up.