Liquid Soap That Is Natural & Amazing

Now that summer is almost here and school is out, I have plenty of time to work on projects.

I’ve mastered cold and hot process soap making, so the next step was to learn how to make liquid soap. Sure, you can just grate some bar soap and pour hot water over it. After a few days gel will form and you’ll have liquid soap. But how would you like to make your own perfect shampoo, body wash and dish soap? I’ve figured it all out for you.


Liquid Soap Ingredients

Like hot and cold process soap, there is a lye component and an oil component.

The lye component is a bit different. Sodium hydroxide is used to make hard bar soap while potassium hydroxide is used to make liquid soap. Potassium hydroxide is harder to find and comes in flakes, not beads. The flakes are easier to work with, but are still caustic, so gloves and protective eyewear must be used. You’ll also need a small amount of borax. The other ingredients include, water, coconut oil, olive oil, essential oils and colors. You can source all of these ingredients organically except the potassium hydroxide.

Note: Keep in mind that all of the potassium hydroxide is eliminated during the soap making process through a reaction called saponification. It’s no longer caustic at this point.

Equipment

Like hot process soap making, you’ll need a slow cooker, a stick blender, quart jar (I use a wide mouth jar) and plastic stirring spoons. Since this recipe is measured in ounces, you’ll also need a kitchen scale. Additional equipment includes a plastic potato masher and a large jar for the resting period. You may also need a thermometer, and a ladle to move your soap. You’ll also need additional water for diluting the soap paste and mixing with the borax for neutralizing the soap.

Recipe for Liquid Soap







Trace – thick pudding to applesauce
Custard-like with small bubbles
Watery mashed potatoes
Taffy
Chunky to creamy petroleum jelly
Translucent petroleum jelly
Each stage could take 30 minutes or longer. Be patient! When I did this the first time, I thought it would never work and just when I was going to give up, it finally came together. You’ll be able to stir it at every stage except for the taffy stage. You may need the potato masher for this. It will be difficult, but keep going!

Testing the soap & last stages

When you get to the last stage and it looks translucent, you can test it. Add 1 ounce of soap paste to 2 ounces of boiling water. Stir until dissolved. Let sit a few minutes. If it turns clear or is slightly cloudy, it’s ready. If it’s really cloudy or milky, cook your soap another 30 minutes or so. Test again. If it’s still cloudy, you may still need to cook it or you could have mis-measured. If that happens, keep going, but use it for laundry detergent.

If it’s clear when tested, then you can go to the next step. Bring the 40 ounces of distilled or filtered water to a boil in a large pot with a lid. Add all of the soap paste and stir. You may need the potato masher here as well. When it’s all incorporated, turn off the heat, put the lid on and wait. After an hour, stir it. If it’s chunky or goopy, let it sit for a while longer. I do this so that I can leave it overnight. Otherwise I’ll be checking it every 5 minutes!

Once it’s all smooth, you can neutralize it with a mixture of borax in water. Dissolve 1 ounce of borax in 2 ounces of boiling water. It’s important to keep it hot. Weigh out 2 ounces of this and add it to the soap base, ½ ounce at a time. When it’s all mixed in, you can then add color and whatever essential oils you wish. I usually add 2-3 ounces, but no more than 3 ounces.

The Rest Period

Now you can ladle your soap into a large jar. I use a gallon size glass jar for this. Secure the lid and leave it for a week or so. This allows any solid particles to settle to the bottom. When your soap is clear, pour it into smaller bottles, label and enjoy! Just be sure not to disturb the sediment on the bottom or you’ll have to wait for it to settle again.

I’ve used mine for shampoo, body wash, dish soap and hand soap. Next I’ll be adding essential oils to make a dog shampoo. They have slightly more acidic skin, so I’ll be adding a bit of lemon juice to the shampoo just before I use it.

Ingredients

16.5 ounces olive oil (find unrefined organic olive oil here)
7 ounces coconut oil (find unrefined organic coconut oil here)
5.5 ounces potassium hydroxide (find it here)
16.5 ounces distilled or filtered water (find the best water filtration systems here)
40 ounces distilled or filtered water
3 ounces borax (find it here)
6 ounces distilled or filtered water
essential oils, optional
color, optional

Directions

The Process

Weigh your olive oil and coconut oil and place them into the slow cooker. Turn on low.
In the quart jar, weigh your water. Slowly add the weighed potassium hydroxide, stirring gently as it’s added. Don’t be surprised at any sounds or reactions you may hear. (Potassium hydroxide reacts slightly differently than sodium hydroxide in water.)
When the potassium hydroxide is all mixed in and the solution appears clear, add your water/potassium hydroxide mixture to the oils. Don’t worry about the temperature.
Carefully stir by hand for 5 minutes to be sure all the oils come into contact with all of the potassium hydroxide.
After 5 minutes, begin stirring with the stick blender. It could take up to 30 minutes to achieve “trace.” (In soap making, trace is normally when the mixture is thick like vanilla pudding, but with potassium hydroxide trace might look more like applesauce.)
The mixture might look like it’s going to separate, but don’t stop until you have trace.
Cook in the slow cooker for about 30 minutes with the lid on. Check after 30 minutes. If it’s separated, stir it back in.
Check every 30 minutes for 3-4 hours.

Stages to look for:

During the 3-4 hour cooking stage, your soap mixture will go through several stages. They’ll look like this:
Trace – thick pudding to applesauce
Custard-like with small bubbles
Watery mashed potatoes
Taffy
Chunky to creamy petroleum jelly
Translucent petroleum jelly

Each stage could take 30 minutes or longer. Be patient! When I did this the first time, I thought it would never work and just when I was going to give up, it finally came together. You’ll be able to stir it at every stage except for the taffy stage. You may need the potato masher for this. It will be difficult, but keep going!

Testing the soap & last stages:

When you get to the last stage and it looks translucent, you can test it. Add 1 ounce of soap paste to 2 ounces of boiling water. Stir until dissolved. Let sit a few minutes. If it turns clear or is slightly cloudy, it’s ready. If it’s really cloudy or milky, cook your soap another 30 minutes or so. Test again. If it’s still cloudy, you may still need to cook it or you could have mis-measured. If that happens, keep going, but use it for laundry detergent.

If it’s clear when tested, then you can go to the next step. Bring the 40 ounces of distilled or filtered water to a boil in a large pot with a lid. Add all of the soap paste and stir. You may need the potato masher here as well. When it’s all incorporated, turn off the heat, put the lid on and wait. After an hour, stir it. If it’s chunky or goopy, let it sit for a while longer. I do this so that I can leave it overnight. Otherwise I’ll be checking it every 5 minutes!

Once it’s all smooth, you can neutralize it with a mixture of borax in water. Dissolve 1 ounce of borax in 2 ounces of boiling water. It’s important to keep it hot. Weigh out 2 ounces of this and add it to the soap base, ½ ounce at a time. When it’s all mixed in, you can then add color and whatever essential oils you wish. I usually add 2-3 ounces, but no more than 3 ounces.

The Rest Period:

Now you can ladle your soap into a large jar. I use a gallon size glass jar for this. Secure the lid and leave it for a week or so. This allows any solid particles to settle to the bottom. When your soap is clear, pour it into smaller bottles, label and enjoy! Just be sure not to disturb the sediment on the bottom or you’ll have to wait for it to settle again.

I’ve used mine for shampoo, body wash, dish soap and hand soap. Next I’ll be adding essential oils to make a dog shampoo. They have slightly more acidic skin, so I’ll be adding a bit of lemon juice to the shampoo just before I use it.

More Info

Servings / Yield: Unspecified
Prep Time: Unspecified   /   Total Time: Unspecified
Category: Other
Keywords: liquid soap