Do you want to know how to make liquid soap? Do you know that liquid soap is one of the most common items you would find readily available in almost every kitchen?
Gone are the days when bar soaps and detergents are being used to wash plates. I noticed the rate at which people are making liquid soap right from their homes has increased over the years.
In short, there is no household that wouldn’t have liquid soap, either in the wash hand basin to wash hands or for bathing in the bathroom or for cleaning surfaces in the house, there is always a liquid soap at hands reach.
Not quite long we made a post on how to make kunu drink; you should check them out.
So, if you would like to learn how to make liquid soap on your own either for home use or for commercial purposes, this article is exactly what you need.
Yes, I’ll share with you quick tips on liquid soap production from scratch, quick tips that’ll help when you are making liquid soap.
Let’s get down to business.
How to Make Liquid Soap From Scratch
To learn liquid soap making from scratch there are certain items you would need, combining potassium hydroxide solution with various carrier oils and cosmetic butter makes liquid soap.
Chemical Formula For Making Liquid Soap & Chemical Properties
If you want your liquid soap more natural then sulfonic acid which belongs to the organosulfur compound is the right choice to add as cleaning and foaming agent.
With the general formula of R−S(=O)2−OH this chemical will neutralize the basic effect of caustic soda. It application range in acid-based-product such as detergents to flow batteries.
Some carrier oils do better in liquid soap and some are best if left out. In the preparation of liquid soap, these are the ingredients needed to make it from scratch:
- Potassium Hydroxide: KOH is the caustic substance used for soap
- Water: Obviously you need water, it is used to dissolve the caustic to make soap
- Sodium Triphosphate: With symbol or formula of Na5P3O10 also widely known as STTP is one of the chemicals you should know and use in making liquid soap. This compound is used as cleanliness and thickness agent.
- Sodium Carbonate: Also known as soda ash, and soda crystal is a water-soluble sodium salt with Na2CO3 as its formula. It is used as a cleaning agent it also used for thickening the soap.
- Sulfuric acid: With the general formula of R−S(=O)2−OH this chemical will neutralize the basic effect of caustic soda. It application range in acid-based-product such as detergents to flow batteries.
- Hydroxyethylcellulose: Also known as Natrosol Hydroxyethylcellulose is used as cleaning and thickness agent. It is also used in adhesives, ceramics, building, porcelain and many more.
- Glycerol: Is a simple polyol compound is used as a moisturizer in cleaning product especially liquid soap. This compound is very good to use as it is odorless, colorless and non-toxic chemical.
- Tocopherols and tocotrienols (Vitamin E): Vitamin E is a skin vitamin, it shields skin from damage and at the same time boost the immune system. Vitamin E that used in soap making could be in capsule form or in liquid form as in oil form.
- Sodium Hydroxide: NaOH is used in liquid soap preparation as cleaning and thickening agent. NaOH is a white, corrosive solid or comes in a powder form. It is also known as lye in soap making terms.
- Clear liquid oils: Such as olive oil, rice bran oil, apricot kernel oil, Sunflower oil, avocado oil, sweet almond oil, etc.
- Castor oil: It is a solvent and it helps with the clarity of the soap
- Coconut oil: It adds bubbling and cleansing action to liquid soap.
- Palm oil and cosmetic butter: These are shea butter, cocoa butter, and mango butter.
- Fragrance oils: They are synthetic man-made aromatic ingredients that are used to scent soaps.
- Essential oils: They are considered a natural way to fragrance your soap. They are extracted from plant materials (flowers, bark, seeds, peel, roots, and leaves)
- Liquid dyes: They are the best way to color liquid soaps
- Foamer bottle: They are popular bottles used to package liquid soaps
- Bottles with pumps: These are numerous sizes and styles of bottles with pumps used for packaging liquid soap.
Processes Involved When Making Liquid Soap from Scratch
These are the steps to follow when you want to make liquid soap:
STEP 1: Weigh out the water needed for the caustic solution and weigh out the potassium hydroxide.
STEP 2: Pour the potassium hydroxide in the water while stirring gently and set aside to cool down.
STEP 3: Weigh all the oils into a pot, melt any solid oil before putting them in the pot.
STEP 4: Put the pot on fire and heat on high
STEP 5: Pour the potassium hydroxide into the oil, you don’t need to allow it cool down as soon as all the oils are melted and the solution turns clear you can mix.
STEP 6: Blend the mixture together with a stick for about 10 minutes while the heat is still on high, leave for 10 minutes and come back to stir again…….the heat helps.
STEP 7: Cover the pot and let it cook for about 30 minutes, do not stir it.
STEP 8: Stir really well after 30 minutes.
STEP 9: Let it cook for another 1 hour until the soap turns translucent…….do not stir.
STEPÂ 10: Boil water and a liquid glycerine in a stainless steel stockpot.
STEP 11: Spoon the liquid soap paste into water and glycerine, turn off the heat and let it sit and cover tightly.
Stir the solution every now and then and let it cool off then turn the burner onto medium high and let it heat up again. Stir and turn off the heat finally.
STEP 12: Allow the mixture to sit because it takes time for the liquid soap to absorb the water then start dilution and let the dilution phase happen overnight.
STEP 13: Once it is diluted you can add scent.
STEP 14: Bottle the soap and it is ready for use.
That is how to make liquid soap from scratch, just follow the steps above and you are good to go.
How to Make Liquid Soap for Dish washing  In Nigeria
In this section, you’ll learn steps to follow to make liquid soap dish washing. There are different ways to make liquid soap for dish washing.
The ingredients needed are as follows:
- CMC or PAC-R or Entisol
- Sulphonic acid
- Caustic soda
- Soda ash
- Color-green
- Perfume
- Texapon
- SLS (Sodium Laurel Sulphate)
Processes Involved
To make liquid soap for dishwashing, here are the steps involved below:
STEP 1: Drench CMC or PAC-R into 10 liters of water and leave it for two to three days to dissolve properly, this would look like pap or starch when it is properly dissolved.
STEP 2: Dissolve the soda ash in water and pour into the CMC and stir.
STEP 3: Dissolve SLS in water to give a clear and pour into the CMC and stir.
STEP 4: Dissolve texapon and pour into the above mixture.
STEP 5: Pour the sulphonic acid into the CMC solution.
STEP 6: Dissolve caustic soda in water and stir properly then pour into the mixture.
STEP 7: Wait for the lather to disappear then add color and perfume.
STEP 8: Bottle the liquid soap and it is ready for use.
General Tips for Liquid Soap Production
- Liquid soap making requires patience……you have to be patient to make a good liquid soap
- You cannot super fat liquid soap to the same degree that you can with bar soap………..if you super fat a liquid soap beyond certain percent and add your fragrance or scent it would have an unappealing look.
- Be careful when diluting your soap paste …………do not dilute your soap with anything other than distilled water.
- Some oils are more suited for making liquid soap than others.
- Some additives can cause problems when making liquid soaps………..Some additives may reduce lather in your liquid soap.
- Liquid soap always needs to be tested and adjusted.
- Test your fragrance before adding it to the whole liquid soap.
How to Make Liquid Soap For Bathing
These are the ingredients needed for making liquid soap for bathing.
- Nitrosol
- Laurel rice
- Texapon
- STPP
- Pine oil
- Phenol
- Glycerine
- Vitamin E
- Perfume
- Colour
The procedure on how to make liquid soap for bathing is in the steps below:
Step 1: Get two bowls and fill the first bowl with 20 liters of water.
Step 2: Pour nitrosol in the bowl of water and stir properly.
Step 3: Add all the laurel rice into the mixture and stir.
Step 4: Add all the texapon into the mixture and stir properly.
Step 5: Fill the second bowl with 2 litres of water.
Step 6: Dissolve all the STPP in the second bowl.
Step 7: Pour the solution of the second bowl into the first bowl.
Step 8: Add a little pine oil into the mixture ad stir properly.
Step 9: Add the phenol into the mixture and stir then add the glycerine and stir properly.
Step 10: Add perfume into the mixture and stir very well.
Step 11: Add the color into the mixture and stir together.
Step 12: Add all the vitamin E into the mixture and stir very well.
Step 13: Package into the bottle and it is ready to be used.
How to Make Liquid Soap (Summary)
There you have it on how to make liquid soap for various purposes. I hope with this you can make your own liquid soap either for personal use at home or for commercial purposes.
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