Are you looking for a tutorial on how to make liquid soap?
Making liquid hand soap is a fun activity you can do on a weekend.
We say weekend because the time making liquid soap from scratch will take more than just an afternoon.
Compared to the cold process soap making, this liquid soap recipe we listed for you will be the hot process method.
If you love liquid castile soap you can now make your own with this step-by-step process.
How to Make Liquid Soap: Ingredients
Soap making is a chemical process whether it be bar soap or liquid. Think of it as a take-home science project. Before we move to the how to make liquid soap process here is a short list of terms to keep in mind:
- Saponification is the process in which soap is created. It is a chemical reaction between the building blocks of fats and oils (triglycerides) and lye.
- Lye is a very-alkaline product also used in food and cleaning supplies. There are two types of lye used in soap making depending on whether its a liquid or solid soap:a. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is used when you’re making hard bar soaps.b. Potassium hydroxide (KOH) which will be our main ingredient in making our natural liquid soap.
Here are the necessary ingredients and their measurements to complete our soap recipe:
Oils
- Refined coconut oil: 600 grams
- Extra Virgin Olive oil: 105 grams
- Castor oil: 45 grams
- Different oils you can use aside from the usual coconut oil and olive oil: rice bran oil, sunflower oil, and palm oil.
Lye Solution
1) Potassium Hydroxide (KOH): 2 liters
2) Distilled Water: 429.63 grams
Diluting The Soap Paste
- Vegetable glycerine
- Distilled water: 2 liters
- Soap dye
- Natural Essential oils or fragrance oils
Adding Preservatives
Adding preservatives is totally up to you. You can choose not to use preservatives or you can choose natural options such the rosemary extract (Rosmarinus officinalis). The rosemary extract not only extends the shelf life of soaps but is also a natural antioxidant which is another plus for your homemade natural liquid soap. It will really depend on your liquid soap recipes.
Equipment
Remember that soap making is a chemical process. Just like scientists in the lab we have to make sure that we are well geared for mixing ingredients:
- Goggles
- Long rubber gloves
- Face mask
- Apron
Equipment needed for measuring, mixing, and pouring your ingredients:
- Digital scale/kitchen scale – it is important that we follow the proper proportions for each ingredient to come up with the best results.
- Stick blender, immersion blender, or electric hand whisk.
- Crockpot or any slow cooker.
- A rubber spatula or silicone spoons
- Strainer or sieve.
- Mixing bowls that can either be made of glass, aluminum, or PET anything that can handle hot liquids.
- Mason jars/8 oz PET plastic bottles.
- Ph strips – will be used for testing acidity.
How to Make Liquid Hand Soap: The Process
Prepping your work area:
1) Find a place in your house that is well ventilated.
2) Cover your workplace with newspapers.
3) Make sure you gear up: Put on your mask, goggles, apron, and gloves before anything else.
How to Make Liquid Soap Paste
Natural Body Wash - pH Balance Soap for Men & Women
Natural Body Wash - pH Balance Soap for Men & Women
- ✔️ MOISTURIZING BODY WASH: Best for women and men. Cleans without stripping.
- ✔️ ALL NATURAL PH BALANCED: Crafted for dry and sensitive skin. Stay moisturized.
- ✔️ MADE IN TEXAS: 100% natural. No triclosan, sulfates, formaldehyde and other junk.
Step 1: Carefully measure all your ingredients using your digital or kitchen scale. Separate the ingredients in different containers: separate oils (coconut oil, olive oil, and caster oil), water, and lye.
Step 2: Set your slow cooker to medium heat and pour your oils inside (coconut oil, olive oil, caster oil). Once the oils are in liquid form keep the heat on medium and set it aside for now. Do not turn off the crockpot.
Step 3: For preparing the lye solution it is best to stay outdoors:
- Get your bowl or glass container that has the measured water.
- Pour the measured lye crystals into the water and stir until the lye completely dissolves.
*Note: Pour the lye into the water and not the other way around.
According to soap makers the mixture will cause a fizzle or crackle which is completely normal.
Step 4: Pour the lye solution into the crockpot where your oils are. For this process you will need your blender and a lot of patience:
- Without turning on the blender, gently stir the mixture;
- Next, position the blender in the center of your cooker and press it right against the bottom and then turn the blender on for a few seconds;*Note: Do not move the blender around while mixing, just leave it in the center.
- Step two, turn off the blender and stir the mixture once again.
- Repeat the two steps (blend in the center and then turned off to stir the ingredients) until you see the mixture slightly thicken.
- Finally, put the lid on the crockpot and allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes before checking back on it.
Do these three steps: mix-blend-let sit for 5 minutes several times until the mixture will look like mashed potatoes.
Step 5: For this step you will need a timer to help you. You’re going to leave the mashed potato-like mixture inside the slow cooker still on medium heat for 3-6 hours.
- During these 3-6 hours you will have to mix the ingredients every 30 minutes. So the timer will come in handy.
- The texture of the soap will slowly change to a glue-like or taffy mixture.
Step 6: After hours of repeating this process your soap will now look like paste somewhat like vaseline – glossy golden translucent in color.
NOTE: If you’re hours in the cooking process and nothing is happening it is suggested to unplug the cooker. Cover the cooker with a towel and let it sit overnight.
If the next day and the mixture still did not reach the vaseline texture keep heating it again following the stirring process.
Step 7: Testing the Liquid Soaps
For this step we will now figure out if the soap is ready or whether it is lye-heavy or not:
Checking to see for “unsaponified” oil in the liquid hand soap:
- Get a teaspoon full of your paste and mix it in hot distilled water. Mix it thoroughly and then let it cool.
- Soap Cloudy Water: this means you will have to cook the paste for another 30 minutes and then test again.
- Oil is on the surface of the water: this means you will have to cook the paste again and then test it again.
- Translucent Water: This means you can now go to the diluting process.
Checking the soap for excess lye:
- Dilute 1-part of your paste into 99-parts hot distilled water and then let it cool.
- Using a pH strip (Litmus test strip) check if the soap is between 9-10. Dip the test strip in the paper and let it dry completely to get the most accurate results.*Note: Hot process soap is supposed to be alkaline. If the paste is higher than 10 then it means it is lye-heavy.
- If the pH level is higher than 10 add diluted citric acid to the paste and then check the pH level again.
*Note: Make sure you do not go below 9 or else the mixture will destabilize.
Diluting the Soap Paste: Making Liquid Soap
If you want to know how to make liquid soap then you have to follow this next step.
After making the soap batter, it is finally time to dilute it to complete making our own liquid soap. Keep an eye out on how much soap you’re going to dilute. You don’t have to use the entire batch just yet. Only a part of the paste will be enough for a month’s worth of soap.
Note: 100 grams of paste can provide you with approximately 200ml of soap.
Step 1: Set aside a part of the paste you’re going to dilute. The rest of the paste you can store inside mason jars for future use.
The soap paste will have a 2-year shelf life so there is no need for preservatives. The paste can also be used as is without having to make liquid soap through the diluting process.
Step 2: For this part you will be needing your digital or kitchen scale again.
- Distilled Water: Multiply the weight of the soap paste by 0.8:
- (weight of paste) (0.8) = how much distilled water you need.
- Glycerine: Multiply the weight of the soap paste by 0.2:
- (weight of paste) (0.2) = how much glycerine you need.
Step 3: After adding the distilled water and glycerine turn the crockpot on to high heat until all the ingredients are warm.
Step 4: Gently stir the mixture and then turn the heat down just enough to keep warm. Leave the mixture for an hour.
Step 5: After 1 hour stir the mixture again until all lumps are smoothened over. Once everything is smooth it’s time to turn the cooker off.
Step 6: Cover the slow cooker with a towel and then leave it to sit for several hours but not overnight. Check after several hours if the mixture is liquified.
If the soap is still clumpy heat the mixture again and then gently stir and then repeat the process.
Step 7: When the soap is in liquid form, let it completely cool. Once cooled pour it through a sieve or strainer into a bowl.
Step 8: Adding Essential Oils: You can now add essential oils to your liking. Add 10-20 drops of your essential oil or fragrance oil for every 200ml of your finished liquid soap. You can opt for a lavender essential oil to add a relaxing scent to your hand soap.
Step 9: Transfer the finished soap into a pump bottle or squeeze bottle and you can finally use your homemade natural liquid soap! Aside from being a hand soap, this can also be used as body soap, dish soap, and even laundry soap.
A Natural Soap Alternative:
You don’t have to know how to make liquid soap if you can buy the best natural liquid soap.
If you find liquid soap making from scratch tedious or perhaps just need a natural soap to base your own soap recipes we’ve got just the right product for you: The Crown Choice Natural Body Wash
Natural Body Wash - pH Balance Soap for Men & Women
Natural Body Wash - pH Balance Soap for Men & Women
- ✔️ MOISTURIZING BODY WASH: Best for women and men. Cleans without stripping.
- ✔️ ALL NATURAL PH BALANCED: Crafted for dry and sensitive skin. Stay moisturized.
- ✔️ MADE IN TEXAS: 100% natural. No triclosan, sulfates, formaldehyde and other junk.
- This product is guaranteed plant-based and cruel free and eco-friendly.
- It is non-irritating and can be used around children and pets.
- It comes in peppermint lemon zest scents to keep you energized throughout the day.
- If you’re wary about scents, check out the unscented version.
