Jump to content

Liquid Soap Stages


Hibiscus

Recommended Posts

I thought some of you might be interested in seeing these pictures.

It takes a bit longer to make LS but it's worth it. I'm working on batch number 4 tonight!:yay:

1.Thick Trace

2.Applesauce

3.Gel Paste

4.Very Thick/dry paste

5.Taffy ( not stringy to me but very dry and thick)

Also, when I doubled the recipe the stages were different or non existent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've already posted the pic of the finished liquid soap without the dye but just to show that it takes dye very well even after it was made opaque from my FO. This soap is supposed to be transparent but so far when I test for clariy it always has a faint to medium amber color. I've used pink/green/blue and purple.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for posting the pictures of the LS stages! I found them very interesting. :cheesy2: One of these days I have to get myself in gear and try making some (instead of only enjoying this cool product through the kindness of someone on this board who loves the color purple!)

Cool pictures!:yay: Why do you think the stages were different or non-existent when the recipe was doubled?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it was because of the extra heat in the larger batch. I didn't do anything different. It traced faster and went to applesauce in the blink of an eye and from there there was thick mashed potatoes that kept getting thicker until I had a a glob of impossible to stir and stiff enough to support my spoon soap. I didn't see any of this in my first batch which as I said was half this size. I never saw the gel stage.

I thought I had used the wrong lye or that it was ruined but slowly after a couple of hours it started to soften up to the point where I could stir it again and that's when i tested it for clarity, boiled my water for dilution, began dilution and went to bed!

BTW..purple is not one of my fave colors. That would be black or burgundy! ;-) but my daughter loves lavender!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, Hibiscus!! It came out GREAT!!! Now how long did it take in the crock pot? I'll post my picture's this weekend when the entire batch is diluted....

In the crock it took my first batch about 5 hours and the second was maybe two hours and the third was 3-4 hours. The second batch(my recipe) I brought my soap to trace before I put it in the crock and it was gelling much faster than the others. It came out a little thinner than the others but that was ok because I think I found away to thicken it besides using borax. Can't wait to see your pics:highfive:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks! It's definitely not for everyone and if you have issues with patience or really don't like to cook, I would suggest you stick to bar soap..lol

Once you get the soap to the gel stage it's pretty much a done deal. You can always dilute it two or three days later if you want. I am sure to make large batches to make it worth the time. And once you get past trace. put the top on and go make some bar soap!...you don't have to stand by that pot for 5 hours unless you really like doing that sort of thing..lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After allowing the soap to rest for a few days it was time to see what my FO and Dye would do to it. In my first batch the FO changed the soap from transparent to opaque and thickened the soap which was not a bad thing. It began the consistency of hand soap.

1.I added 2 drops of MMS blue Dye-Still Clear and the consistency of hand soap

2.Added 1 tsp of Ocean Mist from RA and it became twice as thick and ended Opaque.

3.That's just a glitter test. Glitter stayed suspended for a few hours and then sank to the bottom. I took that same test jar and added a FO and the same blue dye and of course it was thickened as well and became opaque.

I like both versions. The last pic was from a thickening experiment using a shea butter bar soap. shredded 2 oz of the bar soap and added 4 or 8 oz (don't have my notes)of LS. The soap retained most of the clarity and had awesome lather! This soap is beautiful. I can also add more FO without the soap turning opaque.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hibiscus - Thanks so much for posting all the pictures of your liquid soaps. I found them very interesting to examine. This winter I'm going to have to buy a crockpot, find some potassium hydroxide somewhere, and give it a go on some snowy "stay-in-my-house" day. :smiley2:

I think it's fascinating!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hibiscus.... isn't it a loooooooooooooooooong painstaking process... I'm on dilution stage right now...ugh... The end result is fabulous though.... Maybe I should try the crock pot method sometimes.... Brenda this is definitely a winter project... I figured since I sell it I better make some. *s*

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hibiscus - Thanks so much for posting all the pictures of your liquid soaps. I found them very interesting to examine. This winter I'm going to have to buy a crockpot, find some potassium hydroxide somewhere, and give it a go on some snowy "stay-in-my-house" day. :smiley2:

I think it's fascinating!

Thanks :) It is definitely a stay in the house project. I strongly suggest making bar soap simultaneously so you son't feel so chained to that pot. I am going to do that today. And making larger batches as well. 4-5 gallon batches.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hibiscus.... isn't it a loooooooooooooooooong painstaking process... I'm on dilution stage right now...ugh... The end result is fabulous though.... Maybe I should try the crock pot method sometimes.... Brenda this is definitely a winter project... I figured since I sell it I better make some.

*s*

I take it you're using a double boiler. I'm going to need one of those setups because my crock only holds 6 quarts. I need to make bigger batches!:yay: :yay: as much as I love the results I don't want to do it everyday and I really am behind on some things.

What size batch are you making?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did a 6 lb batch of paste... I used 2 lbs of the paste this weekend and it pade about 32 oz plus (because I like a thick gel)... I brought my digicam and my scandisk here to work so I can upload my pic's today... I'll do that in a little bit..I'm an addict, I had to bring the 4 oz bottle I made up for myself this morning.. I grabbed the wrong color dye too.. it's supposed to be an aqua blue but I grabbed 2 greens instead.... give me a little bit-o-time...

I use the cheap 3 set steel pots from Wal-mart and the huge speckled pot that was only like $5.00 (I can't remember) as my dbl boilers.. but there will be pic's so you know what I'm talking about.......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did a 6 lb batch of paste... I used 2 lbs of the paste this weekend and it pade about 32 oz plus (because I like a thick gel)..

Me too I realized after my first batch I was adding just a little too much water when I diluted but that has since been corrected:) I like this more than bar soap but that's because I have always liked LS more than bar soap.:highfive:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...