How to Make Liquid Soap
The Secrets to Liquid Soap Making
When you start making soap and you get the bars down pat, some like to make liquid soap. Liquid soap is a nice alternative to the sometimes messy bars of soap. With liquid soap there is no soap scum build up to deal with and no hard soap to have to clean off of the counter. Finding the time to clean up after your family can be hard enough without having to clean up after soap.
To make liquid soap isn’t nearly as difficult as you would have thought. There are actually many ways that you can make liquid soap, some more difficult than others. One of the easiest ways to make liquid soap is to melt down a bar of soap. All that liquid soap is is a bar of soap that has more water added to it. When picking the bar to use to make liquid soap, it is best to use one that has little to no colors and fragrances added. I say this because those are the things that can be irritating to your skin causing it to dry and flake. A pure Castile bar of soap would be best as the main ingredient in them is olive oil which is known to nourish your skin.
Basically the only things that you will need to make this simple liquid soap are a bar of soap, some water, a stove and pot and last but not least, a glass heat resistant measuring cup. Of course if you wish to add fragrances, vitamins or any other additive you will want to have them on hand too. To begin to make your liquid soap you will need to either grate or cube your bar of soap. Once this is done, add the grated or cubed soap to the glass measuring cup with an equal amount of water. Most bars of soap weigh approximately four ounces and so you would want to add in four ounces of water. If you get a bar that weighs six ounces, add six ounces of water and so on.
Now with the soap and water inside of the heat resistant glass measuring cup, place the cup inside of a pot that is about half full of water. Turn the stove top on a low heat setting so that you can start to melt the soap gently. Heat the water to where it is almost at a boil but not totally. You can remove the cup with the soap inside once the soap has become a uniform liquid, meaning that there is no separation of the soap and water. If you do not wish to add any other additives to your soap then you can remove it from the cup and place in the container of your choice.
I personally like to place additives in my soap so that it has some antibacterial action and also can soften my skin. Even the best bar soaps out there can leave your skin feeling a little dry and so I like to add some vitamins to my soap. To do this you can simply take some vitamin A and E gel caps and empty the contents into the soap. You can add about three or four of them to be just right. If you want you can add more, this is just the amount that I suggest. Also, to get some natural antibacterial soap you can simply add some eucalyptus, tea tree or even grapefruit oil to your soap. This is a natural alternative to some of the harsh chemicals that are available to do the same thing. When adding in the oils I only use ten to twelve drops of any or a mixture of the oils. Basically no more than twelve drops total.
This soap will be something that you can give as gifts or have just for your family to use. And what’s great when you make liquid soap is that it is just what you wanted. This soap is something that you can use knowing exactly what is in it.
The Author:
Meryl Bliss has been in the soap making business for over 15 years and is an expert in making soap.