Best formula for Cleaning Liquid Soap (Castile)

[adnirusli]

Hi guys,

I am pretty new in this field. Would like to ask for a recommendation for a liquid castile soap formula that would be suitable for laundry and dish washing, using these 2 (or 3) oils types.

1. Fractionated Coconut Oil - %?
2. Virgin Olive Oil -%?
3. Sunflower Oil (optional) -%?

I am using only basic ingredients so far which is the oil(s) and 85% purity KOH and (1 salt :2 distilled H2O) as brine.

Your contribution and suggestion would be helpful and appreciated.

Thank you.

Adni

 

[Yooper]

You’re making a liquid soap for cleaning? Just want to be clear. I’ve never used sunflower or fractionated coconut oil, so I don’t think I”d be very helpful. And why the brine?

 

[ChemicalPyros]

Hello @adnirusli,

For the liquid soap you should take into account the fatty acid profile.
Ideally Palmitic and Stearic acids should be equal to zero or else the final soap will be opaque and with time it will separate because the salts of those fatty acids are insoluble in water at room temperature. Since it is impossible to reduce them to 0, usually the final soap is left to separate and then the topmost layer is eliminated manually. this way you obtain a final product that is transparent and stable. If you do not wish to separate the mixture you should consider adding a thickener in this case.
Another important fatty acid is the oleic acid. When present in a ratio above 50% you can thicken it with Sodium Chloride (table salt). But this thickening method is highly unstable, it becomes useless with some frags or other additives, so use it carefully.
Finally, Lauric acid (the fatty acid present in coconut oil) is responsible for foaming.

So in your case, you can eliminate sunflower oil, and make a liquid soap with 90% olive oil and 10% coconut oil. The olive/coconut ratio can be varied according to your preferences. The brine is useless when you are experimenting, because after making the soap and you dilute it, you should make trials by adding sodium chloride in order to achieve the required thickness (if this will be your method of thickening, if not, salt will reduce the foaming and cleaning capacity of the soap so it can be eliminated).

@Yooper, this kind of liquid soap is used for cleaning for a long time, it is more of a multipurpose soap. here is an example of soap that is made traditionally in France that is used for cleaning the house and the body, and some recommend to use to elevate the pH of acid soils for gardening.

https://www.marius-fabre.com/en/5-black-soap