If you use natural body care products, you probably have heard of Bronner’s Castile Liquid Soap. People call it the “Swiss-army knife” of soap. It’s an all natural liquid Castile soap that has a ton of uses. Use it as a body wash? Yep. Liquid Castile soap is gentle enough for people with the most sensitive skin. Use it as a shampoo? Yep, even on babies’ hair. Use it as a dishwashing detergent? Yep. Use it as a laundry detergent? Yep.
Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Liquid Soap is great. Except one thing! It contains palm kernel oil. Palm oil production has led to deforestation, habitat degradation, climate change, animal cruelty and indigenous rights abuses. I explained in detail why I don’t use palm oil, including the so-called fair trade or sustainable palm oil in this post. No Dr. Bronner’s Castile Liquid Soap for me. Instead, I make my own liquid Castile soap. It can do all that Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap can do. Want to know how I make it? Read on!
What is Liquid Castile Soap?
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Liquid Castile soap is a liquid soap that’s made with olive oil. Olive oil soap has been made and used for millennia. It’s popular because it’s gentle on our skin. It can be used by people with the most sensitive skin, like babies and children. The first olive soap is the Aleppo soap, made in Aleppo, Syria. During the 11th and 12th centuries, the Castile region of Spain began to make its own olive oil soap. That’s why we now call olive oil soap “Castile soap.”
Castile soap often isn’t made with only olive oil. For example, Dr. Bronner’s Castile Liquid Soap is made with 5 different kinds of vegetable oils: (1) coconut oil, (2) palm kernel oil, (3) olive oil, (4) hemp oil, and (5) jojoba oil. The order of the ingredients tells me that this Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap has more coconut oil, and palm kernel oil, than olive oil. My educated guess is that Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap is made with approximately: (1) 35% coconut oil, (2) 30% palm kernel oil, (3) 25% olive oil, (4) 5% hemp oil, and (5) 5% jojoba oil. Let me know if you want to know how I come up with these educated estimates. I can give you a detailed (and a total nerdy) explanation on these percentages. 🙂
Make Your Own Liquid Soap
Prep Time: a day or 2. Making liquid Castile soap involves cooking the soap for about 5 hours, and then waiting another 10 to 12 hours for the soap paste to dilute and turn into liquid soap. It’s a lengthy but rewarding process.
Yields: about 55 oz of liquid Castile soap
Ingredients for DIY Liquid Castile Soap
The OZ referenced in this recipe is by weight, not volume. One of the best tools I have for soap making is a food scale, which I use to weight my ingredients.
- Coconut Oil – 10 oz. I use Trader Joe’s Organic Virgin Coconut Oil. You can use other brands of pure unrefined coconut oil.
- Olive Oil – 4 oz. I use Trader Joe’s Imported Olive Oil. You can try other brands of pure olive oil.
- Hemp Oil – 1 oz. I use Nutiva Organic Hemp Oil. Other brands of hemp oil works too.
- Jojoba Oil – 1 oz. I use Now Foods Organic Jojoba Oil. You can try other brands of jojoba oil.
- Potassium Hydroxide (KOH, aka lye) – 4.1 oz. I use Essential Depot Potassium Hydroxide Flakes. Make sure you use potassium hydroxide (KOH), not sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Sodium hydroxide is used to make hard soap bars.
- Distilled Water – 6 oz to make lye solution. An additional 34 oz to dilute the soap paste. You can find distilled water in your local supermarket.
- Vitamin E – 25 drops. I use Now Solutions E-Oil. You can use other brands of vitamin-E oil.
- Glass Container – a 1/2 gallon glass container.
Ingredients Compared
To make liquid Castile soap, I use all the ingredients found in Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap, except palm kernel oil and citric aid.
| Dr. Bronner’s Castile Liquid Soap | My DIY Liquid Castile Soap |
|---|---|
| Water | Water |
| Coconut Oil | Coconut Oil |
| Potassium Hydroxide | Potassium Hydroxide (KOH, Lye) |
| Palm Kernel Oil | |
| Olive Oil | Olive Oil |
| Hemp Oil | Hemp Oil |
| Jojoba Oil | Jojoba Oil |
| Citric Acid | |
| Tocopherol | Tocopherol (Vitamin E) |
How to Make DIY Liquid Castile Soap
Be sure to take all necessary precautions when working with lye. You can read more about suggested protective gear in this post. It’s never a good idea to work with lye when children or pets are around.
(1) Make lye solution. In a well-ventilated place, add 4.1 oz of Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) to 6 oz of distilled water. Never add water to lye.
Use a silicone spatula to carefully mix your lye solution. Set the lye solution aside. When it’s ready for use, it will turn from cloudy to clear. It took about 10 minutes for me.
(2) Add coconut oil, olive oil, hemp oil and jojoba oil in a crock pot. Turn the crock pot to high heat to melt and mix the oil.
(3) Once all the oil is melted and mixed, carefully pour lye solution into the crock pot.
(4) Mix oil and lye solution using a silicone spatula for a few minutes. Then use a stick blender to bring the mixture to light trace (vanilla pudding consistency). It will take a little time, at least 15 to 20 minutes.
(5) Cover your crock pot. Cook your liquid soap at high heat. For the first hour of cooking, check every 15 minutes to see if your soap has separated (it happened to me!), or has escaped outside of the crock pot.
(6) If your liquid soap separated. Use the stick blender to mix it again, and bring it back to trace. It took me about 5 minutes.
If your liquid soap tried to escape the crock pot, use a silicone spatula to stir the soap mixture. That should deflate it.
(7) Cover your crock pot again. Cook your liquid soap on high heat for 5 hours.
Here is my liquid soap after 4 hours of cooking.
Here is my liquid soap after 5 hours of cooking.
(8) Do a hot water test. Add 1/2 oz of the liquid soap to 1 oz of hot water. If the soap melts and the soapy liquid isn’t super cloudy (see picture below), the soap is ready to be diluted. If the soapy liquid is very cloudy and milky, then cook the liquid soap for another 30 minutes. And repeat the hot water test.
(9) Add 34 oz of VERY HOT distilled water into the crock pot. Make sure it’s very hot water. Otherwise your crock pot might crack due to the temperature difference. I use boiling hot water.
(10) Use a silicone spatula to mix the soap paste and the hot distilled water. Turn off your crock pot and cover it with the lid. In about 10 to 12 hours, your soap paste will be completely diluted.
It’s a good idea to use PH testing strips to check the PH-level of your diluted soap. You want your soap to have a PH-level between 8 and 9.
(11) Add about 25 drops of vitamin E to your diluted soap. Pour your DIY liquid Castile soap into a glass container.
That’s it! This is how you make your very own DIY liquid Castile soap. This is an all natural liquid soap that has many uses. If you use it for body or hair care, I would add 1 part of glycerine to 3 parts of DIY liquid Castile soap. Adding glycerine to the liquid soap will make it more moisturizing, less drying. If you want to use the DIY liquid Castile soap for cleaning or to do laundry, you can use it without adding anything else. If you want to add a natural scent to your DIY liquid Castile soap, you can add lavender essential oil or lemon essential oil. This DIY liquid Castile soap doesn’t need curing. But if you leave it alone in a glass container for a few weeks, it will become more transparent, and even more mild, with a lower PH-level.
So, will you be making your own Dr. Bronner’s inspired DIY liquid Castile soap? I’d love to know how you like the recipe. As always, if you like this DIY liquid Castile soap recipe, please pin it and share it!
I need to try this out. Looking for ways to save money.
Interesting!
I just made this recipe and am confused with what I did wrong. It seems to be jelling up again and not all of it liquified. I see someone else commented on a similar result. Would love to know where I went wrong. I have pictures of what it looks like!
When should I add the glycerin?
Thank you for the recipe ! I will give it a shot
I want to add citric acid to lower ph
When do u do that? And how much do I add?
If I want a thick honey type texture. How much distilled water should I add to dilute soap ?
Thank you
I left my soap to dilute all night and woke up and half of the paste is sticking to the bottom of my crock pot. Was I supposed to stir over the 10-12 hours? 🙁
Can this be done without a stick blender? I bought one to do this and when I plugged it in (straight out of the box no less!!!) it didn’t work. I have soap cooking in the crock pot as I type this!! Sigh.
I’m not sure if the shaft is aluminum (likely since it is cheaper) or stainless steel (if it worked!) Ugh.
Thank you so much I love it
And I ad some glycerin and I use it as a shower gel and my skin is so soft
If you use the same ingredients as Dr. Bronner’s at the ratios you arrived at, what would be the amount of potassium hydroxide to use?
My liquid castille is completely clear but has a brown hue to it. Is there a way to remove the brown from it or change something in the next batch? I followed another recipe which had me leave the crock on low for 10 hours as it was diluting…could this b why it’s a clear brownish color?
Hello! Thanks for sharing! Mine worked out really well and every step of the way, except the very last stage. I am still getting some film on top and little bit a chunks still. I mixed it a little more and that seemed to help, but not fully. Should I add more water and continue to let it dissolve? Or should I skim the skin & chunks and discard it?
Hi Silvia,
Thank you for sharing this recipe. If opting to add glycerin, when do you add it?
Thank you!
The amounts are all given in oz, including the KOH. I’m assuming that liquids are in liquid ounces and KOH is in ounces avoirdupois. Your ‘educated guesses’ are given in %. % what? Weight? Volume? Ingredients labels list items in order of weight. This is all very ambiguous and imprecise. For something this critical, all quantities need to be given by weight and % by weight. I suspect that those having problems are a result of this.
Hi Jose, thank you for reaching out. The ingredients are measured in OZ (weight, not volume). I use a small food scale when I make soap to measure the weight of the ingredients. The percentage referenced in the recipe is the percentage of the total weight of the recipe. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy soaping!
Thanks for sharing your recipe. Have you actually looked into how Dr. Bronner source their palm oil? I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised and maybe worth looking into before turning people off a product.
cheers.
Hi Elle, you make a good point. Dr. Bronner’s website says the brand uses palm oil that comes from “sustainably-harvested palm fruits.” Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
What do you use if you don’t have a crock pot?
Hi, I did everything exactly as the recipe says and never got to that “Vaseline” stage. My soap got hard and dry and crumbly after 5 hours in the por. What went wrong?? How can I fix it??
I made this today and it turned out perfectly! It was my first try at liquid soap, and I found it easy and fun. Thank you for your extremely helpful instructions! I was grateful for the guidance!
I’m allergic to coconut oil. Also I HATE HATE HATE using lye. Can you please help me? What should I use in the place of coconut oil? Wat should I do to get rid of the lye?
You could substitute babassu oil for the coconut but you cannot get soap without using lye. Its no longer lye once it saponifies
Hello! thanks for your recipe, I made my liquid soap but some did not dissolve well in water the next day, I tried to warm it but without success, I took it out with skimmer and then I mixed it, result a kind of white soap very thick and sticky , so I put this part in molds but it remains soft, have you encountered this problem? on the other hand the rest of soap well dissolved is perfect and I do it again your recipe which is great, thank you again
I cooked mine on high for a little over 3 hours and it was starting to look like styrofoam and was getting completely solid. I turned it to low for another hour and finished the steps. Last night it was clear with large chunks and this morning it is the consistency of oatmeal.
Hi my first time making castelle liquid soap. I’m on hour 2 and it’s real thick it also has a green hue. Have you encountered that?
Hi, I’d love to know how you came up with your percentages:
(1) 35% coconut oil, (2) 30% palm kernel oil, (3) 25% olive oil, (4) 5% hemp oil, and (5) 5% jojoba oil.
I do want the nerdy explanation! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
I would too. And I’d like to know if it is % by weight or volume.
Good question. The percentage referenced in the recipe is by weight, not volume.
Meant to say in my previous post “weight measurements” of fragrance not just “measurements”. Using dropper is not a safe or accurate method.
Sad to see you are not using a preservative and you use drops of fragrance not measurements.
Dr. Bronner’s uses citric acid, a cheaply available food grade preservative used in all kinds of organic preparations.
Hai
Can i use the blender that i use for making cake??
Is there any problem with that?
Actually i cant afford a new blender. Thats why
Thanku
Hi Sylvia, I have heard castor oil gives a transparent finish to the final product. In case if I wish to add what would be the % that I need to try with
Questions:
Can I use all coconut and olive oils and leave out the jojoba and hemp oils?
My stick blender is made of aluminum. Should I use it in the lye mixture?
thanks!
Thank you for reaching out, M! You can certainly create your own liquid soap. If you want to use only coconut oil and olive oil for your liquid soap, then I recommend that you run your ingredients through a lye calculator, which will tell you how much lye (KOH) to use. Also, it’s not a good idea to mix lye with aluminum. You might want to get a stick blender with a stainless steel shaft. Hope the above helps.
You can take out an oil but then you must recalculate the amount of lye use or the end rust could burn your skin if it is lye heavy. Never ever use aluminium when making soap!
Hi this looks great its been impossible to find pre-made castile liquid soap without jojoba, citric acid, essential oils or the things you mentioned like palm oil and those are things I want to avoid for cleaning around my cats. I have read that jojoba oil is toxic to cats. I do know citrus is Im unsure if a small amount of citric acid diluted would be harmful but I would like to avoid it. Can I swap out the Jojoba and Hemp oil for something else like Kukui, Cocoa Butter or Avocado Seed Oil. I looked at the calculator and I just want to make sure are there any other of the settings besides super fat we should adjust? Thanks!
Hi Lily, I definitely understand your wish to use only ingredients that are safe for you and your cats. You certainly can create your own liquid soap. Relying on a lye calculator is a must when creating your own recipe. When you’re trying to figure out the amount for each ingredient, I would make sure that superfat is set at 0% (some soapers who want very clear liquid soap set superfat to a negative %). Please feel free to share your recipe. I’d be happy to share my thoughts on it. Hope the above helps. Happy soaping!
Hi! I’m very interested in making this recipe! Thank you for such a clear step by step! I just have a quick question, could I dilute with other liquids instead of water to make it more nourishing? Say green tea, milk, or other oils?
I came across here and want to share about my experience 🙂
I used to dilute with fresh bergamot’s skin and some other herbs by put them to slow cooker and pour distilled water into it (high about inch) and cook around 4 hours or see if every went down then use them while it still hot to dilute the soap paste but one thing some ingredients might reduce the bubble of the liquid soap, so it depend on what you choose 🙂
you can also dilute with glycerin but other oil or milk I wont recommend but if you really want to try to use milk, I would say use it while make lye solution (replace water with frozen milk use ice cube tray) I did that before with soap bar so I hope this help you get an idea of making liquid soap! 😀
Anyway this blog is awesome I love it! <3
Great tips, Nai! You are definitely right, some liquids might affect how bubbly the liquid soap will be. And some liquids might affect how clear the liquid soap will be. I’m so glad you like the blog. 🙂
Great question, Annie! You can definitely dilute the soap paste with other liquids. Some people like to make clear liquid soap, and they should dilute with water. If that’s not a concern of yours, then you certainly can dilute using tea, milk, or oil.
This is by Far the best soap Ive made so far. This is my 4th time making soap using different recipes until I found the perfect one, and This is definitely it. Thank you so much for writing this up!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Damien! 🙂 Happy soaping!
Thank you for the wonderful post.
I have 1 question, are you weighing the liquid in Ounces or in Fluid Ounces ?
I’m so happy you like this recipe, Angelita. 🙂 The ingredients are measured in ounces (weight), not liquid ounces (volume).
Hi, I’m interested in making this, but first have a question. You’ve estimated an approximate 6-month shelf life to keep this soap, but have also said that some people don’t dilute it until actual use in order to lengthen that time. I’m wanting to know, about how much longer do you think that would be? Could I keep it for 1-2 years, do you reckon? Any natural additive beyond vitamin E to extend its keeping power? thx.
Mmm…interesting question, Tina. I have kept this liquid soap (in its undiluted form) for about a year before diluting it and using it. It seems that keeping this undiluted soap for 1 year shouldn’t be a problem, as long as it’s kept in a dry and cool place. Undiluted soap has a high PH level, which minimizes microbial growth. I can’t say if the undiluted soap will be good for 2 years. While vitamin E affects the soap’s oxidation, I’m not sure if it can extend the soap’s shelf-life to 2 years. One option is to make a smaller batch, so you can finish the soap within a shorter period? I hope the above is helpful and that you’ll give this recipe a try. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I’m happy to help. 🙂
The second last ingredient on the Dr. Bronner label, just before Tocopherol (Vitamin E), is Citric Acid, a cheap effective food grade preservative that is used as an ingredient in and to preserve organic food preparations.
I want to try this recipe but is it ok not to put water on the castile soap (using potash) to prolong the life? Just get the desired amount you want then dilute it to water. Instead of diluting them all and will lasts for 6months.
It’s like a hard soap (using koh) but this recipe (using naoh).
Just to save the shelf life of the soap by not diluting them all at once. Thanks.
Hope you get my point.
Thank you for reaching out, Unik. You make a very good point. Some soapers don’t dilute the entire batch of the soap after the cooking process. Instead, they store the soap paste in containers and dilute it only when they are ready to use the liquid soap. This is definitely an option when making a large batch of soap. I hope you’ll give this recipe a try. Please keep me posted on how your liquid soap turns out.
Both times I tried making my own I broke my immersion blender. This has frustrated me to the point of almost giving up…except I’ve already invested a lot of money in all these ingredients. What am I doing wrong? The blenders are more expensive than a bottle of Bronner’s!
Oh, I’m so sorry. It must be frustrating when equipment is not cooperating. A stick blender (immersion blender) is used by soapers to help the melted oil and lye solution reach trace (pudding consistency). This can take some time, usually between 15-20 minutes, especially for a recipe that uses a ton of olive oil, like this one. You don’t have to blend continuously. It’s perfectly OK to use your blender for a few minutes and then allow it to rest for a few minutes before the next round. As the ingredients in the crock pot get warmer, it should also be easier for the mixture to reach trace. Maybe get a used blender from Goodwill? There’s no need to get a new blender to make soap. Please keep me posted. I hope your next try will be a success!
Hi Silvia! I want to run some thoughts by you if I can? I’m on a journey to zero waste and its looking like a bunch of women in my neighborhood would like me to make a base liquid castille soap that they can make dishwash liquid, general cleaners, handwash, body wash, etc. I wont personally make it with anything but organic oils because I like to be sure that the production of the ingredients has not been polluting. I have a huge problem with palm oil of any sort. My reason is that the byproducts are sold as animal feed to make the overall production profitable. Those animal feeds are given to dairy cows here in New Zealand allowing them to have more cows per acre than they can support on grass alone. This overstocking is dramatically affecting our pristine waterways and the habitat of many native species.
Anyway, rant over, back to the soap! I’m wondering if I can make this with 30% coconut, 35% sunflower and 35% olive? I would like to make the soap as cheaply as possible to encourage these women in making their own products from it, but would like to remain organic. If I add a little more oil (like the baby soap) would that interfere too much with the bubbliness of the soap? Maybe I should also add a little citric acid instead? thank you!!
Hi Fran, thank you for reaching out! Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the negative aspects of using palm oil. Like you, I don’t use palm oil either. I also like your zero waste philosophy.
As to your suggested recipe of 30% coconut oil, 35% sunflower oil, and 35% olive oil, it is definitely workable. Because you will have 30% of coconut oil, your liquid soap will be pretty bubbly. You can add citric acid after you’ve cooked and diluted your soap to lower the soap’s pH level. I don’t generally do that. I find that adding water (or further dilute my liquid soap) is pretty effective in lowing pH level. You might want to check out this lye calculator to determine the amount of lye, potassium hydroxide (KOH), you should use to make your liquid soap. You should aim to have 0% superfat when making liquid soap. Please keep me posted on how it goes, and please let me know if you have any more questions!
I fear that I’m going to complicate things a ton. My ultimate goal is to make a body wash for My keratosis Pilaris. I want to include glycolic and salicylic acid. My first thoughts were to mix already made Castile like dr. Bronners with water + glycolic acid then combine that further with a glycerin + salicylic acid mix. I’m new to this as you probably can tell. I’ve only ever mixed up diy hair masks. Anyways now I want to make my own Castile but with olive, coconut, tamanu, avocado and jojoba oil. Deep breath so I guess I’m asking how would I go about combining all of this. Can I add a preservative like optiphen to the mix since there will be water? Also are EOs and fragrance oils added at the step where you added vitamin E or do you recommend adding those per small batch of body wash? Hope this all made sense Thxs!
Thanks for reaching out, Melissa! I don’t know much about keratosis pilaris and haven’t added glycolic acid or salicylic acid to my soap. I’m not too helpful in those areas. I can help with making liquid soap from scratch though. You can try my recipe posted above, or you can come up with your own recipe. Based on the oil you mentioned, I suggest using 55% olive oil, 30% coconut oil, and 5% tamanu, avocado, and jojoba oil each. You can use a lye calculator to figure out how much lye and water you’ll need for your recipe. I don’t use synthetic preservatives in my soap, such as optiphen, and depending on the pH level of your liquid soap, you probably won’t need it. Also, I prefer essential oil over fragrance oil, and you can add either after you’ve diluted your liquid soap. I hope I’ve answered all your questions. Please feel free to reach out if you have more questions. Happy soaping! 🙂
Is your dilution water by weight as well or is it fluid oz?
Great question, Brad. Step 9 of the instructions above says to add 34 oz. That 34 oz in weight, which I measured using a digital scale. I hope you’ll give this liquid soap recipe a try, and please feel free to ask any more questions you might have.
Hi,
Loved your post! I live in India and we do not have easy access to crock pots here and most of the cooking is done on a gas stove. So, is there any alternate to crock pot? Can liquid soaps be made using anything else?
Thank you for reaching out! I’ve not tried making liquid soap on a gas stove. It might be possible if you are able to keep the temperature of the soap constant while cooking. Be sure to monitor the cooking process closely to prevent the soap from boiling outside the pot.
As to your second question, some people make liquid soap by melting shredded soap bars in hot water. I tried that, but didn’t like the consistency of the liquid soap made from soap bars. Please let me know if you have more questions. And please keep me posted on your soap making adventure!
Hi!
I’m looking to use Dr. Bronner’s Castile liquid soap in a DIY shampoo concoction. I bought all the necessary ingredients, then upon further research learned that it’s really not good to use a Castile soap shampoo, which as a pH of 9+ and then use an ACV rinse with a pH about 3. I’ve read that this drastic change in pH can have negative effects on your hair in the long run. Even using a high pH shampoo without the subsequent ACV rinse is bad. Do you know of any shampoo recipes using Castile soap that have a pH of at least around 8 or lower so we’re not damaging our hair? Or, does this DIY olive oil soap have the same pH of Dr. Bronner’s or less?
Oh, good questions. Natural liquid soap, Dr. Bronner’s or a DIY one, could have a high pH level. One way to lower the liquid soap’s pH level is to add water. Maybe add 1 part of soap for every 2 to 3 parts of water. You can also add liquid oil, like olive oil, to make the liquid soap less drying. I think it’s the additional olive oil in Dr. Bronner’s Baby Unscented Pure-Castile Liquid Soap that makes it gentler than Dr. Bronner’s regular liquid soap.
I don’t generally use liquid soap on my hair. Instead, I use a shampoo bar, like this one, which has a high super fat content and is gentler on my hair. I don’t use a ACV rinse. Maybe a shampoo bar might be an option for you? I hope the above helps. Please let me know if you have any more questions.
Hi there! Love your recipes! I am a little confused though, is your measurement (oz) in weight or in volume (fl oz)? Thanks.
Oh, sorry for the confusion, the ingredients are measured in weight. A digital scale comes in handy when measuring the ingredients. Please let me know if you have more questions. I hope you’ll give this recipe a try!
I wasn’t going to even consider this recipe unless I found that out. Weight is the only way to specify the ingredients for soapmaking, especially the lye, for safety and technical reasons. Are the percentages by weight as well? You should absolutely amend this article and state that all quantities are by weight.
Very good suggestions, Jose. Thanks.
Hi Silvia, thank for the great article.
Dr. Bronner’s soap recipe use Citric Acid while you do not.
What makes the difference?
What is the purpose of Citric Acid for liquid castile soap making?
Thanks for the enlightenment.
-dia
Great question! Citric acid is used to naturalize excess lye in liquid soap. Unlike bar soap, liquid soap is made without super fat. And sometimes it’s made with more lye than necessary. Most likely that’s the case with Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap, and that’s why you see citric acid as one of its ingredients. Please let me know if you have more questions.
Do I have to use coconut oil, can I replace it with another oil instead?
Yes, you can substitute coconut oil for another oil, such as olive oil. If you do that, be sure to run your recipe in a lye calculator (setting superfat at zero) to figure out the amount of lye (potassium hydroxide, KOH) that you need. My favorite online lye calculator is SoapCalc. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Keep me posted please.
Hi great recipe, can you please explain why only potassiun hydroxide and not sodium hydroxide is used to make the liquid soap. Keep up the great work!
Great question! Liquid soap is made with potassium hydroxide (KOH) because it makes water soluble soap (dissolves in water). Bar soap or hard soap is made with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) because it makes soap that’s less water soluble. Hope you’ll give my soap recipes a try!
Hi just wanted to check after i use the crock pot or any other stainless steel pot for soap making can i cook food in it ? If yes what should i make sure i do.
thanks
gracy
Great question. I separate my soap making items with my food preparation items. I get many of my soap making tools, like my crock pot, from a thrift store for a few dollars a piece. I think that’s what most soapers do. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks for reaching out, Gracy!
Hi Silvia,
Just come across your post – love it, thanks for sharing!
I really want to make this as I’ve recently started experimenting in natural products and i’m in the middle east where there’s not a lot of choice about. I actually have potash feldspar (K2O) in my possession as a potter, but this isn’t the same as potassium hydroxide (KOH) is it? I tried to google it but it’s not clear. These kind of ingredients are pretty impossible to find here. Any ideas?
Thanks a lot
Hi Heather, I haven’t heard of anyone using potash feldspar to make soap. I don’t think it’s the same as potassium hydroxide (KOH), which is what people use to make liquid soap. I get my KOH and most of my soap making materials online (from Amazon), because they are not often available in stores. In my post, I included Amazon links that will take you directly to materials that you’ll need for this liquid soap recipe. Hope you’ll give the recipe a try!
How long does this last without any preservatives added to
It?
Great question! This DIY liquid soap recipe includes Tocopherol (Vitamin E), which is an antioxidant that helps to slow down oxidation. I’ve used liquid soap I made 6 months earlier, and found it as good as when I first made it. I think as long as you use it within 6 months, you should be fine.
Hi,
I would like to know how you came up with the estimated percentages for Dr. Bronner’s liquid Castile soap. I love detailed (and a total nerdy) explanations on percentages! Thanks for your time and willingness to share!
Great question! I made the educated guess based on the order that the ingredients (oil) are listed on Dr. Bronner’s Fair Trade & Organic Castile Liquid Soap bottle. Federal laws require companies to list ingredients based on their amounts in a particular product. This means that Dr. Bronner’s Castile Liquid Soap contains more coconut oil, which is the first ingredient listed, than any other oil. Likewise, it contains the smallest amounts of hemp oil and jojoba oil as compared to other oil.
Although under my theory above, Dr. Bronner’s Castile Liquid Soap could contain 50% or higher of coconut oil, I doubt that’s the case, because soap made with a high percentage of coconut oil is very drying. So, my educated guess began with 35% coconut oil (which is a typical coconut oil amount in soap) and I worked out the remaining percentages from that initial guess.
I’d love to know what you think. Maybe you have a different theory on the amounts of oil used? Please share.
Hi! I agree that a soap with too much coconut oil can be drying. Just curious though, doesn’t your recipe have about 62.5% coconut oil? Have you found it to be drying? Thanks!
Very good question! In general, high coconut oil content can make the soap drying, especial for hard soap bars. For liquid soap, it’s less of a problem, because you can dilute the soap with water to cut down its drying effect. Also, you can add a little bit of nourishing oil, like jojoba oil, to your liquid soap to make it less drying. Please let me know if you try this recipe, and how it comes out.
And just curious, how thick does this soap come out? Is it just a tad thicker than water consistency–similar to Dr. Bronners?
Yep. That’s right. It’s definitely thicker than water. The great thing about making your own liquid soap is that you can make it as thin or thick as you want depending on how much water you add during the dilution part of the soap making process. In fact, I usually further dilute the liquid soap before adding it to a pump bottle. Please let me know if you have other questions.
You know, I find Dr.Bronner’s soap much more drying than other soaps. But the fabulous book “The Natural Soap Book: Making Herbal and Vegetable-Based Soaps” by Susan Miller Cavitch, the best book I have seen on soapmaking, which is highly technical but accessible to all soapmakers, says “A percentage of coconut oil in cosmetics is moisturizing.” but “Too much of it can be drying.” She goes on to say, “Its saturated nature resists rancidity and makes a very hard soap, yet its low molecular weight allows for high solubility and a quick, fluffy lather, even in cold seawater.” And “It offers all soapmaking blends the missing link.”, “Without its wonderful lathering quality, any formula is lacking.”
Would this end up being cheaper than from the store?
Yep, I think making your own DIY liquid Castile soap can be cheaper than buying it from a store, especially when you make big batches, and buy your ingredients in bulk. Another great reason to make your own DIY liquid Castile soap is that you can customize it to your personal preference. Hope you’ll give this recipe a try!
I love what you stand for on your blog, but it’s a shame you lump Dr. Bronner’s and by association Natural Habitats (2 of the planet’s most exemplary companies) into the same pile as RSPO certified palm oil – they are very different. This is a good read http://www.foodnavigator.com/Market-Trends/Good-palm-oil-is-possible.-This-is-what-it-looks-like-says-Palm-Done-Right-CEO
Thanks for considering this! In no way do I endorse conventional, or even RSPO palm oil, but it is important people understand what companies such as Dr. Bronner and Natural Habitats stand for, and are actively doing, to help make this world a better place. Thanks!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I must admit, I didn’t know about Palm Done Right, or Natural Habitats. I’ll be looking into both in the next few weeks or so, and report back. Thanks!
Thanks Silvia for your willingness to look into this – I could give you some more links, but you can do some independent research which will be more convincing! Companies like Natural Habitats and Dr. Bronner’s are examples of proactive companies doing wonderful things for the planet. If only more companies were just a tiny bit more like them …..! You already know Dr. Bronner’s is great – so it doesn’t make sense does it, that they would use unsustainable palm oil in their products – why would they when that would go against pretty much everything that they stand for?! They are fascinating companies that well deserve us all to sing their praises! Yes, I am obviously a fan! 🙂
Dr. Bronner’s is one of the “greenest,” most ethical companies on the planet. They treat their employees as partners and their generous medical insurance covers an employee’s entire family. They employ fair trading practices for all their ingredients. They are also political activists in favor of ecologically sound practices.
I am not saying they are not a good company but they use large plastic bottles for packaging so in my humble opinion not one of the greenest. I am curious why they do not go with a milk carton type or bio degradable package instead.