Friday, May 31, 2013

Liquid Soap


When we belonged to a co-op, 
 soap was purchased at a discount.
Dr. Bronner's liquid was the soap of choice.
I had also bought a few bars of it when the price was right.

Recently, we were getting low on liquid soap, 
so I found this recipe.



The recipe calls for one 8 oz. bar of soap,
2 T glycerin and 1 gallon distilled water.


The grated soap goes into the water and the glycerin is added.
The burner is turned on medium-high heat.

It should only take a few minutes 
for the soap flakes to dissolve in the water.
 Then it's taken off the burner and left to sit for up to 12 hours.


 Huh?
After the recommended 12 hour wait, this is what it looked like.
For whatever reason, it didn't look like the recipe I had read about.
I added the rest of the 2nd bar, which totaled 10 oz.
I let it sit for another 1/2 day.



 This is what it looked like.
Not exactly what I expected, as only a portion of it thickened.
I found it necessary to go to Plan B.




Using the hand whizzer, 
the mixture was blended for 5 minutes.


 That helped.
Now it was more the consistency that I was expecting.
It was poured into 2 bottles that were saved
and I even had enough to return some of it to the empty water jug.



The date and scent were noted on the jug,
so that I will be able to see how long it lasts.
If I want to stretch this soap even further,
I can use it to make foaming soap.

A lot of these type of endeavors are trial and error
and you have to be willing to figure out why something doesn't work
or rethink the whole procedure.
This one seems to be worthwhile and I'll keep working at it
until I find the best possible solution.
It's all about the learnin'.




***Hurricane season starts tomorrow!*** 
~Make sure you have your supplies!~

7 comments:

  1. Interesting post. I have a huge stash yet of store bought, but would definitely try this.

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    Replies
    1. It's always good to have a recipe, even if you have enough now. ;0)

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  2. How neat! I've never tried making liquid soap before so this is interesting. I know some people say they can never get the consistency quite right, so I imagine you do have to tinker with the recipe a bit to get it right.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just wanted to have a standby recipe in case I ever needed it.

      Delete
  3. I love that you come up with a Plan B on the fly. So true about it being trial and error!! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We've gotta be flexible with these homesteading tasks!

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  4. See, I would have probably threw it out when it didn't work, but I'm learning to think up "plan Bs" like a real homesteader, ha ha!

    I'd like to invite you to share this post and up to two others at our From the Farm Blog Hop, which is live right now. Your style of blog posts would fit right in with the wonderful posts that are shared!

    From the Farm Blog Hop

    Hope to see you there!
    ~Kristi@Let This Mind Be in You

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to leave your thoughts!