Using Natural Liquid Soap Paste 

Many people are just embracing the multitude of benefits natural liquid soap has to offer as well as the impact of using any soap or detergents have on our water supplies.  Many are just learning the same soap/detergents we use end up going into our water supply which is one major reason why a green soap is important for more than just health. In many large cities, used water is recycled through and delivered back to the citizens.  See http://soap-paste.com/

From a health stand point, (probably the biggest priority of most people,) we come into contact with soap several times daily, almost as much as water.  Synthetic soap and detergents, primarily known as SLS, are not good for us or our bloodstreams they do enter.  This article assumes you know all of this, and focuses on how to affordably secure a natural liquid soap into your home.  Recently I found that to be in offering soap paste consumers can reconstitute upon receiving a shipment.  See http://soap-paste.com/

I enjoy making natural liquid soap, although like a fine wine, it requires patience and focus. I am also dealing with potash, a natural ingredient known as lye.  Many people do not like dealing with caustic components and I understand this as well as why.  It is even more difficult if you have small children around.  Still, demand for natural liquid soap has become very popular, and although popular in the states, it has been almost impossible to meet the demand I receive overseas or for our neighbors to the north.  With shipping fees also very high-I find shipping the actual soap paste to be far more economical for all parties.   Soap paste is a great answer.  15 pounds of soap paste can make 5 gallons for your home, garden and other needs.  See http://soap-paste.com/

Reconstituting Soap Paste and Dilution Ratios 

For years I have vacillated between using a stick blender or a regular hand mixer, (as we would use for make cake batter.)  After burning out hundreds of stick blenders, I now am a proponent of hand mixer.  Black & Decker to be specific.  Also just finding the largest crock pot you can find, and making it dedicated to diluting soap-would save any clean up efforts.  I am super incredibly lazy by default-so I am not into “pots of the stove” type endeavors or nuclear clean up operations.  I also keep a dedicated stainless spoon for dilutions and tuck that away in the crock pot, when not in use.  See http://soap-paste.com/

Making Liquid Soap from Soap Paste 

15 pounds of soap paste can make 5 gallons of liquid soap.  Soap paste is not caustic, or should not be caustic.  You do not need a preservative because of the generally high pH of the soap itself-usually as high as 9 pH.  I do recommend you dilute with only distilled water though, because it reduces exposure to microbe and other bug variables.  I also recommend using a high proof alcohal to wipe equipment down with – such as Ethanol or Everclear 190 proof.  I toss some ethanol around in the final containers I plan to pour the soap into, making sure it is dry – because that is when I know it is a sterile environment/destination.   See http://soap-paste.com/

15 pounds of soap paste can also make 3 gallons of a thicker liquid soap that can be considered body wash.  Both are heated on high until dissolved in distilled water.  There is no rule on how high-I crank it as high as I can, but I keep an eye on it also.  Both are stirred with a hand mixer every half hour or so - heat solves a lot of things.  I keep a timer in case I get on the phone and forget.

This is going to sound confusing – but the thinner the soap the more bubbles it will have. This is because the surface tension of the soap is much more amiable to bubbles than a thick liquid soap.  I know we are very used to a commercial standard where thicker is supposed to be better.  Not true with working with a natural liquid soap.  Because we still desire thicker products, it is acceptable to make a thick body wash by dropping the amount of water you plan to use for your dilution by almost half.   Even I like a thick body wash and for shaving and so on.

If you plan to add essential oils to your liquid soap (everyone inevitably asks me this) they will just sit on top of the water based product (which could be detrimental to the end user in a bad way) and at best majorly “mottle” your creation.  When adding essential oils to liquid soap, you need to either add them in during the heat phase, when still in paste mode and heat and a little water,  (prepping before dilution) or easiest for end users to mix with Polysorbate 20 with the fragrance/essential oil first (1:1 ratio) before even dropping it into the finished liquid soap.   

Polysorbate 20 is also known as “Tween” and used for room sprays.  It is a natural sugar that bonds to the oil and makes it “see” the water molecules.  Sometimes you need more Polysorbate 20 – even as high as 3:1 ratio to make it take.  That means three parts Poly20 to one part your scented oil.  It often depends on the essential oil you are using.  For example peppermint essential oil is actually just a bunch of plant fat molecules and one of the hardest to make “happen” when mixing with water based products.  Lemon essential oil, on the other hand, can be quite easy-but you need to drop it is very slowly as you mix because otherwise the very low pH of the lemon will shock and curdle your product.  I still use some Poly20 with Lemon essential oil-mainly to slow me down because I can rush things.

Making your own soap can be a really neat experience, but diluting an already saponified soap paste may be the most viable.  It does not have to cost more money to go all natural.  Diluting your own natural soap paste is a worthwhile project and is more cost effective than purchasing commercial detergents.     

Where to Buy Soap Paste

http://www.naturalliquidsoap.net/Buy_Soap_Paste.htm

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