How to make soap

Like hot and cold process soap, there is an alkali component and an oil component.

For liquid soap, the alkali component is a bit Sodium hydroxide is used to make hard bar soap while potassium hydroxide is used to make liquid soap. Potassium hydroxide is harder to find and comes in flakes, not beads. The flakes are easier to work with but are still caustic, so you must wear gloves and protective eyewear.

The other ingredients include coconut oil, olive oil, rice bran oil, another oil such as soybean (there are a few non-GMO brands available), safflower or grapeseed oil, sunflower oil, distilled water, liquid vegetable glycerin, and any scent or color you wish to add. You can source all of these ingredients organically except potassium hydroxide.

Equipment

When you make liquid soap it takes a lot of equipment and ingredients! Like hot process soap making, you’ll need a slow cooker, a stick blender, quart jar (I use a wide mouth jar), a potato masher, and silicone stirring spoons. And since this recipe is measured in ounces, you will need a kitchen scale.

Ingredients

• 10 ounces unrefined coconut oil
• 10 ounces olive oil
• 3 ounces rice bran oil
• 13 ounces other oil I use safflower and grapeseed oils if I'm making a body soap, or soybean oil if I'm making a dish or laundry soap
• 5.5 ounces sunflower oil
• 9 ounces lye (potassium hydroxide or KOH is the only type of lye we use for soapmaking)
• 25 ounces distilled water
• 60 ounces distilled water (for diluting the soap paste)
• 16 ounces liquid vegetable glycerine
• 3 ounces essential oil (more or less to your taste of essential oil or fragrance oil of your choice, lavender is my favorite)
• natural colorant of your choice (use a very small amount –