Teach Soap

Hi all! I'm hoping someone can explain to me the essential difference between bar soap that has been diluted to a liquid, and liquid soap. I understand both processes, but not why the traditional liquid soap process is supposedly better. Let me put it into context...

Basically, in liquid soapmaking you do HP, with the only difference being that you use potassium hydroxide instead of sodium hydroxide and you go a little overboard on the lye. Once you've achieved the paste, you add boiling water, allow it to dilute, neutralize the extra lye, set it aside for a week or so and... ta-da! Liquid soap.

The other day, I was experimenting with a leftover bar of CP soap. I shredded it, added it to boiling water, it diluted perfectly and never separated. I added the proper amount of preservative and tested it in a foaming bottle. The resulting soap foam was full and creamy.

So, I don't really understand why the first method is supposed to be superior to the second. In both cases you have saponified oils and the end result is soap in liquid form. I asked BB customer service and the first rep wasn't sure, so she asked someone else and the best answer they could give me was "it's not really liquid soap, it's just CP diluted in water".

What am I missing here?

You can use either in a foamer diluted with lots of water. I find liquid soap from CP soap snotty. I prefer liquid soap with potassium hydroxide as I get a nice thick gel.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

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Genny

Thank you both! So it's just a matter of preference? I added quite a bit of water when diluting my CP and found that the lather is comparable to BB's high lather soap paste:

http://www.brambleberry.com/High-Sudsin ... P4847.aspx

For soap foamers either is fine. Yes, it's a matter of personal preference.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

mmmm ... snoooot.

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The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

Let me explain it from a chemist's point of view:

It's not only a matter of preference

it's a matter of active ingredient, if you were able to measure the active ingredient as we do it in the lab in the first case (HP made with KOH) you have more active ingredient (let's say more soap content) in comparison to a CP made with NaOH and then diluted to a solution with the same consistency like the first one. It's as if you have 2 shampoos both with the same viscosity, both foaming but one with 10% surfactant (let's say SLES, it's the best example even if you don't apply it because it's ethoxylated) and the sesond one with 20% surfactant. Of course they both foam and clean but the active ingredient (the washing/Cleansing substance) is different.
On the other hand, soap made with KOH is less sensitive to hard water (Ca and Mg ions in tap water) than soap made with NaOH. It might be insignificant to you , may be because water hardness is not high in your region but it would be quite remarkable in any area with hard water.
3rd factor is the chemical stability. A liquid soap made with KOH is inherently more satble than a soap made with NaOH and then diluted with water (I'm not talking about the microbiological stability which you improved by adding preservative).
I hope I didn't confuse you with technical terms.

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Genius is 1 % inspiration and 99 % perspiration

Thanks, Inspiration! I appreciated the information.

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Linda

I learn so much when I can't leave well enough alone!