ASSIGNMENT NO.

02

❖ Submitted by: Adeeba (06), Fatima

(026), Hajira (030), Mubeen (048),
Salwa (074)
❖ Session: 2024-2029
❖ Section: B
❖ Semester :2nd
❖ Subject: Organic Chemistry
❖ Course code: PHARM-316
❖ Department: Pharmacy
❖ Institute: Mirpur University of
Science and Technology (M.U.S.T)

L
 HaWa
Cosmetics
 LIQUID SOAP

Liquid soap is a cleansing agent in a liquid form, used for washing hands, body and
even dishes. It is typically made from fats and oils reacted with a caustic substance
(like potassium hydroxide) to create a water-soluble cleansing agent. Unlike a bar
soap, which is typically made from sodium hydroxide, liquid soap is designed to be
more easily rinsed away.
 Preparation of liquid soap

Liquid soap preparation is a very interesting and intricate process with vast
range of recipes found in different books and sources across the internet. Making
your own liquid soap from scratch can seem daunting, but it's a rewarding process
that gives you complete control over the ingredients. Unlike melt-and-pour options,
this method involves saponification, a chemical reaction where oils and a strong
alkali (potassium hydroxide, or lye) transform into soap. The result is a
customizable, often more natural, and wonderfully moisturizing liquid soap that's
perfect for hand washing, showering, or even household cleaning.
➢ Ingredients of liquid soap: The recipe we’ll be following requires
following ingredients:
• Glycerin (or Glycerol) (200grams)
• Coconut oil (12.5 grams)
• Castor oil (12.5grams)
• Potassium Hydroxide (25grams)
• Citric acid (optional)
• Essential oil
• Water
• Colorant (optional)
➢ Glassware and electronic equipment: We’ll require following apparatus
to make liquid soap:
• Beakers
• Stirrers
• Weighing balance
• Magnetic hot plate
• Graduated cylinder
• Spatulas
• pH meter or pH strips
 ➢ Procedure: We’ll be using the following recipe using hot process method for
making liquid soap.
1. Prepare glycerin:
• Measure 200 grams of glycerin into a beaker.
• Heat glycerin to 60◦C.
• Stir glycerin gently and check temperature with thermometer.
2. Prepare coconut and castor oil:
• Weigh 12.5 grams of coconut oil and 12.5 grams of castor oil in a beaker.
• Heat the coconut oil enough to melt the oil.
• Add to glycerin.
3. Prepare potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution:
• Measure 75 mL of water into a beaker.
(Use distilled water if available. Fewer impurities in water, especially if
you have hard water, will improve the quality and clarity (color) of the soap).
• Measure 25 grams of KOH.
(KOH is hydroscopic. It will absorb moisture from the air causing it to weigh
more and be less effective. Keep KOH covered. KOH dust can irritate the
nostrils and throat. Avoid breathing the dust or fumes when mixing KOH
solutions.)
• Add the measured KOH to the water and swirl to dissolve. (If available,
perform this step under a fume hood).
4. Mix Soap:
• Gently pour KOH/Water solution into the hot glycerin (or glycerol).
• Heat soap and maintain temperature of 60-70◦C.
• Stir soap constantly.
• Mix for 5 minutes. (The soap will start to thicken as the glycerin and the oils
are saponified.)
• Add 250 mL of dilution water to the soap. (Use distilled water if available.
Fewer impurities in water, especially if you have hard water, will improve the
quality and clarity (color) of the soap).
• Colorant can be added at this point mixed in water or oil and the mixture is again
stirred.
• Continue to heat and stir soap for an additional 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes:
• Take soap off of the heat.
• Allow to cool to room temperature.
5. pH Balance of Soap:
• Test the pH of your soap.
• Use pH test strips and/or a pH meter.
• Target pH is 9.75.
• The pH is likely to be too high, but this was done purposefully to ensure that all
of the glycerin and the oils were saponified.
• Lower pH by adding 20% citric acid solution. (Dissolve 20 grams of citric acid
in 80 grams of water).
• Slowly add small amounts to the soap and stir.
• Retest ph.
• Continue this until you reach your target pH of 9.75.

6. OPTIONAL:
• At this point you can add a few grams of essential oil to scent the soap.
• Concentrated essential oil is very strong and a little goes a long way.
7. Test:
• Test the soap on your hands, floors, tables...almost anything can be cleaned
with this universal soap!
• Observe the soap over the next couple days and weeks. The soap should not
form any layers and the pH should remain stable.

➢Stages of the soap formation: Liquid soap formation, particularly using

the hot process method, involves several distinct stages as the oils and lye
 undergo a chemical transformation. Understanding these stages helps
monitor the process and know when the soap is ready for the next step.

Here are the key stages of liquid soap formation:

1. Preparation and Initial Mixing (Pre-Trace):

• Lye Solution Preparation: Potassium hydroxide (KOH) is carefully
dissolved in a liquid (usually distilled water, or a blend of water and
glycerol in the "glycerin method"). This is an exothermic reaction, meaning
it generates significant heat.
• Oil Melting & warming: Solid oils (like coconut oil) are melted, and all
oils are brought to a specific temperature range, usually similar to the lye
solution's temperature.
• Combining & Stirring: The lye solution is slowly and carefully added to
the melted oils. Initial stirring begins, usually with an immersion blender
or magnetic stirrer, to start the emulsification process.
2. Trace:
• Emulsification: This is the point where the oils and lye solution have fully
mixed and no longer separate. The mixture begins to thicken and takes on a
uniform, opaque appearance.
• Consistency: The texture will resemble thin pudding, custard, or sometimes
a thick applesauce. When you lift the immersion blender or stop stirring, a
"trace" or visible mark will be left on the surface before slowly sinking back
in. This indicates that saponification has begun.

3. The Cook (Saponification Completion - Hot Process Stages):

• After reaching trace, heat is applied (e.g., in a slow cooker, double boiler, or
on the hot plate) to accelerate and complete the saponification process. The
soap paste will undergo several visual transformations during this cooking
phase:
➢ Applesauce Stage / Lumpy Stage: The soap batter may become lumpy and
resemble chunky applesauce. It might expand a bit and look frothy.
➢ Separation / Champagne Bubbles: Sometimes, the mixture appears to
separate, with oil-like liquid and bubbly solid bits. This is a normal part of
the process and doesn't mean your experiment has failed. Keep stirring
occasionally.
➢ Gel Stage / Translucent Stage: As saponification progresses, the soap will
start to become translucent and gel-like. It will appear darker in color
around the edges first, then spread throughout the whole soap. It might look
like Vaseline or thick, gooey honey.
➢ Mashed Potato / Vaseline Consistency: The final cooked paste will be thick,
smooth, and translucent, resembling soft mashed potatoes or petroleum jelly.
It should pull away cleanly from the sides of the pot.
➢ (pH Test): After this pH is measured by using pH strips / pH meter.
4. Dilution:
• Cooling (Optional but Recommended): The hot soap paste is allowed to cool
slightly before dilution.
• Adding Water: Hot distilled water is gradually added to the thick soap
paste, typically in stages, while stirring. This process dissolves the solid paste
into a liquid. This can take time (several hours, sometimes even overnight,
with occasional stirring).
• Consistency Adjustment: More water is added until the desired thickness for
the final liquid soap is achieved. Remember that the soap will often thicken
further as it cools completely.

5. Additives & Finishing:

• Essential/Fragrance Oils: Once the soap is fully diluted and has cooled to
lukewarm, essential oils or fragrance oils are stirred in.
• Optional Additives: Other additives like thickeners (if needed), colorants, or
super fatting oils can be added at this stage.
• Resting/Settling: The finished liquid soap is often left to sit for a few days
to a week. This allows any air bubbles to rise, fine particles to settle, and the
soap to become clearer and more stable.
• Bottling: Once clear and settled, the liquid soap is carefully poured into
appropriate containers.

Each of these stages is crucial for creating a safe, effective, and aesthetically
pleasing liquid soap.

➢Tips for making liquid soap:

• You cannot super fat liquid soap to the same degree that you can with bar
soap. The max you can super fat liquid soap is around is 3
• Some oils are more suited for making liquid soap than others. The most
common oils used in liquid soapmaking are olive oil, coconut oil and castor
oil.

✓ Coconut oil helps the liquid soap paste saponify, plus it adds that lather
boost you know it for.
✓ Other oils that are high in saturated fatty acids like tallow, cocoa butter,
shea butter and lard present challenges (mainly, cloudiness) in liquid soap
that you may want to tackle down the road.
✓ if you want to use them. Olive oil helps keep the liquid soap thicker,
while also being moisturizing, and castor oil works its magic in liquid
soap (just like it does in bar soap)!

• Most liquid soaps are thinner than what you may expect. Most of the liquid
soaps we encounter commercially are actually surfactant-based products, and
not actual soap.

✓ Olive oil-based liquid soaps will be thicker than coconut oil-based

liquid soaps, so you'll want to keep that in mind when using
different recipes.
 ✓ Finished soap paste is typically thick and semi-translucent.
The next steps are dilution, adjustments, and scent/colour!

• Liquid soapmaking requires patience!

✓ It is easier in the long run to add a little water a time to dilute

than it is to deal with a liquid soap that has too much
water added. So, add your dilution water slowly, give it time,
and be patient.

• Making lye solution with KOH is definitely different than NaOH.

✓ Potassium hydroxide (KOH) does not generate as much heat as

sodium hydroxide (NaOH) does, so your lye water will cool more
quickly with KOH. You also want to make sure to stir when you
add the KOH to the water to help it dissolve. Heads up: making
a lye solution with KOH also makes a crackling sound.

• Be careful of diluting your soap paste with anything other than distilled
water.
• Liquid soap almost always needs to be tested and adjusted.

✓ Potassium hydroxide (KOH) is not as pure as sodium hydroxide

(NaOH), and it breaks down more quickly. Even if you are
meticulous about measuring your ingredients, you may end with a
soap that is either lye heavy or superfatted. One of the cool things
about liquid soap is that both of those problems are easy to fix
after your liquid soap is diluted!
✓ You can use two methods to determine if your liquid soap has
excess oil or lye:
✓ To check for excess oil, mix a small bit of your fully cooked paste
with distilled water. If it is NOT milky, then your oils are
saponified. Cloudy is ok, milky is NOT. If your soap has
unsaponified oils, you can add some dissolved KOH solution to
saponify the extra oils.
 • To test for excess lye, you can use pH strips in your diluted paste.

➢Precautions:
Making liquid soap, like making any soap from scratch, involves
working with potassium hydroxide (KOH), also known as lye, which
is a highly caustic chemical. Therefore, ignoring precautions can lead
to serious chemical burns, eye damage, or other injuries.
Here are the essential precautions for liquid soap making:

1.Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is Non-Negotiable:

✓ Safety Goggles/Glasses: Always wear eye protection that completely encloses

your eyes. Splashes of lye solution can cause irreversible eye damage or
blindness. Regular eyeglasses are not sufficient.

✓ Chemical-Resistant Gloves: Wear thick, elbow-length rubber or nitrile gloves

(not latex, which can degrade with lye). Lye solution can cause severe skin
burns.
✓ Long Sleeves and Pants: Wear clothing that covers your arms and legs to
protect your skin from splashes. An apron (preferably chemical-resistant) is also
a good idea.
✓ Closed-Toe Shoes: Protect your feet from spills.

2. Ventilation is Key:

✓ Work in a well-ventilated area, preferably outdoors or in a room with open

windows and a fan.
✓ Lye dissolving in water creates fumes that can be irritating to the respiratory
system. Do not lean directly over the mixture.
3. Lye Handling Specifics:

✓ Always Add Lye to Liquid, Never Liquid to Lye: This is critical. Adding
liquid to lye can cause a violent, explosive reaction. Slowly sprinkle the
KOH flakes into the water (or water/glycerol mix) while stirring.
 ✓ Use Heat-Resistant Containers: Only use containers made of heavy-duty
plastic (like HDPE #2), stainless steel, tempered glass (Pyrex), or thick,
heat-resistant plastic.
✓ NEVER use aluminium, as lye reacts violently with it, causing dangerous
fumes and damaging your equipment.
✓ Measure Accurately: Use a digital scale for precise measurements of lye.
Small inaccuracies can significantly affect the final soap's safety and
quality.
✓ Store Lye Safely: Keep lye in its original, airtight container, clearly labelled,
in a cool, dry place, out of reach of children and pets. It absorbs moisture
from the air, which can weaken it.

4. Work Area Preparation:

✓ Clear and Clean Surface: Work on a clean, uncluttered, stable surface.

5. Emergency Preparedness:

✓ Have Neutralizing Agents Ready: Keep a bottle of plain white vinegar

handy. In case of a lye spill on your work surface, vinegar can help
neutralize it.
✓ Running Water Access: In case of skin contact with lye, immediately
flush the affected area with copious amounts of cool running water for at
least 15-20 minutes. If lye gets in the eyes, flush immediately with water
and seek emergency medical treatment.
6. Immersion Blender Safety:

✓ While using blender keep the immersion blender head fully submerged
when operating to prevent splashing.
✓ Start blending on a low speed.
7. Cooking Safety (Hot Process):

✓ If using a stovetop, keep the heat on low and stir frequently to prevent
scorching, especially once the soap paste begins to thicken.
 ✓ Be mindful of steam and hot soap paste, which can still cause burns.
By adhering to these precautions diligently, you can ensure a safe and
successful liquid soap making experience.

➢Uses:
Here are the uses of liquid soap:
• Personal Hygiene:

* Hand Washing

* Body Wash / Shower Gel

* Facial Cleanser

* Shampoo (hair)

* Pet Shampoo

• Household Cleaning:

* Dishwashing Liquid

* All-Purpose Cleaner (countertops, floors, walls, bathrooms)

* Laundry Detergent (delicates, pre-treatment)

* Car Wash

* Fruit and Vegetable Wash

* Tool and Brush Cleaning
• Other:
* Lubricant

* Garden Pest Control

* Bubble Solution Ingredient

cleaning

Liquid
soap
bubble washng
solution hands

➢ REFRENCES:
❖https://www.modernsoapmaking.com/blog/tips-
tricks-making-liquid-soap
❖https://www.luc.edu//media/lucedu/sustainabilit
y-new/2022images/Biodiesel%20Curricula%20-
20%versi0n%205.5.pdf