Making Natural Liquid Soaps

ingredients found in modern liquid soaps, which are actually detergents. Aside from their cleansing properties, these “soaps” have been engineered for stability because they’re often shipped thousands of miles to market and suffer from exposure to heat, cold, and light. Before the days of international commerce and mass marketing, liquid soap was soap, often consisting of little else besides coconut oil and potassium hydroxide.
The ingredients and additives for “old-fashioned” liquid soap are listed in this chapter. You can formulate soap with a single oil and potassium hydroxide, or create blends of many oils enhanced with a wide variety of additives. A review of the procedures and recipes in the following chapters will help