This is my favourite DIY natural liquid soap recipe. Like all my other natural product recipes, it’s palm oil free. If you’re wondering why this is then please take a look at this article – I wrote it some time back, and it should answer all of your questions: Palm oil, the good, the bad and the downright ugly
Equipment:
Double boiler (a saucepan full of water with another smaller saucepan or glass bowl inside it)
Measuring scales
pH strips
Stick/hand blender
Wooden or stainless steal long handled spoon
Funnel
Protection Equipment: eye protection, apron and gloves (wear these all the time when using potassium hydroxide/lye)
Bucket or saucepan
Airtight storage container (for excess soap for diluting at a later date)
Ingredients:
200 g (8 oz) coconut oil
200 g (8 oz) sunflower oil
100 g (4 oz) olive oil
180 g (7 oz) filtered water
108 g (4 oz) potassium hydroxide/lye (always wear protective gear when handling/using this)
10 g (1/3 oz) potassium carbonate
10 g (1/3 oz) of grapeseed oil or vitamin E oil (these act as a preservative)
2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) of a selection of essential oils (I always use tea-tree and lavender oil as they are antibacterial and then usually add another oil, something like chamomile, ylang ylang or a citrus oil).
Directions:
1. Weigh all the oils (except the essential oils) and put them into a saucepan.
2. Measure out the water needed and add this to the bucket (or another saucepan).
3. Fill the double boiler with water and bring the water to heat.
4. Put on all your protective gear. Weigh the potassium hydroxide/lye and potassium carbonate and add to the saucepan/bucket that is not on the heat.
5. Melt the oils in the double boiler and remove from the heat when completely melted. Add the potassium 
hydroxide/carbonate/water mixture to the melted oil mixture and stir with a long handled spoon.
6. Stir mixture with stick/hand blender until it comes to trace (this is when the stick blender makes patterns in the thicker mixture as it moves through it).
7. Place the mixture back into the double boiler and cover the saucepan with a lid. Stir this mixture every 15 mins. The mixture may look like it’s separating or curdling, but this is fine. Make sure to keep topping up the water as it will evaporate.
8. After 3 hours the mixture is ready to test for a safe pH level (which should be no less than a pH of 7).
9. Now your product is ready to dilute. Weigh 83 g (3 oz) of soap paste and dilute with 166 ml (6 oz) of boiling filtered water and dissolve well. If this does not happen then add back to heat until it does. Then when cooler again add your grapeseed oil/vitamin E oil and essential oils and pour into a 250 ml (8 fl oz) soap dispenser using your funnel. If you have more than one dispenser to fill then simply double this part of the recipe.
10. Put the remaining soap paste into an airtight container until you wish to refill your soap dispenser(s) again and then repeat the last step (No.9).
Now enjoy your soap!
