Now that that's out of the way, I have discovered the more time consuming, but less expensive option of making liquid soap out of a bar.
One 32oz bottle of premade Dr. Bronners runs about $15.99 at my local store, be it Walgreens or Walmart. A 5oz bar of their soap runs about $4.99 or if you get the Kirk's brand they come in a 3-pack of 4oz bars for about $3.
So far, both soap bars seem to melt down similarly and work about the same. Kirk's brand specifically says that it's a coconut oil based castile, so I had hoped that it might be a bit more moisturizing on it's own, but, alas! Not so much, but it still makes an amazing shaving agent.
A basic recipe that I follow for the Bronner's is a 2:1 distilled water to soap ratio, then you can either grate your bar or chop it up with a knife. Just a rough chop is fine, you want it to melt in your water without taking all day. So on the stove, bring your water to a simmer, dump in your soap and stir until it all melts down into pure liquid. You can adjust your soap to water ratio if you prefer to have a thinner liquid soap, my particular ratio makes a thicker soap bordering on bath slime.
For the Kirk's, one bar is only 3oz and much thinner consistency, so you could do a ratio of 1 cup per ounce of soap and then adjust to your liking. It's important to use distilled water for the sake of reducing bacteria, if you are unable to buy some you can always boil tap water before using it.
Allow your liquid to cool and sit for at least 12 hours, if not 24. If the consistency is too thick you can simply add some water and melt it on the stove again, or even shake it in a mason jar and burn a few calories for the day!
So far, both soap bars seem to melt down similarly and work about the same. Kirk's brand specifically says that it's a coconut oil based castile, so I had hoped that it might be a bit more moisturizing on it's own, but, alas! Not so much, but it still makes an amazing shaving agent.
A basic recipe that I follow for the Bronner's is a 2:1 distilled water to soap ratio, then you can either grate your bar or chop it up with a knife. Just a rough chop is fine, you want it to melt in your water without taking all day. So on the stove, bring your water to a simmer, dump in your soap and stir until it all melts down into pure liquid. You can adjust your soap to water ratio if you prefer to have a thinner liquid soap, my particular ratio makes a thicker soap bordering on bath slime.
For the Kirk's, one bar is only 3oz and much thinner consistency, so you could do a ratio of 1 cup per ounce of soap and then adjust to your liking. It's important to use distilled water for the sake of reducing bacteria, if you are unable to buy some you can always boil tap water before using it.
Allow your liquid to cool and sit for at least 12 hours, if not 24. If the consistency is too thick you can simply add some water and melt it on the stove again, or even shake it in a mason jar and burn a few calories for the day!
Voila! Liquid soap!
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| Lavender Liquid Castile melted down from a solid bar. |
Alternatively, if it comes out too thin, you can thicken it up a bit by making a solution of 0.5oz salt and 1.5oz water, just use hot water and stir the salt in until it's dissolved. Any salt will do, I used sea salt because it was what I had on hand, but you can use good old iodized salt.
WARNING
You will NOT see a difference in your soap thickness until it has cooled completely and had time to work it's magic, so be prepared for the possibility of needing adjustments the first few times you make it in order to achieve your desired consistency.
So my conclusion thus far? Melting the bar soap down is far more cost effective and works just as well as the pre-made liquid for all manners of cleaning activity!
