Expert: Stephanie - 4/5/2007

Question
Hi, I hope you are well. I have been feeling a little ill over the last couple of days with a dose of chronic bowels which I got from the local fried chicken house. Their chicken is supposed to be meaty great but it tastes like bovril and gravel!
Several years ago I began making soap and have been addicted ever since. I am also addicted to toblerones, which is a kind of strange shaped chocolate made by the dutch. My first experience with soap was during my first bath and I knew then I would love to make soap. I have recently been experimenting with different soap shapes and have recently won a major contract for a company worth 1.8 million pounds sterling by pure fluke. I have only made one or two bars per month and they want 16000 bars per week!
My question is, is shower gel making harder or easier than soap making?

Answer
Hello,

Making shower gels is as hard as soap making, if not a little harder (and more expensive). It is pretty much the same process, except instead of using sodium hydroxide (lye) you use potassium hydroxide. Another difference is that solid soap can be made with cold process or hot process methods, but liquid soap can only be made with a hot process method.

If you are interested in the steps and procedures, I recommend two resourses:

1) Making Natural Liquid Soaps by Catherine Failor
2) http://essencesupply.com/liquid/liquidsoap.html

The author of the article on the website got their start from the recommended book, so a combination of both resources will probably be helpful for you.

Good-luck.

Regards,
Stephanie