AZ Chemistry

16 List of Chemicals for Making Liquid Soap – Compounds – Uses

There must be hundreds of liquid shop available for sale in the market today, each one of them has particular competitive advantage. One brand might claimed that everyone who uses their product will have rose scent of their body, another product claimed to be the best liquid soap that will keep you fresh all day.

There might be true, might be wrong but everyone does agree that these products are one of great invention of human race. Since in the early 90’s people can produce soap in modern way, this goods become one of the most regularly used product. With all of the benefits liquid soap can bring to us we might be wondering how does it made?

Are you curious what are the list of chemicals for making liquid soap? If so here is the list of chemicals for making liquid soap:

1. Sodium triphosphate

This compound with symbol or formula of Na₅P₃O₁₀also widely known as STTP is one of the chemical you should know and use in making liquid soap. This compound is used as cleanliness and thickness agent. It comes in white crystal powder in market and could be easily bought in online commerce shop. You may also read about Harmful Chemicals in Antibacterial Soap

2. Sodium hydroxide

This compound with symbol of NaOH used as in liquid soap as cleaning and thickening agent. It is also know as lye in soap making terms. NaOH is a white, corrosive solid or comes in a powder form. You may also read about Harmful Chemicals in Toothpaste

3. Potassium Hydroxide

This chemical is an alternative of using NaOH, with symbol of KOH this chemical also called as caustic potash. This chemical is odorless and comes in solid form in market. However, its price is higher than the Sodium hydroxide remembering the comparison of production per year that Sodium hydroxide is 100 times more produced than caustic potash. Other than used in liquid soap, it is commonly also used in niche industry for its corrosive nature and its reactivity towards acids. You may also read about Potassium Uses and Properties in Everyday Life

4. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

This chemical with formula of C₁₂H₂₅NaO₄S is used as foaming agent. Many liquid soap such as shampoo and bath bomb using this chemical because it is inexpensive and very effective as foaming agent. It comes in solid form in the market. You may also read about Common Chemicals Used at Home

5. Hydroxyethylcellulose

Commonly known as Natrosol Hydroxyethylcellulose is used as cleaning and thickness agent. It comes with powder forms and easily dissolve in cold or hot water to give crystal-clear solutions of varying viscosities. Other than being an agent in liquid soap it is also used in adhesive, ceramics, building, porcelain and many more.

6. Sodium carbonate

Also known as soda ash, and soda crystal is a water-soluble sodium salt with Na₂CO₃as its formula. Soda ash is used to be a cleaning agent in a liquid soap. But not only as cleaning agent it also thickening the soap. This chemical is unique because it can be produced in many ways such as produce from mining in several areas in U.S. , extracted from plant species and seaweed, produced in Leblanc process, and in Solvay process. You may also read about Uses of Sodium Bicarbonate in Daily Life

7. Sulfonic acid

If you want your liquid soap more natural then sulfonic acid which belongs to organosulfur compound is a right choice to add as cleaning and foaming agent. With general formula of R−S(=O)₂−OH this chemical will neutralize the basic effect of caustic soda. It application range in acid-based-product such as detergents to flow batteries.

8. Glycerol

This simple polyol compound is used as moisturizer in cleaning product especially liquid soap. This compound is very good to use as it is odorless, colorless and non-toxic chemical. This chemical is mostly produced by extracting it from plant and animal sources which the place of triglycerides occurence. This triglycerides is an ester where glycerol derived from. Human have used this chemical for many things at the moment it is still on research on it use of hydrogen gas production, and potential fuel additive as Glycerine acetate.

9. Tocopherols and tocotrienols (Vitamin E)

Most people know that vitamin E is a skin vitamin, it shield skin from damage and at the same time boost the immune system. Vitamin E that used in soap making could be in capsule form or in liquid form as in oil form.

10. Formalin

Due to this chemical harm most of liquid soap do not longer include this chemical in their making process. This chemical has been replace with some better chemical such as Citric acid, Benzoid acid and Sodium benzonate.

The last but not least, to make a liquid soap more interesting it is an obligation to add color and perfume in it. All the list of chemicals for making liquid soap above including color and fragrance in soap making which usually comes in liquid form can be easily obtain in online commerce store.

How to Make Liquid Soap

Making liquid soap is more complicated than other cleaning product, but the result will be worth. The steps for making liquid shop are :

Mixing the Lye-Water Solution and the Oils for the Liquid Soap, after heating the oil up approximately to 160 degrees celcius mix the lye-water compound. At first they might be wanted to separate but keep mixing with your stick blender until they are fully mixed.
Soap paste to the trace, after the mixture cool down and it depend on composition of mixture you have, the next step is waiting for the trace. After you find the trace then it is safe to pour the soap paste to it and stir it slowly and not too much.
Cook, after you find the trace and mixing the soap paste you get to cook the mixture. Regularly check on the mixture in around 5 minutes if you see any separation start steering it until it holds.
Diluting, after cooking the mixture up to 3 to 4 hours, you might seen the evolution of the mixture to be vaseline. If you see this then you have to stop heating it off and start diluting it by adding little bit of water and then stir it until it get softer.
Add fragrance, if you like to add some fragrance or color you can pour the fragrance and then steer it slowly.
Sequester, after adding some fragrance and the liquid soap got cooler you can pour it to your jar then let it be for a or two weeks. After one or two you are able to enjoy your homemade liquid soap.

Even though the process does not seem simple but it is still worth to try. The process above include many chemical reactions in it, there are a lot of substance used to make a liquid soap. To be completely honest those chemical substance are the ones which makes a soap become a soap.