Discussion group Saboaria – Portugal

I did this formula for homemade laundry soap to post at Facebook group to discuss the soapmaking in Portugal.
This group is fabulous in its spirit of sharing knowledge in a transparent and unpretentious, all learn and exchange knowledge.
Those interested in accessing the group, is closed and need to request membership, the address is: http://www.facebook.com/groups/saboaria/

In Portugal ecological awareness and sustainability is rapidly developing. People worry about the economy and preservation of natural resources, recycling and using environmentally friendly products.They are always looking for products that can replace industrialized products derived from petrochemicals.

In the soapmaking group someone requested a recipe for laundry soap. I suggested a vegetable coconut soap that usually I do: coconut / palm – 75/25, but as the coconut oil is expensive in Portugal, made a modification to match costs and availability, without sacrificing too much in the performance of soap. The common extra virgin olive oil in Portugal is cheap, around $ 7.40 a gallon. The formula of the original coconut soap and modification are on the download page.
From this soap bar was derived the soap powder because many have the custom to grate the soap and dissolve in water and use the washing machine. The liquid soap thus prepared is very thin and needs to be shaken before use.

Because I not have the coconut soap bars, I make a successfully process using a lavender soap bar whose composition is the closest to the my formula of coconut soap bars. The composition of my basic soap is: olive / coconut / palm / castor: 30/30/35/5. If everything went right with this formula, sure will look better with the original or modified formula of coconut soap bars.

Formula

The coconut soap bars, as said above, can be the original whose composition is: coconut oil / palm oil – 75/25 or the modified (Portugal) version whose composition is: coconut oil / palm oil / olive oil – 60/10/30. Remember that the dynamic  of cleaning is soap solubility and power to make foams. Thus, the greater the amount of sodium palmitate, one of the more soluble soap salts and also the soap that makes more foam, the higher the cleaning power.
Soda washing softens the water and removes dirt and borax is a bleach and strip odors.

It takes a kitchen grater to grate the soap bar, scales, and a food processor.

Here the grated soap in the kitchen grater. Grating previously facilitates grinding in a food processor.

Sodium carbonate and borax is weight in kitchen scale.

In food processor, will gradually adding the grated soap together with small amounts of sodium carbonate and borax, and powering the processor to obtain a fine grinding. As it is a mixture of solid gradually make processor to preserve of the over-heating.

The colored facilitate observing the homogeneity of the mixture.  When the mixture is very fine and very homogeneous soap powder is ready.

The soap powder and dissolving in water. Obviously the dissolution of this soap can not be compared with synthetic industrial and petrochemical soap powder. This homemade soap takes longer to dissolve but the mechanical work of agitation in the washer is enough for a good dissolution and washing.

Measure the pH of homemade soap powder. Borax acts buffering the solution and maintaining the pH below 10.

clik here to download soap powder formulas