2.28.2012

goo and liquid soap help? (and a giveaway!)

I need some help! If you have any suggestions for better goo or liquid soap after reading this post, please share your advice in the comments. I'll choose a winner from them on the weekend, and send out two bars of my amazing, moisturizing, limited production lovely soap. I hope you win!

*Edited to add: If you have no advice to offer, leave a comment saying so! You'll still be entered in the draw. And it will probably be Sunday when I choose the winner.*

I need help Part 1: Phillip and I made some goo last weekend. I wasn't thrilled with how it turned out as far as how it feels and is manipulated, but wasn't it pretty? (I used some Martha glitter in there. You just can't go wrong with Martha glitter.)
If you let it sit on your hand for a minute or two, it very slowly started to sink down. But it wasn't really stretchy at all; if you pulled it really slowly it would stretch a very little bit before breaking. You could just break it into pieces, and little tiny goopy sparkly chunks would go flying everywhere and stick to everything. I used Elmer's clear glue, and borax dissolved in water, which seems to be the standard. Does anyone have a recipe that's nice and goopy? Stretchy and pliable? I'm wondering if maybe white glue would perform differently? (Insider tip: a mom told me today that you can buy giant jugs of white glue at Home Hardware for around $10. Score!)

I need help Part 2: In other make-y news, I feel as though I should have given you an update on my liquid soap sooner. But I still haven't perfected it, so I didn't want to give any instructions. I will, however, gladly share the secret that I dug up and let you know how I've made out so far.
I often have little bar soap odds and ends around, and have tried to convert them into liquid soap on more than one (or two, or three) occasions. I haven't had much luck. This time, I followed instructions I saw on Pinterest, which didn't work at all for me - I ended up with a gallon of really thin liquid and had to use about 8x the amount of soap to water that was recommended in the recipe. You could take the really thin liquid and put it in a foaming dispenser, but since I don't have one, I searched and searched for another natural, effective solution, and eventually found it: SALT. I wish I had taken a before picture. The soap was clear, and thin. Kind of like maple syrup looks. I sprinkled in some sea salt (maybe 1 or 1 1/2 tbsp to 4 litres (1 gallon) of soap), let it sit for a few hours, and stick blended it. (I thought that this would make it lather more than it did; it just kind of incorporates air into it.) I let it sit again (maybe overnight, I can't remember exactly), blended it again, and then all of a sudden, it turned into this lovely, thick liquid soap!
I've had soap from two different batches on the go in the house for the past week or two. One of them continued to thicken, and the pump is sucking up the water and not the solids. Fail. The other (the one pictured) seems to be starting to separate after about a week, but you still get a nice bit of the thick part and the thin in your hand that does the trick.

To sum up: I have no specific instructions, mediocre success, and am curious if anyone else has tried salt in your grated bar liquid soap. Has it worked? Can you please help me with the proportions / method? I'm just planning on making this for our use here at home, but I would like it to be awesome.

I hope that your week is going well, and thanks in advance for your help!

19 comments:

  1. I have no advice for you, as I've never tried either of things, but if you find a good recipe for the goo you should blog about it. That would be really fun to try!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've tried liquid soap and it was a complete fail. Bar soap works so well that I just have decided that the effort it might take to make liquid soap work isn't worth it. I use my soap ends (well yours actually!) in the kitchen. I keep them in a little anchor glass container (about four) and they function as our 'kitchen' soap.
    I even had a friend comment the other day that it was weird how she felt like she needed liquid soap in her home cuz she never feels grossed out or weird about our kitchen (and bathroom) soap. :)

    ps- LOVE your soap!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm wondering if there's much difference between liquid dish soap and body soap and shampoo? Or is it just a matter of packaging. Maybe a recipe could be combined with another body/dish/hair soap recipe?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I haven't made either, but I was really curious and I found an article that has some info about your goo. It seems the higher the concentration of the borax, the more viscous your goo will be. So maybe try less Borax or more glue? Here's the article if you'd like to see for yourself. The really helpful stuff is under the heading "Artisan Methods: Design your won slime"

    http://bizarrelabs.com/slime.htm

    I'd be curious to hear if you solve your liquid soap dilemma. I encountered similar problems in a batch of homemade laundry soap. Thick and thin.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I don't know if the comment I just typed up got to you, so here it goes again: I came across a "goo" recipe on Pinterest that used both clear glue and white glue and the mom that made both said she liked the white glue better for the texture it produced. Here is the wed address:http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/09/kids-in-the-kitchen-slime/

    I hope this helps!! I haven't made any personally (yet!), but I plan on it eventually.

    As far as liquid soap goes, well, I don't have any secrets. I have a bunch of endings of my own soap, so i know that I will be happy if you figure it out and put up a recipe on your blog. I always enjoy the recipes you put up.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sorry, I am no goo or soap expert, just a spectator who enjoys your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Laurie3/01/2012

    I find that almost equal ratios of white Elmers glue and liquid starch make a nice goo and works well to store it in the fridge. You may have to add a little more starch if it's too sticky.

    ReplyDelete
  8. You mean like this stuff? http://thedandeliontrail.blogspot.com/2011/10/gak.html
    I can do my best to figure out where I found the recipe.

    We received your soap on Monday. YAY for us! So lovely. We're all so happy to have your soap again for bathtime.

    Guess what? It is not at all what I thought I was ordering. I thought I was ordering white shaving soap, flavour-free. But the reason we loved it was not for its colour or scentlessness, but because of its incredible suds. And what you sent to us has that very attribute! Plus an lovely smell (which none of us can identify besides "cinnamon-y, maybe clove-y"). Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks, Kristin! I am so sorry that we got mixed up, but I'm glad that you like the soap. And they told me at the post office that it should have arrived to you by Friday - sorry you had to do without for the weekend. Next time you want some, remind me, and I'll squeeze in some extras for you. Yes, cinnamon is the winner! And yes, your gak looks just like what I'm looking for! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. MelisssR3/01/2012

    I have no experience with making goo, so can't help you there. Liquid soap is something I've been wanting to make, but every time I find a recipe it seems too daunting. I usually find them in one of the dozens of soap making books. There seems to be a lot of cooking and waiting for several days before the soap is ready, and too many ingredients. If you figure out an easy way to make it, please post! Wish I had more to contribute.

    Melissa

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm amazed by homemade soap - salt helped with the texture? amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I have no advice to offer, I've only dabbled in soap making a couple of times, but I'm sure you'll figure it out :)
    The liquid soap looks lovely already :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. I am in awe of your home made soaps! Every time I try, I utterly fail!! So sorry, no advice, except - if you wanted the salt as an exfoliant wouldn't the salt disintegrate in the liquid? But as I said - no expert at all!

    Good luck!
    xx

    ReplyDelete
  14. i have no idea! but here.sto handmade soap

    ReplyDelete
  15. i have no idea! but here.sto handmade soap

    ReplyDelete
  16. I have a friend who says she's perfected liquid soap, but I can't remember what she said about it. I'll email her today and let you know what she says. :)

    As for goop, hmmm...I don't have any recipes but I imagine you can find a decent one from a children's crafts book at the library?

    ReplyDelete
  17. So sorry! I don't have anything helpful to add, but I would say thank you for sharing the experience (especially since I'm a new soaper). I love seeing the failures to help me know that it's still worth trying to find the perfect recipe. Your pictures are beautifully clear!

    ReplyDelete
  18. SaMMieS, you're the winner! Phillip picked your number. Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I found our recipe!
    http://tinkerlab.com/2011/05/flubber-gak-slime-exploration/

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for your comments - I read and appreciate each one! Sorry about the word verification - the spammers found me and it became necessary. Thanks for taking the time to comment!