If you want to make liquid soap for domestic use—for washing plates, clothes, floors, bathrooms, and general household cleaning—you can make a good-quality product at home using commonly available ingredients.
🧴 Basic Liquid Soap Formula — About 20 Litres
Ingredients
- Clean water: 15–17 L initially Main solvent
- SLES/Texapon: 1 kg Main cleaning and foaming agent
- Sulphonic acid: (LABSA) 500 g Strong cleaning/degreasing
- Caustic soda: 50–100 g Neutralizes sulphonic acid
- Soda ash: 100–200 g Boosts cleaning
- STPP: 100–200 g Water softener/cleaning booster
- SLS : 100–200 g Additional foaming/cleaning
- CMC: 50–100 g Thickener/stabilizer
- Salt: 200–500 g Controls thickness
- Preservative: According to manufacturer's dosage Helps prevent microbial spoilage
- Fragrance : 20–50 ml Scent
- Colour : Small amount Appearance
Important: The exact amount of caustic soda depends on the concentration of your sulphonic acid. Don't blindly use a fixed amount—neutralize gradually and check the pH.
Equipment
- Two clean plastic buckets
- Measuring container or scale
- Long plastic stirring stick
- Gloves
- Safety goggles
- pH strips or a pH meter
- Clean bottles/containers
Step-by-step method
1. Prepare the CMC
Put about 2–3 litres of water in a bucket. Slowly sprinkle the CMC into the water while stirring continuously to prevent lumps.
Leave it for several hours, preferably overnight, so it can hydrate properly.
2. Prepare the caustic soda solution
Safety first: Put water into a plastic container and slowly add the caustic soda to the water while stirring.
Never pour water onto concentrated caustic soda.
The mixture becomes very hot. Allow it to cool completely before proceeding.
3. Neutralize the sulphonic acid
Put the sulphonic acid into another bucket.
Slowly add the cooled caustic-soda solution while stirring continuously. Add it gradually rather than all at once.
Use a pH meter or pH strips. For a general-purpose domestic liquid cleaner, aim for approximately pH 7–9, depending on the intended use and the formulation.
4. Dissolve the builders
Separately dissolve the soda ash and STPP in water.
Add the solutions gradually to the main mixture while stirring.
5. Add SLES/Texapon and SLS
Add the SLES/Texapon slowly and stir gently. Then add the SLS solution if you're using powdered SLS.
Avoid aggressive stirring because it can create excessive foam that makes the batch difficult to mix.
6. Add the hydrated CMC
Add your prepared CMC gradually while stirring until the mixture becomes uniform.
7. Adjust the thickness
Dissolve salt in water separately and add it little by little.
This is important: too much salt can actually make liquid soap thinner instead of thicker.
Stop adding salt when you reach your desired consistency.
8. Add preservative, colour and fragrance
Once the mixture has cooled and is reasonably stable:
Add the preservative according to its manufacturer's recommended dosage.
Add a small amount of colour.
Add fragrance.
Stir gently.
9. Add the remaining water
Gradually add clean water until you reach approximately 20 litres.
Mix thoroughly but gently.
10. Allow it to settle
Leave the soap covered for approximately 12–24 hours.
This allows trapped air and excess foam to disappear and gives you a better idea of the final thickness.
Then check:
- pH
- Thickness
- Colour
- Fragrance
- Separation
- Cleaning/foaming performance
If everything is satisfactory, package it in clean bottles.
⚠️ Very important safety precautions
Caustic soda is dangerous. It can cause severe chemical burns and eye damage.
Always:
Wear gloves and eye protection.
Work in a well-ventilated area.
Keep children away.
Never mix caustic soda directly with acids.
Always add caustic soda to water, not water to caustic soda.
Don't use aluminium containers with caustic soda.
Label your chemicals clearly.
Keep chemicals away from food and cooking utensils.
Also, don't mix your finished liquid soap with bleach, ammonia, toilet acid, or other household chemicals.
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