Homemade Washing Detergent

One of the happy side-effects of having your own skincare company is that you no longer have to buy a host of toiletries.  I haven't bought soap, shampoo or any sort of body lotion for years.  So it seemed like a logical step to see if we could make our own washing soap. (And it's a great excuse for doing some experiments.)

My research suggested that it's as easy as adding Soda Crystals (Sodium Carbonate) to ordinary bar soap. There's generally some leftover soap hanging around - either trimmings, or soaps that we can't sell because they are misshapen or experimental.  So I've been playing around trying to work out how much soap to use per wash, how much Soda Crystals to add and how best to get it ready to use.

So far the best way seems to be to grate the soap and melt it down in hot water and then stir in the Soda Crystals.  The whole mixture turns to a gloopy mess and will then set to a firm gel consistency. It's too firm to put in the soap drawer, but it's easily mashed up, so you could put it directly into the drum or mix some up with enough water to make it pourable. I've been using about 250ml (half a pint) of a blend of 4 parts water, 2 parts soap, 1 part Soda Crystals, per load, which seems to be working well at the moment.

The Soda Crystals (Sodium Carbonate) act as a water softener which helps to stop soap scum from forming, which would otherwise stick to the clothes, and it also helps to shift grease. I've got to buy it in as it isn't something that we use in any of our products, but my research also suggests that Sodium Citrate will have a similar effect as a water softener. So my next experiment will be to try to create some. It just happens that Sodium Citrate is the by-product of the reaction between Sodium Bicarbonate (not to be confused with Sodium Carbonate/Soda Crystals) and Citric Acid - the two principal ingredients in the humble Bath Bomb!  If it works, then we'll be self-sufficient for washing soap too, and who knows, it could be the start of a whole new venture.