# KOH for a bar soap



## diamondtim (Jun 10, 2005)

I was looking at shaving soap formulas in the public domain books I posted in another thread and a question came to mind. Why would one use KOH or a blend of KOH & NaOH for a bar soap?


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## Barn Yarns (Oct 7, 2012)

Sodium Hydroxide for bar soap, Potassium Hydroxide for liquid soap is what I have always read.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

NaOH (sodium hydroxide) is for bar soap
KOH (potasium hydroxide) is for liquid soap

A blend of NaOH & KOH is for a cream soap.

So ... if you want a hard puck (or soap shavings/chips), you need NaOH. If you want a liquid soap, then KOH. If you want a cream soap, combine the two.

For the puck, you'll want a recipe high in lauric fatty acid & stearic acid, with some conditioning oleic & linoleic fatty acids.


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