Review on La Almona - 1 Gallon Unscented Pure Castile Liquid Soap by Mariah Perry

I usually make my castile soap at home but due to lack of time I needed something and couldn't make it so I bought a gallon of this unscented liquid castile soap. The foam is good, the smell is as it should be. It's definitely not unscented, it just doesn't have any additional flavors added. However, it does have a castile soap scent, so if you're looking for something that has absolutely no scent, this isn't for you. I don't care about the smell. I need to thicken the soap so I can use it for shampoo and shower gel. The watery soap in the shower is just annoying. I end up using too much because it's so thin and difficult to hold in my hand to transfer it from the bottle to my head. The seller recommends heating the soap and adding a brine (salt water) solution, then letting it cool and as it cools it should thicken. It's not like this. The brine separated and some of the water soaked into the soap (like it's supposed to be thinner or something!), leaving a thick layer of brine. More liquid soap. I've tried adding direct salt to the hot soap at a lower ratio. Then I got a layer floating on top of the soap that was like hard suds with watery soap at the bottom. The solid part is not usable as a liquid soap, it doesn't even go through the pump on the bottle. I tried thickening with glycerin. Nothing. I spent half a gallon thickening small batches. So I made my own liquid soap at home, it thickens well and works as expected. I save the remaining half gallon of La Almona to use only in foam pump bottles as they are clean and foamy, they don't thicken at all so are suitable for foam pumps. As an experienced Castilian soap maker. I know this soap was made, thickened, and then thinned again until it can't thicken anymore. It's just chemistry and castile SOAP CAN be thickened a few times before it gets to the point where the thickeners don't work properly. Here's what was done to this soap. just so you know dr Bronner's Soap is a purer, unthickened soap, but still diluted through the original manufacturing process and therefore can be thickened at home for a variety of purposes. La Almona was diluted during the initial manufacturing process, then thickened and then re-diluted at least once (maybe two or three times to reach the level my bottle was at). So if you don't want this soap to ONLY be used in pump bottles, look elsewhere. Even if you pay more for it, you get soap that you can thicken or thin as you like. This soap can only be used straight from the bottle with no possibility of further thickening and I would not attempt to further dilute it like a more concentrated soap as it was already heavily diluted. Don't spend money like me. If you're looking for an inexpensive Castilian soap to try as a first-time user, look for something more reliable and concentrated to get your money's worth.