Making transparent soap based on virgin coconut oil with the addition of citronella oil additives

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, soap has become an important ingredient because it can cleanse the body of bacteria or viruses. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to see how the addition of citronella oil affects the final product of trasparent soap. VCO, sodium hydroxide, stearate, glycerin, ethanol, sugar, cocoamide DEA, citric acid, and varying quantities of citronella oil, 0, 1 and 2 percent, are among the materials used to manufacture transparent soap. Citronella oil was obtained by extracting 125 g of lemongrass in 250 ml of ethanol under reflux for 3 hours and evaporating to separate the solvent from the citronella oil. The parameters of transparent soap measured were water content, free alkali, and pH. As a result, the optimum amount of citronella oil additive was 1%, the water content was 11, 0.04% free alkali, and the pH was 10.5. In addition, the quality of the resulting transparent soap meets the SNI standard for solid soap no. 3532-2016. The addition of citronella oil produces transparent soap, which has better anti-bacterial and fungal properties and a more fragrant smell when compared to transparent soap without citronella oil.