Basic Castile Soap
"This soap is very mild and gentle since it is made from vegetable products. Recipe posted by request. This is from the book: Natural Beauty At Home by Janice Cox."
- Ready In:
- 384hrs 15mins
- Ingredients:
- 3
- Yields:
-
12 2oz. bars
ingredients
directions
- Heat the olive oil on low flame to approximately 80-85 F.
- Dissolve the lye in the water.
- Cool to about 70-75 F.
- Pour the lye solution in a thin, steady stream, into the oil with slow, even stirring.
- You shouldn't be heating the mixture at this time.
- Continue stirring until a thick, honeylike texture is obtained.
- This will take 10-20 minutes.
- Note: If the soap mixture does not become thick within 30 minutes, and there is a greasy layer on top, it may be too warm.
- If this happens, set the container in cool water and keep stirring from the sides and the bottom.
- Contrastingly, if the mixture is lumpy, it may be too cold.
- If this happens, set it in a pan of warm water and stir until the lumps disappear.
- Pour the thickened soap mixture into your molds.
- Cover.
- Keep warm for a minium of 24 hours.
- This allows the saponification process to take place slowly and will prevent the mixture from separating.
- You can wrap your soap molds in an old blanket.
- When the soap is set, remove it from the molds and cut it into bars.
- Allow the soap to age for atleast 2 weeks in a dry place.
- Note: If the soap is crumbly or has streaks of grease, it may be reclaimed as follows: Cut the soap into fine pieces.
- Add 2 cups of water and dissolve over low flame.
- Stir occasionally.
- When the lumps have disappeared, increase the heat and boil until the soap appears thick.
- Pour soap in molds and continue as explained above.
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Reviews
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This was also my first soapmaking experience. After reading Raynem's review I did some research, and I changed the proportions when I made this recipe... use 3 cups of olive oil and 1 cup of water with the 1/2 cup of lye granules. It was soft for 4 days or more, and was ready to use in about 3 weeks. It turned out great and is a gentle moisturizing soap, but doesn't lather a lot. To get more lather next time, I will substitute coconut oil for 3/4 cup of the olive oil. Good luck! -
The lye water should be poured into the warm oil when both are at 80-100 degrees F. The mixture may be stirred with a hand mixer, but be sure to use caution so that there are no splashes. This is a very caustic mixture. If the mixture comes out too brittle, you can grate it for laundry. If the mixture comes out too soft, it can be used as a liquid soap for laundry or for hands. Be certain to wait at least three weeks before using it on your body to insure that it is not still caustic. -
One ***important*** note- *never* add water to lye, always add the lye to the water! OPtherwise, a nasty splatter can result. To get the right amount of lye for a recipe, always use a lye calculator. There are many on the Web. -
This was my very first soapmaking expierence, and what an experience it was. My first batch did not turn out at all. After 2 days in the mold it was still soft. Like pudding. I did some research and tried again this time increasing the temperature of the oil and lye water. These got hard but were brittle and dried out my skin (only tried it on my hands). I found a trouble shooting chart and it said (according to my symptoms) that I had too much lye in it. (I measured very well) ANYWAY-- I ended up with success because I grated this soap and used it in my dishwasher and it worked very well. The kitchen smell great while the dishes were washing as I had used spice fragrance oil in the soap. Happy Holidays!
Tweaks
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This was also my first soapmaking experience. After reading Raynem's review I did some research, and I changed the proportions when I made this recipe... use 3 cups of olive oil and 1 cup of water with the 1/2 cup of lye granules. It was soft for 4 days or more, and was ready to use in about 3 weeks. It turned out great and is a gentle moisturizing soap, but doesn't lather a lot. To get more lather next time, I will substitute coconut oil for 3/4 cup of the olive oil. Good luck!
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