How to Make Liquid Castille Soap

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By HS Schulte
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Castile soap is commonly found in health food stores due to it's mild and natural ingredients. If you want a greener alternative to commercial soap, or have concerns about the chemicals in most soaps, Castile soap is the solution. Castile soap gets it's name from the Castile region of Spain which is known for it's production of olive oil. Castile soap is made mostly of olive oil, making it gentle and hydrating to your skin.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

2 cups olive oil
1/2 cup lye granules
12 cups water
candy thermometer

Step 1

Heat the olive oil to 80 degrees. You will allow it to cool to 75 degrees before adding the lye.
Step 2

As the olive oil is cooling dissolve the lye into the 12 cups of water. Use a wooden spoon to stir the lye as it dissolves. Use extreme caution when mixing and pouring lye! Work in a well ventilated area, wear eye protection and keep some vinegar handy in case you get some lye on your skin. The vinegar will neutralize the lye.
Step 3

After you have the lye dissolved in the water and the olive oil has cooled to 75 degrees, slowly add the lye to the olive oil. Stir well and continue stirring for 15 minutes as the liquid Castile soap cools.

Tips & Warnings

Liquid castile soap is excellent for dry skin.
After the soap has cooled, you can add essential oils for natural fragrance if desired.

Comments

chocoandfluffy said

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on 11/19/2009 I have used the soap I made for over two weeks now. It works great! You may want to allow it to cure for about a week before using it, because I noticed that after using it for a week, it started to develop more bubbles than previously. But if you don't mind low suds, you can use it right away.

Laundry: Use 1/4 cup for one full load + 1/4 cup Borax. Add vinegar for grease cutting, about two tbs.
My clothes get quite clean.

Dishes: I added vinegar to my Castile Soap and just store in a 1 quart plastic container w/ lid. Then, I add to water or to sponge, and wash.

Honey shampoo: Not really luxurious, but works way better and is shelf-stable compared to the other egg shampoo recipes online.

Most importantly, the soap is environmentally friendly and not nearly as expensive as "green" soaps at the store. In fact, it is cheaper than bargain laundry and dish soaps that aren't...

choconfluffy said

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on 11/2/2009 After stirring it for 20 minutes, you will notice that it is still an oil and water goop with lye in it. This is what I did:

1) Added 1/4 cup more Potassium Hydroxide crystals (that is the same lye I used originally)

2) Added 1/4 cup more olive oil

3) Placed entire goop into pot and cooked on low for 4 hours. I kept stirring it every 30 minutes.

4) Goop has turned into Liquid Castile Soap at Thick Trace. Can be diluted and turned into various household cleansers, shampoos, etc per various internet sources on soapmaking. This is my very first batch; I look forward to trying it! So far, on my hands, it did not lather much like regular soap but left my hands very soft and clean.