How to Make Liquid Castille Soap
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
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1
Heat the olive oil to 80 degrees. You will allow it to cool to 75 degrees before adding the lye.
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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.
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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.
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1
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.
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Comments
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Does not mention that you have to use potassium hydroxide lye (KOH) and that it will result in a harsh soap without neutralizing the lye!
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WARNING: THE ABOVE RECIPE IS DANGEROUS! The resulting solution has a pH of 10+ which is HIGHLY CORROSIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!DO NOT USE THIS RECIPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Yes.....This recepie is wrong! It doesn't produce liquid soap. The liquid will separate and give flakes in 30 min after preparation
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Jane Weeks
Feb 24, 2011
Whoever is writing these castile-soap-making instructions on eHow doesn't have a clue - probably never made soap in their life! -
cutiemeow
Mar 23, 2009
I think there are some clarifications needed to be made before anyone could follow this recipe. First of all, what kind of lye should be used? Sodium Hydroxide or Potassium Hydroxide?2ndly, do we need to match the temp. of the lye solution with the temp.of the oil before we mix them together? And,when you say stir for 15 mins, do we need to care about how well it traces?And do we need to cook the mixture afterward like making any other liquid soap? If not, does the soap need to be cured for several weeks before it can be used, like the making of cold craft soap?
