How to Make Liquid Castile Soap

Castile soap is heralded by natural products enthusiasts as the holy grail of natural products. It can be used to wash your skin, hair, teeth, counter tops, floors and laundry. It doesn't contain any harsh cleansers, chemicals, dyes or perfumes that keep many allergy sufferers from using commercial soaps or detergents. It's also highly customizable with the addition of herbs and essential oils.

Things You'll Need

• Large stock pot
• Bucket
• Food thermometer
• 4 cups of olive oil
• 1 cup of loosely packed granulated lye
• 24 cups of water
• Paint stir stick

Instructions

1. Fill the bucket with 24 cups of water. While wearing gloves and eye protection, dissolve one cup of loosely packed lye granules into the water.

2. In a large, heavy pot, heat 4 cups of olive oil to 15 degrees. Use a food thermometer to monitor this. When the oil reaches 75 degrees, remove it from the heat. It will continue to heat, most likely to around 80 or 90 degrees, so wait for the thermometer to display a consistent 75 degree reading.

3. Add the lye to the olive oil and stir with a large wooden stirring stick, like a paint stirrer. This is the difficult part. You need to constantly stir the soap while it cools. This requires 20 minutes of constant stirring to make sure the mix doesn't separate while cooling. After 20 minutes, the soap is finished and ready to be used as is or as a base for other recipes.

Tips & Warnings

• Lye can be very dangerous. Whenever you work with lye, you need to be in a well-ventilated area. You need to wear eye protection and gloves, as lye burns skin upon contact. If you get it on your skin, you can stop the chemical reaction by pouring vinegar on the affected area.

Resources

• Where to Buy Lye for Soapmaking