Castile Soap

[savingdogs]

 

[me&thegals]

You should run the recipe through SoapCalc to make sure the oil and lye ratio is correct, to be safe.

Totally agree! I make castile with beeswax, so it's a little different. Otherwise, the directions look pretty good. If stirring by hand, I would not be surprised if olive oil soap took much longer than 20 min to trace....

 

[Farmfresh]

The Castile recipe I use calls for

52 oz olive oil
7 oz lye
20 oz of cold water

My favorite resource is The Complete Soapmaker by Norma Coney.

Lots of soapers here to help if you need it.

 

[savingdogs]

How do you like that soap, FF? Does it lather well and do the bars get hard? My last recipe (not Castille) produced soft bars and I want a recipe that makes longer lasting ones.

 

[me&thegals]

I'm not FF, but castile needs a SUPER long cure time. Six to 12 months would not be out of line. And olive oil does not produce many bubbles...

 

[Denim Deb]

I've heard you use it to make liquid soap as well. Maybe if Denim Deb doesn't mind her soap being liquid she could try using ashes. Do you know how it would be done? It would be a good thing to know if TSHTF and we were unable to get any sodium hydroxide.

There's a section in Back to Basics about making soap. It includes directions on how to get the lye from ashes, how to render the fat, and how to make the soap itself. About the only thing it doesn't really talk about is curing the soap. I've wanted to try it for quite some time now, but have never had the time. I just might try it next spring. I just need to find an old wooden barrel of some sort for the leaching process.

Basically, to get the lye (potash or potassium carbonate), you need a large wooden container w/a hole drilled in the bottom and set on cinder blocks, an old enamel pot to catch the lye and some straw.

You put the straw in the bottom of the barrel to keep the ashes from coming thru into the lye. Then, set up the barrel on the cinder blocks, or other support. You want the hole to be at the lowest point for draining. Fill the barrel w/as much hardwood ash as you can. Once filled, scoop out a depression in the ashes large enough to hold 2 to 3 quarts of water.

For water, you want to use rainwater that has been boiled. Add the water to the ashes, and let is soak thru. Add more water as needed. It may take awhile for the water to filter thru, so you need to be patient.

You can use this solution as is, but if you want it in a crystalline form boil down the solution in either an enamel or stainless steel pot. You'll first see a dark residue called black salts. As you continue to heat this, additional impurities will be driven off. The final product is grayish-white.

 

[freemotion]

I would think you could do this in a five gallon pail, too. Since I use a plastic pitcher to mix my lye, wouldn't a plastic pail work, too? Hmmmm.....and I've read that the lye is the right strength if you float an egg or a small potato in it and the part that is above the surface of the liquid is about the size of a quarter (as in 25 cents.)

 

[Denim Deb]

Don't know. But, I have an old enamel pot, so if I am able to try this in the spring, I'd probably just use that. (Once I get the bottom flat again.)

 

[Farmfresh]

Actually that is what I read about Castile soaps as well, but I am VERY pleased with mine. Small bubbles, but sufficient and it seemed to harden pretty well. Of course it does get better with age.

I use pure olive oil Bertolli, because that is what I get cheap at the wholesale club. I buy soap grade lye from Summer Bee Meadow online and use a stick blender to combine it. It does take a long time to trace when stirring with a spoon.

 

[Bettacreek]

Far cheaper than Summer Bee's lye would be AAA-Chemicals.com. They're less than half the price!!!

http://www.aaa-chemicals.com/sodium-hydroxide-technical-grade.html