Thursday 18 April 2013

Making Castille Soap


Castille Soap sounds like the simplest soap of all to make... but it hasn't been so simple for me!
My Castille soap has only 2 active ingredients - local organic extra-virgin olive-oil and water, once the lye has evaporated out. 
Gentle, moisturizing, low, gooey lather... when my skin is feeling its driest in the winter, this is the soap I use on my face, then I follow up with my Serum.
 
Simple to measure things out and begin mixing, but it takes forEVER to trace. 
As I pour at a very light trace, sometimes it leaks if I don't get the mould liners perfect... so now I Saran-wrap the insides of the moulds first, when I make Castille soap, then the liner...
 

 
Then it needs a little under 3 days in the moulds before removing... as it is still very soft if I remove it after 24 hours.  If I remove the soap logs at the right time, my fingers can still sink into it, it is still slightly buttery, but I need to cut at this point. If I wait even just 4 more hours, it crumbles and breaks my soap slicer.
 
 
If I stamp too early it is gooey....
 
 
If I stamp at the right time, I think it looks quite beautiful with its smooth natural white .... and after a few months curing, it is a wonderful gentle bar.
Happy Soaping!! xo Jen
 

16 comments:

Mónica said...

Pues te ha quedado precioso, y el corte está perfecto, el jabón es elegantísimo.
También creo que es un poco difícil a la hora de cortarlo. Yo lo hago con concentraciones muy altas 40%-45% y tengo que estar muy pendiente a la hora de cortarlo pues si me descuido, se desmenuza en lascas. Es un jabón durísimo, pero muy soluble, la espuma llena de burbujas pequeñas parece una crema realmente. Me encantan los jabones de castilla y me ha gustado mucho tu entrada explicando lo que realmente pasa con los jabones 100% oliva.
Besos

LatherBeSoaping said...

Beautiful, Jennifer! The stamp looks very nice, and I love the natural beauty of the bars. I have some Castile that I made over a year ago and it is fantastic now! It definitely gets better with age. I need to make another batch soon so it has a nice long time to cure!

Jennifer Young said...

Mónica, Muchisimas gracias por tu comentario. El mío es muy concentrado también pero no tiene mucha espuma... mas bien como crema. Te felicito por conseguir espuma llena de burbujas pequeñas en un jabón de castilla!! xoxox Jen

Jennifer Young said...

Jenny, Thank you for your comment. I am glad that you like these. Ahhhh - your castille soap that has been aging for a year sounds wonderful! xo Jen

Coco said...

Wow, that is complicated. Can you remill and use it in something else?

Beautiful bars!!

Jennifer Young said...

Coco, Thanks! I suppose I could but re-milling is not something I have gotten into yet... With many of my cut offs, I make laundry soap. but even the rustic bars of Castille use. I give away rustic chunks here at the studio. Hope you can make it here one day! xo Jen

Iulia Pascanu said...

Looks sooo smoooth :) I love castille soap!

Jennifer Young said...

Iulia, Thanks for your comment. Me too! I love the smoothness and gentleness of Castille soap. I have been somewhat pleased with some of my photos lately... but could you imagine what you could to with a camera and these soap?! I think you are a soap photography master... Your photos are wonderful. xo Jen

C said...

Maybe you should pour the soap at a thicker trace and maybe use less water, I don't know how your recipe looks like. A stick blender is mandatory when soaping with slow tracing oils like olive oil and don´t use a too high lye discount. Sodium lactate can also help making a harder bar.

Jennifer Young said...

Hi C, Thank you for all the tips... and for commenting.. however I really don't want to change a thing about my Castille soap... as it is worth all the complications as the final result is awesome... the hardest of all of my bars and gentle gentle on my skin!! xo xo Jen

Unknown said...

I can tell that you get excited when your recipe comes out just right because I know the feeling! Your finished bars look gorgeous and creamy and well deserving of praise. You seem to have used up a lot of sweat, blood, and tears, (well maybe just tears ;) to get them just right!

Unknown said...

Your stamp and your soaps looks great

Jennifer Young said...

Tanya, Thank you!! xo Jen

Jennifer Young said...

Lucille, Thank you for your lovely comment!! xo Jen

Anonymous said...

I made my first batch of castile soap, but only a small one - used a Lye calculator and it was based on 500g virgin olive oil and the lye. Because it was small it set after about 15 hours so I tried to cut it but it kinda flaked. I wouldn't say it was crumbly..but it looked like the bars you have here that flaked/crumbled a bit. Any suggestions? I am going to leave these to sure and test them with acid paper after weeks. I will try again - maybe small batches aren't workable? Any advice?

Jennifer Young said...

Hello Anonymous, I don't think batch size should be the problem... and there may not be a problem other than aesthetics. As long as you test them and they are okay, it is most likely still great soap. My castille soap is wonderful but if i don't cut it in JUST the right moment, it flakes when I cut it. I think the solution might be to have individual silicon moulds and no cutting required? let me know how the soap turns out. Castille soap is also wonderful for washing clothes adn getting out stains!! xoxo Jen