Castile soap: made from scratch. Castile soap - always be beautiful! Castile soap

Real connoisseurs have been making Castile soap for hundreds of years. This recipe came to us from the coast of Spain, where all this time it has remained practically unchanged. Castile soap is based on just three ingredients: water, lye and natural olive oil. To this classic base, you can add all kinds of additives, focusing on your own taste and skin characteristics.

main ingredient

It is believed that olive oil is a unique product. No wonder it has been widely used in cosmetology for thousands of years. The inhabitants of the Mediterranean coast from time immemorial took care of their skin and hair with the help of olive oil.

Thanks to this component, castile soap can be used even when bathing babies. In addition, olive oil itself is a natural preservative, so the soap made with it is well stored and does not deteriorate for a very long time. Classic Castile soap is hard, cut into bars (or cured in molds of the right size). But you can cook and liquid.

Taste and color...

Those who have already tried this soap often disagree. To some, its foam seems creamy, tender, affectionate, and someone speaks of a slimy, unpleasant substance. This only says that you need to try everything personally, without focusing on someone else's opinion. Make your own Castile soap and try it out for yourself - what if it becomes your favorite?

If you look at the matter objectively, it is worth noting that such homemade soap is really prone to soaking and ductility. Solving the problem is simple - store it in an open soap dish, which will allow the bar to ventilate. And if you let the soap mature enough, mucus will not form at all. The period of full maturation is 6-8 months. But first things first.

As for liquid castile soap, this effect is not so noticeable. Its structure is creamy, very delicate, pleasant to the touch. Of course, if you follow all the rules, recipes and subtleties of the process during cooking.

Required inventory

The method of making classic Castile soap at home involves the use of some equipment. We will need an accurate kitchen scale, a small mixer, a sieve, measuring utensils, gloves and a respirator. If possible, protect your eyes with goggles to avoid injury. Alkali is a rather aggressive thing, and using this substance can easily damage the skin and mucous membranes.

However, the use of such an unfriendly component will not negatively affect the final result. During cooking, it is completely neutralized.

In addition, a wooden spatula and a couple of containers for a water bath will come in handy. We will take care of the necessary working space in advance, so that nothing interferes with the work process.

Naturally, among other things, you will need a gas burner or a conventional burner.

Required Ingredients

It is important to follow a strict dosage. Especially if you are making Castile soap for the first time. The recipe consists of the following set of ingredients:

• olive oil - 200 g;
• melted ice crumb (ice water) - 95.2 g;
• NaOH (alkaline) - 23.7 g.

Those who have already mastered the technology often add palm and coconut oil to the recipe (23.6 g each). This gives the finished product flavor, accelerates the aging process, and makes the soap more dense.

The process of making hard castile soap

To cook Castile at home in a hot way, we strictly measure on the scales required amount ingredients.

We prepare the alkaline solution: carefully introduce the alkali into a container with ice. Beginners should not be afraid of a violent reaction - it should be so. Let the solution cool down a bit.

Pour olive oil into a large bowl. When the alkaline solution cools down a bit so that the temperature difference does not exceed 10 ° C, we introduce it into the oil through a sieve (not vice versa!), And then carefully knead the solution with a spoon. After that, connect the mixer and start beating. Soon the mass will begin to reach for the mixer. This phenomenon is called a "sustainable trail" and says that everything is going as it should.

Now we send the soap to the water bath, covering it with a lid. This is necessary to speed up the passage of the gel phase, which, in turn, will speed up the aging process.

In the process, it is necessary to check whether all the alkali has come out. This can be done with a pH meter or strips of litmus paper. The pH should be around 8.

Be patient, because the bath will last several hours. When the mass turns into a gel state, remove it from the fire. Now it remains to pour liquid castile soap into molds and carefully tap on all sides so that air bubbles come to the surface.

Let the soap dry. This will take from several hours to one day. Dried soap can be easily removed from the molds, and if necessary, it is well cut into smaller bars.

Liquid castile soap

The soap prepared by us can be used not only for its intended purpose, but also serve as the basis for other products. It can be used to make dishwashing liquid and even laundry detergent.

To make liquid castile soap, hard bars must first be melted. This process is quite simple. Three solid soap on a grater or thinly cut with a knife, put in a container and send to a water bath. Stir every 10-15 minutes, allowing air bubbles to escape. When the soap acquires amber transparency, add hot water at the rate of 1:1. Mix thoroughly, cover with a lid and leave for a day so that both parts are completely connected. It is convenient to store such soap in bottles with a pump dispenser.

Additives for the classic recipe

There are many active additives that can be used to diversify the classic recipe. The main thing is that their amount does not exceed 12% of the volume of olive oil.

You can add goat milk, cream, ground coffee, salt, sugar, essential oils, chopped citrus zest, citric acid to the recipe.

The luxury of the medieval aristocracy in our bathroom

Castile soap is the "king" of all types toilet soap. It is still extremely rare to see it for sale. It is the softest and most gentle on the skin, very expensive to manufacture, rather capricious to use, completely inaccessible to us before and extremely rarely available for sale now ...

All this is Castile soap, which was valued almost worth its weight in gold in the Middle Ages and undeservedly forgotten later, during the period of fascination with cheap "chemistry" in cosmetics. It is only now that the most effective of the old recipes for natural cosmetics are beginning to be revived, and Castile soap occasionally appears on the market. And, as often happens, a product covered in legends and unique in its effectiveness becomes the subject of falsification.

So what kind of soap has the right to be called Real Castile?

Only one - natural soap, brewed with 90% extra virgin olive oil (first cold pressed). The remaining 10% of the oils are most often coconut or castor oils to give the soap at least some hardness and improve foaming.

If the manufacturer writes that his soap has "a lot" of olive oil, or it is brewed with the addition of a "good portion" of olive oil, or "enriched" with it - this is not Castile. If the soap is made from refined olive oil (even with a high content of it) - this is not Castile and you will not wait for the effect on the skin that is characteristic of real Castile.

What is the reason unique properties Real Castilian?

First of all, in the unique composition of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. From the school chemistry course, we know that different vegetable oils contain different fatty acids. And the effect of these fatty acids on the skin is also very different. It has long been known in cosmetology that the more oleic acid in vegetable oil, the better it moisturizes and softens the skin, and the softer the soap made from such oil is for the skin.

Many vegetable oils contain oleic acid (almond, grape seed, etc.). But the champion is olive - it contains 85% oleic! Therefore, soaps made from any other vegetable oils lose to Castile in terms of softness on the skin.

The second reason is the presence of a very valuable so-called "unsaponifiable fraction" in unrefined olive oil. These are useful substances (vitamins, antioxidants, substances that stimulate skin regeneration, etc.), which are dissolved in oil, giving it a yellow-green color and a characteristic smell. It is they, and not just the composition of fatty acids, that are "responsible" for the lion's share of the benefits of olive oil, which we have been told about since childhood. Therefore, soap brewed from refined olive oil will have the necessary softness, but will be deprived of the benefits of substances of the valuable unsaponifiable fraction.

Pros and Cons of Castile Soap.

It seems, what are the disadvantages of soap, which was once worth its weight in gold? In fact, it is unrefined olive oil that is responsible for the "cons" of Castile soap, which industrial surfactant soaps are deprived of.

The first is the price. The wholesale price of extra virgin olive oil is 2 to 2.5 times higher than coconut and palm oils (common raw materials for making natural soaps) self made) and 6-7 times more expensive than refined animal fats (the main raw material for the manufacture of premium industrial toilet soap).

The second disadvantage is the lack of hardness. Unfortunately, it is the high content of oleic acid that makes Castile soap quite soft initially and very prone to soaking in the soap dish. All natural soaps soak much stronger than industrial soaps from surfactants, and Castile generally begins to behave indecently, turning into a slimy mass. Therefore, it is absolutely essential to store Castile in a soap dish with holes to drain the water and, if possible, to dry between uses.

The third minus is color, smell and weak foam. Since unrefined olive oil has a pronounced yellow-green color and a characteristic smell, these properties cannot disappear without a trace when soap is cooked. Castile soap without any additives already has a yellowish-olive color and a characteristic smell that some people like and others don't. All essential oils and fragrances added to Castile are superimposed on this original smell and change noticeably. In addition, Castile soap lathers quite a bit even in warm water and produces a very fine "creamy" lather.

How to distinguish Real Castilian from falsification?

After spending chemical analysis on the content of salts of various fatty acids, if 85% or more of them is oleic, then the soap is 90% from olive oil J)

Of course, only the above analysis will guarantee that the soap is 90% brewed from olive oil. But there are several characteristic features that will help, at a minimum, to distinguish a clear falsification.

In what cases can you be sure that this is not Castile?

1 - if the soap is snow-white, this color cannot be achieved from Castile, even if white pigment is added to it - titanium dioxide.

2 - if the soap lathers easily and foam with large bubbles appears.

Having washed at least once with real Castile, you will not confuse its foam with anything - it does not appear immediately, but if you intensively “wash” a piece, a very characteristic fine “creamy” and “slippery” foam appears on your hands.

3 - if the soap is solid, but at the same time has a pronounced smell of essential oils or fragrances.

Castile soap can only be hard when cold-processed, but in this case it must “mature” for at least 6 months, and preferably 8-10 months. During this period, any essential oils have time to almost completely evaporate. If the castile was made hot, then the essential oils and flavors will be preserved, but the soap becomes solid only after a few days of use.

Hello, my darlings!

Tell me, how do you choose your soap? What criteria are important to you?

I always take quite seriously what I wash my hands and body with, what I use in everyday life for washing, washing, etc.

And my criteria for today are the exceptional naturalness of such products, their effectiveness, and safety.

Well, and, of course, soap should be comfortable and easy to use, have a pleasant smell, pleasant texture, etc.

I tried a lot of things, and I stopped my choice on Castile soap.

This is what I want to tell you today, namely: what kind of soap is it, how to use it and much more.

I have been using this soap for a long time, and, you know, I don’t want to change it for another, it suits me in everything, more than suits me.

It is this tool that I use now, during my.

From this article you will learn:

Castile soap - useful properties and methods of application

Castile soap is the Aristocratic Luxury of the Middle Ages.

Yes, yes, my dear, exactly like that and without exaggeration! Try it and you will think so too, I'm sure! ☺

Castile soap has long been (and deservedly so) considered "the king of all types of soaps" that only exist in this world.

It was named after the region in Spain - Castile, where it was first brewed.

The softest and most gentle on the skin, which can only be found, expensive in its production. Soap that was always unavailable to us before.

And even now, real Castile soap is not always available for sale, especially considering that there are a catastrophic number of fakes of this soap!

Castile soap in the Middle Ages was worth its weight in gold, its cost was exorbitantly high, and, of course, it was available exclusively to "people from high society", that is, to aristocrats.

Then this soap was completely undeservedly forgotten.

And recently, recipes for its preparation have begun to revive, and we have the opportunity to purchase Castile soap, use it and enjoy its wonderful quality, aroma and effectiveness.

Castile soap is absolutely natural, has a lot of useful properties, besides, it is very multifunctional and can replace not only hand soap.

It can be used as a hair wash, body wash, shower gel, cleanser and more!

Which soap has the exclusive right to be called Real Castile Soap?

The answer is simple - only one that is 100% natural and brewed with 90% extra virgin olive oil.

The remaining 10% of the oils that make up its composition are, most often, either coconut oil or castor oil, which further enriches castile soap with its beneficial properties.

What is the secret behind the unique properties of Real Castile Soap?

It is that its main component is Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which is unique in itself.

We all know that different vegetable oils contain different fatty acids in their composition, which are also very different in their effect on the skin.

Any knowledgeable cosmetologist will tell you that the more oleic acid in vegetable oil, the better it is able to moisturize, nourish and soften your skin, and soap, in which there is a lot of such high-quality vegetable oil, will be the best and softest for your skin.

Many vegetable oils contain oleic acid: almond oil, grape seed oil, etc.

But the real "champion" in the content of this acid is the first cold pressing. It contains 85% -90% oleic acid!

For this very reason, absolutely all soaps made from any other vegetable oils “lose” Castile soap in their softness and tenderness, in their usefulness for our skin.

And the second reason for the uniqueness of Castile soap is the presence of a very valuable non-saponifiable fraction in Extra Virgin olive oil.

What it is?

These are useful substances such as vitamins and antioxidants that can actively stimulate the regeneration of our skin, as well as many other useful substances that are dissolved in extra virgin olive oil.

That is why a soap that is brewed from refined olive oil will NOT at all have the qualities and effectiveness that will be made exclusively from unrefined extra virgin olive oil.

What are the benefits of using castile soap?

As for me personally, girls, it is very convenient that this soap is available both in liquid form and in solid form.

I love the liquid version, because it is more convenient to use it, there are a lot of options.

Ways to use castile soap for personal care and at home:

• Hand soap

I have been using this hand soap for over a year now. Honestly? Super! ☺

Well, it does not dry the skin at all and just perfectly cleanses it of dirt. And also one of its properties is an excellent antibacterial effect.

I would never use antibacterial soaps, especially those containing triclosan.

This is very dangerous for health and such soap, I think, should not be in the house!

• Dishwashing liquid.

I pay quite a lot of attention not only to what I put on my skin, but also to what I wash the dishes with, after all, all dishwashing detergents end up inside us.

All modern facilities for washing dishes contain many hazardous toxic substances that are not actually washed off the dishes, but remain on its surface.

And then, along with food, they enter our body, causing serious health problems.

And real Castile soap, as I wrote above, is 100% natural, so it, like no other soap, is perfect as a dishwashing detergent.

By personal experience, girls, I’ll say that it copes with fat just “one-two-three”, and no problems! ☺

• For washing clothes

Do you want to wash with eco-friendly powder of your own preparation, without any chemicals and artificial flavors?

Please, here is the recipe for you:

• castile soap (1 cup)
• soda (1 cup)
• sea ​​salt (0.5 cups),
• water (2 glasses),
• 10 drops.

How to cook:

1. Dissolve baking soda and salt in warm water
2. pour this mixture into a suitable container,
3. add castile soap and your favorite essential oils,
4. Close the container and shake very carefully.

How to use?

Very simple: you can pour this product into the powder compartment in the washing machine. Can be washed by hand.

This amount is enough for a long time, everything is washed off perfectly, I personally have never had problems with this recipe, try it, girls!

• For dishwasher.

I don't buy synthetic dishwasher detergents. They are dangerous, and they are expensive.

My recipe is this:

• castile soap (1 cup)
• water (1 glass),
• essential oils (20 drops).

How to cook:

1. mix all the components together in some container (container) convenient for you,
2. shake thoroughly.

How to store: I store in an old castile soap bottle, very handy.

How to use: Pour one tablespoon of the product into the open window of the dishwasher, and a couple of tablespoons of ordinary white table vinegar into the closed window.

It washes dishes perfectly, cleans them, and even glassware then looks clean, shiny, no “turbidity” and streaks!

• Bathtub cleaning, toilet cleaning.

Here is my recipe:

• Mix 1/3 cup castile soap and 2/3 cup water in a spray bottle
• you can add essential oils of a pleasant aroma to you,
• shake.

How I use it: I apply baking soda to the surface to be cleaned, then spray the mixture of soap and water on top, scrub thoroughly and rinse. Everything!

It cleans everything perfectly, easily cleans dirty deposits, easily and simply, and most importantly - absolutely environmentally friendly and safe!

• Like hair shampoo.

If you wash your hair with Castile soap in quality, then this is just a great option for those who care about the health and beauty of their hair.

Castile soap, as a shampoo, can be used just like that, or you can prepare more nourishing mask-mixtures based on it, adding the ingredients you need to your hair type to the finished soap.

Here is one of my recipes for such a "Castilian mask":

• castile soap,
• coconut milk,

I don’t write proportions, so they are different for me every time, everything is “by eye”. You choose your best proportions. Experiment a little and decide, it's easy!

• Like shower gel.

There is nothing to invent here, just take liquid Castile soap and use it as a shower gel straight from the bottle, enjoying its aroma and then - the most delicate and fragrant skin of the body.

• For washing floors.

Add a dash of castile soap to a bucket of floor water. Perfectly launders both linoleum, and ceramic floor tiles, and even wooden laminate, no streaks, one cleanliness!

• Like pet shampoo.

It's convenient, safe and simple. Better than any so-called "special pet shampoo".

• For washing vegetables and fruits.

In order to thoroughly wash the surface of fruits and vegetables from "chemistry", you just need to add quite a bit of castile soap to the water, stir, and wash your fruits and vegetables with this composition. Then rinse with running water and that's it. Simply and easily.

• As a baby bath

For washing your beloved baby, castile soap for children is the best. What can you think of. Soft, gentle, caring, completely natural and safe. What can be done better?

Where to buy real castile soap?

Personally, by trial and error, I found for myself what is on this moment I consider the best Castile soap in terms of price and quality.

This soap is from the manufacturer of the brand Dr. woods».

I love this soap with lavender (great for relaxation), I take almond soap for the skin (I also use it as a hair shampoo).

There is a wonderful soap with mint, a series with oils (especially cool, as for me, this is a series with shea butter, super nutritious!).

This company is quite well-known, has existed for a long time, the quality is 100% guaranteed. And I convinced myself of this!

I tried many other Castile soaps of this brand, and was satisfied with absolutely all of them, therefore, as they say, “with a clear conscience” I can advise you

How to distinguish real Castile soap from a fake?

A very important point, girls, since there are just a lot of counterfeits of Castile soap now!

Well, firstly, for me personally, the guarantee of real quality is that I buy my soap exclusively in the ihearb store. This in itself is a solid guarantee.

And if you take it elsewhere, then pay attention to this:

1. If the manufacturer writes something “indistinct” on the packaging about what EXACTLY the olive oil is in the composition (refined or unrefined), and also does not indicate the EXACT percentage of oil, then most likely it is not “castile”, girls ... Down with such a purchase.
2. If the soap is super-white. In the case of REAL Castile soap, this is not possible. Real Castilian always has some shade of cream. It needs to be known.
3. If the soap is very easy to lather, while the foam with large bubbles. Real Castile soap does not lather immediately, unlike other soaps. And the foam itself is, you know, sort of “creamy” and rather slippery in feel.
4. If the castile soap in the solid version (piece) has a strong smell of synthetic flavors. Well, there are no comments, as they say ...

That's all for today.

So, if you have never tried using Castile soap, then try it, I recommend it from the bottom of my heart, you will definitely be satisfied!

And, if you used this "Castilian miracle", then tell us how you use it? Do you have any "secrets"? Very interesting!

Bye bye everyone, see you soon!

Soap making is a fairly unusual hobby that has gained popularity not so long ago, largely due to the growing popularity of natural cosmetics. And Castile (olive) soap is a traditional cosmetic product for Mediterranean women, who have long been known for their luxurious soft skin...

At first glance, it may seem that the process of making soap at home is extremely difficult task, in fact, soap making is no more difficult than, for example, baking confectionery at home. In addition, soap making has many advantages: with very low skills, you can make soap from natural ingredients that will be much more beneficial for the skin than cleansing cosmetics produced by cosmetic brands.

An example of such soap is the famous Castile soap, which is brewed with olive oil. Although soap making as a hobby is not so long ago, the history of Castile soap is rooted in the deep past. As early as the sixteenth century, in some regions of Europe, soap was brewed using olive oil rather than animal fat, resulting in a solid product whose white color did not change even after several years.

Soap is the product of a chemical reaction that occurs when fat and lye interact. However, in order to make soap at home, you don’t need to know all the tricks of chemical interaction at all. A successful result depends not so much on knowing the intricacies of the process, but on the right ingredients.

Not for nothing that a few decades ago, home-made soap was completely unpopular - due to the low quality of the ingredients, such a product had an unpleasant odor, was harsh, and also provoked skin irritation.

However, today the most exotic ingredients can be easily purchased at the nearest store, and at home you can make soap that is not inferior in properties - or even superior - to the soap that cosmetic brands produce.

Luckily for beginners, castile soap is one of the easiest varieties to make, as it only takes three ingredients to make. And the result is a very mild soap that lathers well, but does not cause an unpleasant feeling of dryness and tightness of the skin. Castile soap is so gentle that it is suitable for the most sensitive and dry skin.

Before you start making castile soap, you need to properly organize workplace- that is, to choose dishes for cooking. Soap making requires utensils made of materials that will not interact with alkali and other components - for example, utensils made of stainless steel, glass, plastic, wooden spoons for stirring. Under no circumstances should aluminum or cracked enamelware be used.

Castile soap - recipe

To make castile soap, you will need the following utensils and equipment:

• Large stainless steel or glass bowl for mixing ingredients
• Heat Resistant Glass Container for Alkaline Solution
• Spoons for mixing the finished mixture - wooden ones are better suited for soap, and thick plastic spoons are better for lye
• A plastic mold or a regular plastic container for shaping the soap (before pouring the soap into the mold, it must be lined inside with parchment paper greased with odorless oil)
• Household thermometer – e.g. a meat thermometer
• Blender for whipping the mixture
• Rubber gloves (required when working with lye)

The recipe may vary, but it is best to stick to a certain ratio of ingredients: 60% olive oil - 40% other oils, such as coconut, palm, avocado oil, shea butter, finally, regular castor oil, or a combination of both. It should be taken into account that coconut oil and palm kernel oil improve the foaming properties of soap, but at the same time, dry the skin, therefore, in in large numbers these oils are not recommended.

So, for example, in order to get about 4.5 kilograms of castile soap, in the simplest case, you need:

• About a liter of olive oil
• About 280 grams of coconut oil
• Half a liter of cold water (distilled or plain, purified)
• Approximately 200 grams of lye

Of course, the composition can be varied depending on personal preferences - for example, add cocoa butter or essential oils to the recipe for a pleasant smell.

With flavorings, however, it is quite easy to overdo it, so it is better to stick to the following ratio: 20 grams of light essential oil or 11 grams of strong essential oil for every 0.5 kilogram of olive oil.

For flavorings, this ratio is 14 and 8 grams, respectively. The basis of Castile soap is unrefined olive oil (this oil has a greenish color and a characteristic aroma). In addition, various fillers can be added to the finished product: bran, oatmeal, sea salt crystals to gently exfoliate the skin.

There are two ways to make soap at home - the "cold" method, which involves curing the finished product in air, and the "hot" method in a water bath.

Cold method for making castile soap

• Prepare the workplace: cover the desktop with sheets of paper (you can use old newspapers), put on rubber gloves (it is better to protect your eyes with goggles)
• Using a spoon, pour the lye into a container of cold water, cover the top with a lid and leave to cool for two to three hours until the temperature of the solution reaches 35-38 degrees
• Mix the olive oil with the extra oils in the castile soap recipe and heat the mixture in a saucepan to 35-40 degrees
• After reaching the optimum temperature of both mixtures, carefully pour the alkaline solution into the oil mixture, stirring with a steel spoon
• After mixing, the resulting mixture of alkali and oils must be thoroughly beaten with a blender or whisk until the consistency of a thick sauce is reached. The finished mixture is homogeneous, thick, opaque in color
• After readiness, add additional ingredients to the resulting mixture as desired - dyes, flavors

Pour the soap into the mold and leave to dry in the air for 24 hours (if the walls of the mold are not smooth, but with a pattern, the time increases by 24 to 48 hours). After take it out of the mold and leave to ripen in the air for 4-6 weeks.

Hot method for making castile soap

• Mix all the oils in the castile soap recipe and leave to heat in a metal saucepan on the stove
• Using a spoon, pour the lye into a container of cold water, cover the top with a lid and leave to cool until the temperature of the lye solution and the mixture of oils are the same
• Pour the alkaline solution into the oil mixture, stirring with a spoon
• Beat the resulting mixture with a blender or whisk until the soap thickens (the consistency of the finished mixture should resemble a thick sauce or pudding)
• Place the saucepan with the finished mixture in a large saucepan filled with water and leave on low heat until the soap becomes homogeneous and slightly transparent, resembling a gel in consistency.
• Additional ingredients can be added to the finished mixture - dyes, flavors, and then pour the soap into the mold, leaving it to harden for a while (depending on the size of the soap mold, the hardening time is 20-40 minutes)

Take the soap out of the mold and let it dry for 2-3 days (this step is not necessary, and in most cases the finished product can be used immediately after preparation).

Where to buy ingredients for soap making?

Most of all the ingredients can be bought in specialized laboratory equipment stores - there you will probably find convenient glass containers that can be used for soap making, industrial thermometers, and other equipment.

• Alkali, or caustic soda, can be purchased at large hardware stores, shops selling chemicals or specialty gardening shops.
• Distilled, salt-free water, which is much more suitable for making castile soap than ordinary water, can be found at any pharmacy.
• Well, pure olive oil is sold in most major grocery stores.