Castor Oil

Castor oil is a light gold oil that is expeller pressed from the bean of the Ricinus Communis, a tropical perennial shrub.

- it acts as a humectant by drawing moisture from the air.

- is easily absorbed by the skin making it a great skin softener and conditioner.

- will produce a stable lather and will speed up the saponification process resulting in a quicker trace.

- good for hair care and makes a wonderful natural shampoo bar.

- when purchasing, buy only detoxified castor oil.

- produces a very soft, clear bar if used alone so combine with other oils such as olive, palm and coconut.

- I use about 20% of the base oils for the shampoo bar (the bar will be a little softer than normal but but makes a great shampoo).

- for a normal soap, use about 5 - 10% of the base oils at the start of the process or superfat with 1 tsp. or 5 ml. at a light trace.

The chart below shows the approximate percentages of fatty acids present in Castor Oil. As you can see by the high percentange of ricinoleic acid, a soap made using this oil will have a very conditioning, fluff and stable lather.

Lauric	Myristic	Palmitic	Stearic	Ricinoleic	Oleic	Linoleic	Linolenic
				90	4	4
Hardness
Cleansing
Full Lather				F/L
		Stable Lather
				Conditioning

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This information is provided for reference use only and is not meant to substitute the advice of a licensed health care professional.

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