Soft 100% Olive Oil Castile Soap

by Bee
(Texas)

I recently made a batch of 100% Olive oil castile soap using a very basic recipe...after 24 hours I unmolded and it feels like set up jello..is that normal or should I have waited to unmold longer?


I went ahead and sliced using a soap cutter and had a hard time separating the soft slices but will allow to cure..I would like neater slices next time, could you advise me as how long to wait as I don't want to slice when it is too hard either.

Thank you for any help on this issue.
Bee

Answer:

Castile soap can take longer to set up and usually takes a bit longer to cure than other recipes.

Your first step is to check the recipe. Run it through a lye calculator to make sure that the amount of water and lye is in correct proportion to the oil. Soap can be too soft if there is too much water or not enough lye in the recipe.

If the recipe is correct, next time try leaving the soap in the mold for 48 hours, unwrap it and then leave it for a day or two to air dry until the outside isn't sticky to the touch. Try cutting it then.

Cathy

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Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		mine is pomace olive oil
by: Anonymous

can ı do your way because mine is pımac olive oil
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Castile - Hard as a Rock!
by: Lana Kane

I recently made my first batch of Castile soap. Used 30 rather than 38 as % of water. Mixed both at roughly 110 degrees. Traced fairly quick, batter was creamy and beautiful. No scent was added, no extra additives. Heard so much about OO being soft, I checked after 24 hours and could feel it was quite firm so I unmolded. It was hard as a rock. Took time to cut (a little crumbly on bottom). Needless to say I was flummoxed as I heard so much about how soft 100% OO is, I thought I did something wrong. It is pure white. I tested a piece and was very pleased. Nice creamy lather, also had that slick slimy) feel that everyone describes. Once wet, it was very soft, so I believe it is okay. I plan to let it cure for about 4 - 6 months. I have done some research and am glad to hear others have experienced the same. I used a silicone mold. I don't know if that made a difference. Poured some into little cameo molds too. To unmold I put in the freezer, and they popped right out - so pretty! I am so pleased, all things considered.
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starstarstarstarstar 		Water : lye ratio
by: Anonymous

Check the water to lye ratio in the lye calculator. It doesn't have to be 38% water as % of oil. I did a batch of soap with 65% Olive oil and it took 3 days before I could cut it. Because I wanted to try a 100% Olive soap, I needed to figure out why the first batch was so soft. The trick is to put less water in your recipe in the first place. For a 100% olive oil soap, you can go down to a ratio water to lye of 1:1. In other terms, you dilute you weight of lye in the same amount of water. In my case, I for 1000gr of Olive oil, it took 129 gr of lye and 129 gr of water. You have to be EXTRA CAREFULL because you lye solution will be more concentrated. I did for my 100% Olive oil soap and it was dry after 18 hrs. It was even a bit too dry for cutting. Next time, it will try to cut it after 12 hrs. Good Luck :)

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