Tag: allergy friendly

I’m not going go on and on on my “soapbox” (pun intended, haha) about true Castile soap and what is considered modern Castile soap… but always check the label on anything called “Castile soap” as it is often made as a combination of olive and coconut nowadays. I get it in a way, coconut oil adds a shorter cure time, higher lather and makes for a harder bar (again, in a shorter time span)… so a bit of a soapmaker’s dream in terms of running a business, as you can understand. BUT with the growing population that is sensitive or allergic to coconut & palm, alongside those who are seeing more and more the ecological impact of cheap coconut & palm sourcing, you will be happy to know that the original recipe and old school Castile soap (named after its origin of Castile, Spain) is 100% OLIVE OIL. To get geekier on you for a moment: Castile Soap is 100% Olive oil, Bastille Soap is 95% Olive oil and 5% a different oil of choice, and all other soap, is…. soap :). The biggest thing about 100% olive oil soap (or actually all high olive oil soaps) is patience. Olive Oils soaps need to be cured for at least 3-6 months, compared to soaps containing coconut oil that only need to cure 6-8 weeks to cure. So patience and ahead of time planning of your soaping needs is key. So let’s get right to it!

The Recipe (32oz(2lb) batch = approximately 9 bars/loaf mold):

Lye: 4.12oz

water (distilled or purified is best): 10oz (no more than 11oz)

Olive Oil: 32oz

Yes- those are literally the only ingredients!! I hope you are now feeling less intimidated about this :). From this one recipe you can create an huge variety of recipes when adding a variety of essential oils, infusing your olive oil with herbs ahead of time, and additives like clays, etc.

For notes and instructions, see my Basic Supplies and Resources: https://truelovesoap.com/basic-supplies-and-resources/ and Basic Soap Making Instruction pages: https://truelovesoap.com/basic-soap-making-instructions

A Few Variations/Ideas for this Recipe

Activated Charcoal: Add 2-4 tsps of activated charcoal (make sure to get activated charcoal that is made from bamboo, NOT coconut shells, as it often is) into your water before adding the lye. Then proceed as usual with the basic soap making steps. A great bar for oily/acne prone skin without stripping. Adding in tea tree is also great for oilier, acne prone skin- just hand stir in 1.5oz of Tea Tree essential oil after blending the oils and lye to a trace, then pour the batch into your soap mold.

“Bug Off” Bar (for healing bug bites): After blending the olive oil & lye to a trace, stir in (with a silicone spoon) .75oz Lavender essential oil, .75oz Tea Tree essential oil, .5oz Peppermint essential oil. Then pour into mold as usual. This particular essential oil combination is great for healing bug bites…. you could use a combination of lemon eucalyptus & lemongrass for a daily bar that could help some during mosquito season.

Lemon Balm & Catnip: About 6 weeks in advance, fill a large glass jar (or more than one smaller glass jar) at least 1/3 full of dried lemon balm and catnip herb- then pour olive oil over to fill the jar completely. Ideally place jar in a window and shake every few days or so. Once ready to make this bar in about 6 weeks, pour the infused oil through a fine mesh strainer into your pot when you weigh out your olive oil. Proceed with the basic soap making steps- after blending the lye into the infused oils to a trace, hand stir in with a silicone spoon .5oz palmarosa essential oil, .5oz lemon essential oil, .25oz lemongrass essential oil, .25oz bergamot essential oil. Pour into mold. This is a bar that is healing & gentle.

Pure & Gentle: replace 2-4oz of water with a plain, whole milk yogurt (I use white mountain Bulgarian yogurt). Soap as usual. After blending the oil & lye to a trace, hand stir in with a silicone spoon 1.5oz lavender essential oil. Pour into mold. This is a very gentle bar, great for everyone, including babies, and the lavender scent will fade some, leaving a very light aroma when using. If you would like your lavender to stay a little stronger, replace .25oz of lavender with patchouli essential oil. The patchouli scent will not be noticeable in the cured bar, but helps the lavender scent to “stick”, so to speak. Another nice addition to this bar is to infuse lavender flowers in your olive oil ahead of time and use instead of plain olive oil (6weeks ahead). I debated on wether to add this recipe or not to this particular list. I make this bar as a hot process bar, which I have not added directions for at this point. But this could be made with the cold process method with good results.

Sunshine Soap: Stir in 1-2tbsp of lemon peel powder and 1tsp of yellow oxide pigment to the water before adding the lye. Soap make as usual. After blending the oil & lye to a trace, hand stir in with a silicone spoon .75oz lemon essential oil and .75oz orange essential oil. Pour into mold. Good for normal to oily skin, balancing and cleansing.

Sweet Dreams: About 6 weeks in advance, fill a large glass jar (or a couple of smaller ones) around 1/3 full of dried passionflower herb, then pour olive oil over the herbs until the jar is full. Ideally, place in a windowsill and shake every couple of days. Once infused, strain out the passionflower herb with a fine mesh strainer when weighing out your oil for soap making. Soap make as usual. Once oils and lye have been blended to trace, hand stir in with a silicone spoon .75oz lavender essential oil and .75oz spearmint essential oil. Pour into mold. This bar is both skin soothing and emotional soothing.

Rose Clay Castile: Stir in 2 tsps of rose clay to the water before adding the lye. Soap make as usual. After blending the oil & lye to trace, hand stir in with silicone spoon .5oz palmarosa essential oil, .5oz litsea essential oil, and .5oz bergamot essential oil. Pour into mold. Also great for normal to oil skin. Rose clay is a little less absorbent than activated charcoal, but is great for a little deeper clean/skin balance for oilier skin but does just as well with “normal” skin.

Or: Think of this base recipe as a blank canvas and create the bar combination that is perfect for you!

Bastille soap is classically defined as a bar that is 95% olive oil and 5% of another oil. It’s a nice recipe combination as it contains all the awesomeness of an olive oil bar with a touch of other properties that can enhance the bar. There are many oils that aren’t meant to be used in a high percentage in soap because they can change the physicality of the bar too much (making it too soft, or too hard so that it cracks, etc.), but are perfect in small amounts. I tend to create Bastille bars with castor oil, as it adds an emollient and more bubbly quality to the bar or with hemp oil for its highly nutritive and healing properties. Below are both recipes- the soap making steps for either is the same.

Bastille Soap with Castor Oil (2lb/32oz batch):

Lye: 4.11oz

water (distilled or purified is best): 9-11oz

Castor Oil: 1.60oz

Olive Oil: 30.40oz

Bastille Soap with Hemp Oil (2lb/32oz batch):

Lye: 4.12oz

water (distilled or purified is best): 9-11oz

Hemp Oil: 1.60oz

Olive Oil: 30.40oz

Once you’ve made the Castile Soap, this should be super easy. It’s essentially the same, just with an additional oil. For notes and instructions, see my Basic Supplies and Resources: https://truelovesoap.com/basic-supplies-and-resources/ and Basic Soap Making Instruction pages: https://truelovesoap.com/basic-soap-making-instructions

A Few Bastille Bar Variations/Ideas for this Recipe

Activated Charcoal & Tea Tree: Add 2-4 tsps of activated charcoal (make sure to get activated charcoal that is made from bamboo, NOT coconut shells, as it often is) into your water before adding the lye. Blend the lye water and oils to trace, then hand stir in 1.5oz of tea tree essential oil. Pour into mold. A great bar for oily/acne prone skin without stripping.

Antique Roses and Honey: 6 weeks in advance, infuse the olive oil for this recipe with rose petals and rose hips, by filling a large jar or jars approx. 1/3 with herbs and fill the jar with olive oil and cap jar tightly. Let sit for 6 weeks, shaking the jar weekly. When ready to make your soap, start by adding 2tbsp of rose clay to the water before adding the lye. Then blend your lye and oils to trace. Hand stir

Cold Season Immunity Bar: A great winter bar inspired by an immunity boosting blend of essential oils. Add 2-3 tsps of turmeric to the water before mixing in the lye. Once lye and oils are blended to a trace, hand stir in .25oz clove, .25oz cinnamon, .35oz lemon, .35oz eucalyptus, and .35oz rosemary essential oils. Pour into mold. I like to garnish this bar with a little gold mica swirled into the top.

Lavender Oatmeal Goat Milk Bar: Replace the water with goat milk. Another option is to use powdered goat milk at the recommended ratio to the amount of distilled or purified water. Mix in your lye- note that lye mixed with any milk will turn an orangey color at first and stink initially. That will go away after a little bit, but happens with the initial chemical reaction. While waiting for your lye solution to cool down, grind 2-4 tbsp of oatmeal to a powder. Blend the lye milk and oils to trace, then hand stir in the ground oatmeal, .25oz Patchouli and 1.25oz Lavender essential oils. Pour into mold. As with the Pure & Gentle, the Patchouli oil acts as an agent that keeps the lavender scent from fading too much. I only smell the Patchouli initially as I mix the batch, but once the bar is cured, it’s the lavender scent that is registered.

Toasted Flax & Honey: 6 weeks in advance, infuse the olive oil for this recipe with chamomile flowers by filling a large jar or jars approx. 1/3 with herbs and fill the jar with olive oil and cap jar tightly. Let sit for 6 weeks, shaking the jar weekly. When read to make the soap, blend the lye water & oils to trace, then stir in 3-6 tbsps ground flax seed (depending on how much of a loofah quality you want your bars to have ) and 2 tbsp of honey. Pour into mold.

Turmeric & St. John’s Wort: 6 weeks in advance, infuse the olive oil for this recipe with St. John’s Wort flowers by filling a large jar or jars approx. 1/3 with herbs and fill the jar with olive oil and cap jar tightly. Let sit for 6 weeks, shaking the jar weekly. When ready to make soap, add 2-4tsp of ground turmeric to the water before adding in the lye. Soap make as usual and pour into mold. This makes a great facial bar for most skin types.

Or: Think of this base recipe as a blank canvas and create the bar combination that is perfect for you!