%100 OO soap

[JDennis]

I have tried to make this 3 times and I'm having issues. I think I know what the issue is but I would like confirmation. First batch was CP with a light OO ( bought the wrong oil by mistake ) it processed fine, took 3 days to unmold but crumbled when I cut into it. The bar is hard as a rock. Second CP batch was premium EVOO processed great. Took 36 hrs to unmold cut like a dream and is curing fine. Third batch i tried HP. Store brand reg OO. This did the same as first. In 3 hrs. Crumbled and hard as a rock. It's a good thing I checked on it. So I'm thinking it's the oil that's causing issues as calculations are the same thru soapcalc. Water, lye, OO. 38% water as percent of oil, 5% sf, no color, no fragrance. Seems to me you need a good EVOO to produce a good clean bar. Thoughts??

 

[shunt2011]

Some of the problem may be with adulterated OO. It's been said that many brands of OO are not necessarily 100% OO. I use Costco Olive Oil and have never had an issue with it.

You may want to add some salt to your water before adding the lye. That will help firm up your soap a bit or even Sodium Lactate and it will assist in unmolding sooner, therefore cutting sooner.

 

[Seawolfe]

My experience is very different from yours. Usually I use Cosco Kirkland OO, or Trader Joes - but never EVOO. Ive made 3 batches of 100% castile and never had a problem with cutting the loaf. SF was always 5%, I did water discount to 1.943:1 Water : Lye (that's water as percent of oil weight = 25%).

Since olive oil is the most commonly adulterated olive oil, I always worry about that.

 

[JDennis]

I will test with Costco oil. Guaranteed it will be better than the store brand I get. The kind I get would be compared to Walmart great value brand. Will see what happens. Thanks for the tips!!

 

[cmzaha]

I also use Kirkland Pure Olive Oil. It is the one that comes in packs of 2 and is very light in color

 

[shunt2011]

Let us know how it works. I've been using it for almost 5 years and no issues.

 

[IrishLass]

I use the Costco brand too. I've been soaping with it since 2006 without a single problem.


IrishLass

 

[Obsidian]

Also keep in mind that castile is just a dang hard soap and if you wait too long to cut, it will crumble. My castile is usually ready to unmold and cut within 12 hours or so. I do discount the water some and that helps with setup time. I've found I really like individual molds for castile, no need to worry about timing cutting.

 

[gemsupthepoley]

I'm new to this game and have only done 1 castille. I either got really lucky or I was maybe just lucky!!! I did 33% water instead of 38%. It was the first time I used a stick blender and trace was very quick. I insulated and left for 24hrs and cutting was a dream. Making a small quantity I can afford to get some nice EVOO and not worry too much about cost. I can only assume the more expensive the OO is in the supermarket the better the quality is (in theory anyway).