I don't get it. Unless you are washing a baby why would anyone want to use Castile anyway? It just doesn't clean very well. However, I started hardening any soap that has oo in it by adding salt. I have to add salt anyway due to hard water so I salt to accommodate the slimy oo. I still don't get it though. Castille doesn't really lather and takes years to harden properly as a bar soap. The only place I really like it is as a mix with coconut oil for a base for shampoo. It makes pretty good shampoo bars too. Will someone please tell me why I should even like Castille?
Dual lye castile
- Thread starter DeeAnna
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"...why would anyone want to use Castile anyway? It just doesn't clean very well. ... Will someone please tell me why I should even like Castille?..."
Why do you need to be convinced? If you don't care for it, you don't care for it and that's okay. Castile type soap is not my favorite either, but others do like it and that's their privilege.
FWIW, castile-type soap cleans and lathers just fine last time I checked.
Why do you need to be convinced? If you don't care for it, you don't care for it and that's okay. Castile type soap is not my favorite either, but others do like it and that's their privilege.
FWIW, castile-type soap cleans and lathers just fine last time I checked.
I’m one who doesn’t like or rarely uses Castile. I make one batch a year. Some like it.
artemis
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I think this thread is about liquid soap, though, so hardness is really not an issue in this case.
You are correct. I totally missed that.
Actually, this particular thread IS about using KOH in bar soap. I started the thread for the benefit of liquid soapers who have KOH on hand as an alternative use for KOH. That is why I intentionally put it in the liquid soap forum.
On a related note, I personally don't like using salt to harden bar soap nor to thicken liquid soap, because salt reduces lather. But this is yet another example of the adage "to each their own."
On a related note, I personally don't like using salt to harden bar soap nor to thicken liquid soap, because salt reduces lather. But this is yet another example of the adage "to each their own."
Oh so true on all counts above. I rarely make it for the exact reason stated above. (To each their own - make what you enjoy) I do make it for the younger family members who crop up now and again. What I am trying to understand is why it is the "favorite" at the markets? Oleic acid is found in other oils so the beneficial properties can be had without the yuck and the cleansing benefit of the other oils is better because of other properties that are also present. I really probably just need someone who has been soaping for a long time to teach me how to make a good bar of Castille or a good liquid Castille. I follow recipes exactly and get the results mentioned but I have never touched a hard bar unless I hardened it. For babies, I just make a liquid (and I usually make bastille leaning towards Castille.)
BattleGnome
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I think you just said it in this post: a favorite at markets.
Castille has a very long history and thus a great word of mouth marketing. The word “castille” is also a bit trendy now in the same way “all natural” gets all the monies. Customers don’t always know what makes a good soap they just know castille is a good soap word. Sometimes I think they use it to mean a veggie based soap but won’t care if it’s really a Bastille as long as it has some olive oil in it. Just look Bronners, it’s not a castille by soaper definition but the word is all over their marketing.
Castille has a very long history and thus a great word of mouth marketing. The word “castille” is also a bit trendy now in the same way “all natural” gets all the monies. Customers don’t always know what makes a good soap they just know castille is a good soap word. Sometimes I think they use it to mean a veggie based soap but won’t care if it’s really a Bastille as long as it has some olive oil in it. Just look Bronners, it’s not a castille by soaper definition but the word is all over their marketing.
Yes, "castile" means any type of vegetable oil soap to everyone but soapers. This has been the accepted definition for consumers (not soapers) for well over 100 years and this definition has been upheld in the US courts at least.
Dr Bronners and Kirks and all the other mixed veg-oil soaps can legally be called castile soaps.
Dr Bronners and Kirks and all the other mixed veg-oil soaps can legally be called castile soaps.
You are quite right.
Nanditasr
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Typically, how much oleic is considered a high oleic soap?
Gentleman, did you make the batches? would you like to share the results?
I don't know that there's a commonly accepted definition. Speaking purely for myself, "high oleic" starts around 60% oleic acid. A 100% avocado oil soap at 58% oleic would qualify. Certainly a 100% olive oil soap at 69% oleic acid.
Nanditasr
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Thanks. Well, considering that most of my soaps contain substantial amounts of at least oleic, stearic or palmitic (and ricinoleic) acid, for whichever reason, it may be worth adding KOH at 5%.
I am updating this thread with a link to an article I wrote about using 5% ammonium hydroxide solution (aka "household ammonia") to make soap. Ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) solution is an alternative to KOH.
When used with NaOH to make a "dual lye" bar soap, ammonia solution offers benefits similar to KOH in that it makes soap more soluble so the soap dissolves and lathers more easily.
I cover the other pros and cons of using ammonia solution and how to use it to make soap in my article: https://classicbells.com/soap/ammoniumHydroxide.html
When used with NaOH to make a "dual lye" bar soap, ammonia solution offers benefits similar to KOH in that it makes soap more soluble so the soap dissolves and lathers more easily.
I cover the other pros and cons of using ammonia solution and how to use it to make soap in my article: https://classicbells.com/soap/ammoniumHydroxide.html
After reading this thread, I decided to try the dual lye castile. I have Anne Watson's book about castile soap and used her recipe for Coconut Castor Castile and dual lye and added salt to the lye water. It's been curing for eight weeks, so I gave it a try this weekend. I know adding the castor and coconut oils takes it from a true castile to more of a bastille. I liked it very much. It's a nice hard soap, lathers well, feels good on my skin, and no awful "snotty" texture, which I've always had with true castile. I also used her CPOP method for the first time and it was very easy. Since the members of this board have turned me into lardinator, I don't care too much about veg soaps, but this one I think I will make on a somewhat regular basis.
Thanks for the thread, DeeAnna. And now I'm off to read about the ammonia soap.
Mary
Thanks for the thread, DeeAnna. And now I'm off to read about the ammonia soap.
Mary
It seems that there is always more to learn about soap making. 
I’ve had a bag of KOH sitting around for a month. Now I’m excited to take a stab at a dual lye recipe. Thanks @DeeAnna!
@TeresaGG and @Emmanuel - DeeAnna includes a caution about having good ventilation when you use ammonia. Having made soap with ammonia once, I second that. Ammonia is very stinky. For some reason, I also had a lingering ammonia odor in the soap even though the soap didn’t zap.
I’ve had a bag of KOH sitting around for a month. Now I’m excited to take a stab at a dual lye recipe. Thanks @DeeAnna!@TeresaGG and @Emmanuel - DeeAnna includes a caution about having good ventilation when you use ammonia. Having made soap with ammonia once, I second that. Ammonia is very stinky. For some reason, I also had a lingering ammonia odor in the soap even though the soap didn’t zap.
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