My Castile Soap is HARD!!

[Lotus]

Can anyone tell me why my 100% olive oil (with an avocado) is VERY hard after only a couple of days? I used EVOO, if that makes a difference. But, I hear so much about how it takes SO long for castile soap to even get remotely hard. Mine unmolded before even 24 hours passed, and it is already rock hard. Can anyone surmise why?

 

[VanessaP]

Did it gel or did you discount your liquid amount? I can unmold my gelled castile in about 24 hours. If I don't gel and/or use full water, then it takes me close to a week.

 

[bodhi]

I unmold and cut the same day and they are rock hard pretty darn quickly too. Not sure why others are different, but congrats on your Castile! Now put it away for about 6 months got a pic?

 

[Lotus]

Nope! I didn't gel mine. Thank you, bodhi. Here's a pic right after I unmolded it. . . .

 

[Lotus]

Did it gel or did you discount your liquid amount? I can unmold my gelled castile in about 24 hours. If I don't gel and/or use full water, then it takes me close to a week.

Oh, and I did not discount my water. Glad I didn't, I guess. . . ?

 

[bodhi]

Looks yummy

 

[newbie]

What fragrance did you use? It seems to me the ones that accelerate trace a lot get harder faster.

 

[lizflowers42]

I just made Castile soap today with lavender and tea tree oil essential oils and green clay to use as a facial soap, it traced VERY quickly. It's been geling for several hours and I will most likely unmold it tomorrow morning and cut!

 

[Ann Marie]

My OO soap is usually hard upon cutting, but the problem is not that it feels soft, my experience has been that if you don't let it cure for a long time (at least 6 weeks but the longer the better) when you actually use it in the shower it uses up faster than normal. Try it yourself, use a bit after 4, then 6 weeks then six months and you'll see a difference in staying power. Love, love, love OO soap so it's worth the wait.

 

[Lotus]

What fragrance did you use? It seems to me the ones that accelerate trace a lot get harder faster.

I did not use any fragrance. Simply EVOO, and an avocado pureed in a few ounces of the olive oil, added at trace.

Thank you, Ann Marie. : )

 

[mel z]

Oh yeah. This is your first gelled soap, I remember. It will feel harder than ungelled within a few days. However, it will still be soft in shower after a few weeks. It will get hard as a brick around 9 months to a year (Castile only.)