# Is Castile ever not slimy?



## Irishgem29 (Mar 12, 2015)

So of corse I couls not wait and had to try my Castile soap after a month. My hands feel nice however I see what people mean about the slimy/ snotty feel. So my question is does it ever go away?  Like with 10 months or so of curing, is it less?  Not a problem for me however I'm not sure if it's suitable to give as a gift. Also I read somewhere that some have tried adding salt 1tsp or so to the water to idol ever before adding lye to make less slimed. Anyone ever try this?  I am too new to want to try adding something to the lye just yet. Thank you.


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## MorpheusPA (Mar 12, 2015)

It does reduce a bit over time, but never really loses all the snot.  Which I call "lotion-like" lather, thank you.  But yeah, it's snot.

Adding sugar to the recipe (I personally use honey) at 1 tsp to 1 Tbsp PPO can reduce the snotty (lotion-like...) feel a bit.

The only other option is to make a Bastile with 90% OO and 10% CO.  Even that tends toward snotty, though not quite so much.

Salt tends to harden a bar faster, but is actually a lather killer (in the amounts we use, 1 tsp PPO, it's not enough to notice).  I've never noticed it helps with the snot in the slightest.


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## Obsidian (Mar 12, 2015)

I recently made castile with brine water and its just as slimy as regular castile. My 1.5 yr old castile is just as slimy as fresh castile. I've tried it made with milks, excess lye, high SF, low SF, nothing seems to help. I've officially joined the "I hate castile" club.


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## TVivian (Mar 12, 2015)

Obsidian said:


> I recently made castile with brine water and its just as slimy as regular castile. My 1.5 yr old castile is just as slimy as fresh castile. I've tried it made with milks, excess lye, high SF, low SF, nothing seems to help. I've officially joined the "I hate castile" club.




I'm a member as well! Yuk.


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## jnl (Mar 12, 2015)

so far i have found that the more olive oil i have in my recipe, the slimier it feels and the longer it takes to rinse the suds off....even when other oils are added.  im no pro, and my own soap is the only hand made soap i have ever used.


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## shunt2011 (Mar 12, 2015)

I don't like castile at all.  I much prefer a bastille and make that now.  Not worth the effort as I can't stand slimy!


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## biarine (Mar 12, 2015)

I don't mind with slimy but the thing I don't like with castile is very low sud.


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## Nevada (Mar 12, 2015)

Castile reminds of unleavened bread. I was into it and someone said to me "_they made it 'cause they had to_'.


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## FlybyStardancer (Mar 13, 2015)

I haven't noticed any snot with my milk & honey superlye  castile, but I haven't had much experience with standard castile!


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## Seawolfe (Mar 13, 2015)

I just tried my 11 month old castille with comfrey and nettle infused OO and Rosemary EO. It's slippery, but not snotty. Perhaps it's our hard water?


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## DawninWA (Mar 13, 2015)

I love the results of using it.  It's so gentle and I'm sensitive to coconut oil, but the sliminess gets to me.  Fortunately, I have found that I can grate it and dilute it and make it into liquid soap.  Only the 100% olive oil soap, the others turn into goopy snot.  It makes very nice liquid soap.


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## IrishLass (Mar 13, 2015)

If my 4-year old Castile is anything to go by, my answer to your question is no- it is never not slimy.........well, on second thought, let me re-phrase that: The only time it's not slimy is when it's completely dry. lol As soon as water hits it, an astounding snot-fest of colloid develops on the surface that sticks to my hand in such a fashion that when I pull my hand away from the soap, long strings of slimy goo follow along as if it doesn't want my hand to go. lol

That's not to say that I hate my Castiles, though. I find them to be really quite lovely, but only when lathered with a nylon pouf. Without the pouf, the lather is quite pathetic- nothing but slimy yuck. But with the pouf, a miracle occurs- I get a rich, bubbly and creamy lather-fest that can only be described as decadent or luxurious.


IrishLass


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## biarine (Mar 13, 2015)

IrishLass said:


> If my 4-year old Castile is anything to go by, my answer to your question is no- it is never not slimy.........well, on second thought, let me re-phrase that: The only time it's not slimy is when it's completely dry. lol As soon as water hits it, an astounding snot-fest of colloid develops on the surface that sticks to my hand in such a fashion that when I pull my hand away from the soap, long strings of slimy goo follow along as if it doesn't want my hand to go. lol
> 
> That's not to say that I hate my Castiles, though. I find them to be really quite lovely, but only when lathered with a nylon pouf. Without the pouf, the lather is quite pathetic- nothing but slimy yuck. But with the pouf, a miracle occurs- I get a rich, bubbly and creamy lather-fest that can only be described as decadent or luxurious.
> 
> ...




Yes with puff it lathered well but my 6 months old castile it's started to lather well and less slimy.


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## navigator9 (Mar 13, 2015)

Seawolfe said:


> I just tried my 11 month old castille with comfrey and nettle infused OO and Rosemary EO. It's slippery, but not snotty. Perhaps it's our hard water?



Ah, so maybe that's the reason my castile isn't snotty. I've seen pics of the snot and thought.....really, my soap's not like that at all. So maybe it's my super hard water! Never thought of that.


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## nframe (Mar 13, 2015)

I, too, am joining the ranks of Castile soap haters!  I tried today one that was made on 9 January 2014 and, although it is pretty, white and very hard, there is virtually no lather.  You need to rub your hands for quite a while to get anything.  Since the soaps are very white, I think that I will grate them and use as confetti in a coloured batter with a high percentage of coconut oil to counteract the lack of lather.  I had made a Bastile soap at about the same time and it has great lather so - no more Castile soaps for me!


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## kumudini (Mar 13, 2015)

*not snotty slimy but also not 100% OO*

my third batch of soap was a CP castile, with 85% OO, CO, Castor and a tiny amount of PKO making up the rest and scented with lavender. had some salt in the lye water, fully dissolved before the addition of lye of course. Used after one month, it was nice and hard, felt luxurious in hand, scant lotion like lather, not snotty at all. I was actually wondering what is this snotty feel in a bar soap until I saw someone actually describe it. not at all like that and also it washes of nicely. And it was superfatted to 5%.


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Mar 13, 2015)

Vkumudini said:


> my third batch of soap was a CP castile, with 85% OO, CO, Castor and a tiny amount of PKO making up the rest and scented with lavender. had some salt in the lye water, fully dissolved before the addition of lye of course. Used after one month, it was nice and hard, felt luxurious in hand, scant lotion like lather, not snotty at all. I was actually wondering what is this snotty feel in a bar soap until I saw someone actually describe it. not at all like that and also it washes of nicely. And it was superfatted to 5%.


 
Aye, but you made a Bastile, not a Castille - Castille is simply 100% OO, no matter what Dr Bonner may tell you.  Soaps with a high amount of OO but not 100% are Bastile.

It seems that Bastile is the way forward, for a mostly OO soap that actually performs well!


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## kumudini (Mar 13, 2015)

The Efficacious Gentleman said:


> Aye, but you made a Bastile, not a Castille - Castille is simply 100% OO, no matter what Dr Bonner may tell you. Soaps with a high amount of OO but not 100% are Bastile.
> 
> It seems that Bastile is the way forward, for a mostly OO soap that actually performs well!


 
thank you for correcting me TEG, I did actually want to try a castile but was discouraged by the general feelings about it on the internet just as they r here. But let me ask you this, does the soap behave differently if it is 100% EVOO vs pure OO say from Costco vs pomace? if so, which is better?


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## Dahila (Mar 13, 2015)

I do not like castille, slimy son of a gun.  Bastille is better though.  The best combination of OO Lard and tallow for me)


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## kumudini (Mar 13, 2015)

Dahila said:


> I do not like castille, slimy son of a gun. Bastille is better though. The best combination of OO Lard and tallow for me)


 
I thought bastille is still all vegetable oils. Anyways I am a vegetarian/ mostly vegan. That's the reason I searched for alternatives to the commercial ' body bars'. So if I ever start selling soaps, you wont find lard soaps in the line up.


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## MorpheusPA (Mar 13, 2015)

Vkumudini said:


> I thought bastille is still all vegetable oils. Anyways I am a vegetarian/ mostly vegan. That's the reason I searched for alternatives to the commercial ' body bars'. So if I ever start selling soaps, you wont find lard soaps in the line up.



Bastile is just "mostly olive," with any other oil or combination of oils as the balance.  That can be coconut, palm, lard, tallow, or anything else you can think of.

In your case, just stick to vegetable oils and call it "Vegetarian Bastile."  8)


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## kumudini (Mar 13, 2015)

MorpheusPA said:


> Bastile is just "mostly olive," with any other oil or combination of oils as the balance. That can be coconut, palm, lard, tallow, or anything else you can think of.
> 
> In your case, just stick to vegetable oils and call it "Vegetarian Bastile." 8)


 
done deal morpheus


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## jnl (Mar 13, 2015)

is it called bastille because its a bastardized castile?  
if not, what is the "b" for?


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## IrishLass (Mar 13, 2015)

jnl said:


> is it called bastille because its a bastardized castile?
> if not, what is the "b" for?


 

Yes, you guessed rightly. The term 'bastile' was first coined by a member of the Dish forum some years ago as a joke of a name to describe a bastardized Castile. The name then took on a life of its own and now it is used everywhere in soapdom. It's not an 'official' name or anything like that, but just a humorous, tongue-in-cheek one.  


IrishLass


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Mar 13, 2015)

Or.....

While the free people of France were allowed to use soaps made with only olive oil, the prisoners in the Bastile had their soap mixed with other oils as punishment.  

Personally, I think the pure version is more of a punishment..............


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## sososo (Mar 13, 2015)

Even with 60% pomace (30% palm, 10% coconut) and after 4 month of cure - is still slimy.


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## MorpheusPA (Mar 13, 2015)

sososo said:


> Even with 60% pomace (30% palm, 10% coconut) and after 4 month of cure - is still slimy.



My go-to recipe is actually 70% olive oil (I tend to use Grade A as that's what I can get easily and most cheaply).  I dropped in 5% coconut, 5% castor, and 15% soy wax for balance, and it's an amazingly nice bar.  I also added sodium lactate at 1 tsp PPO and sugar at 1 tsp PPO for the hardening and lathering.

Sometimes I go with palm instead of soy wax.  The bar takes longer to set up, longer to cut, and longer to cure, but it still turns out really nice.


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## Dahila (Mar 13, 2015)

Yes bastille is veggie oil only, but I switched to oo co lard and tallow and castor.  Sometimes when I fee adventoures i add avocado and cocoa butter. 
Sorry if you understand it differently, maybe cause English is my second language (shame on me)roblem:


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## Irishgem29 (Mar 13, 2015)

Wow. So I'm thinking this may be an acquired soap taste to give out. I am curious about the hard water comments. I have been using the water from the fridge filter and never thought to use distilled water. Did anyone use distilled and have the same results?  I am really loving the results though except for the slimy stuff. My hands feel so smooth and it is only just a month


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## IrishLass (Mar 13, 2015)

For what it's worth, I use distilled water to make all my soaps, but I have hard water in my shower (as well as the rest of my house of course), and my Castile's always turn out to be a bunch of snotty slime producers no matter how young or old. lol It's because of the oleic acid from the olive oil. It produces a very soluble soap that readily melts when it meets up with water. 

IrishLass 

Edited to add a pic of my Castile slime. The soap pictured is 4 years old (still slimy after all these years):


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## MorpheusPA (Mar 13, 2015)

I've gotten that on the rare one month old 70% OO soap as well.  You pull the bar out of your hand and slime trails follow it.


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## jules92207 (Mar 13, 2015)

The Efficacious Gentleman said:


> Or.....
> 
> While the free people of France were allowed to use soaps made with only olive oil, the prisoners in the Bastile had their soap mixed with other oils as punishment.
> 
> Personally, I think the pure version is more of a punishment..............



Lol! I'd take that prison any day. Save the Bastile!


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## Obsidian (Mar 13, 2015)

Besides the slime, I find castile very drying and if its unscented, it smells stale after a few months.


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## Carmin (Aug 5, 2020)

Obsidian said:


> I recently made castile with brine water and its just as slimy as regular castile. My 1.5 yr old castile is just as slimy as fresh castile. I've tried it made with milks, excess lye, high SF, low SF, nothing seems to help. I've officially joined the "I hate castile" club.





Dahila said:


> I do not like castille, slimy son of a gun.  Bastille is better though.  The best combination of OO Lard and tallow for me)


I made bastile and as I’m a begginer in soap making I thought it was something wrong with them but reading these posts I realised it is it’s “feature”. I don’t like how slimy it is though. I might join “I hate the Castile and bastile club too.

I might change my mind depending on how moisturising they feel...


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## shunt2011 (Aug 5, 2020)

Carmin said:


> I made bastile and as I’m a begginer in soap making I thought it was something wrong with them but reading these posts I realised it is it’s “feature”. I don’t like how slimy it is though. I might join “I hate the Castile and bastile club too.
> 
> I might change my mind depending on how moisturising they feel...



You’ll never find a soap that is moisturizing.  Soap can be formulated to be less cleansing by using lower amounts of cleansing oils like coconut, PKO or Babbasu.   If you have sensitive skin you may want to keep those at 10-15%.  

I dislike any high oleic soap especially olive oil.  I keep my oleic oils at 15-25% at most.  I like a better rounded recipe.  But my skin doesn’t mind coconut at 20-22%.


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## Hope Ann (Aug 6, 2020)

Carmin said:


> I don’t like how slimy it is though. I might join “I hate the Castile and bastile club too.
> 
> I might change my mind depending on how moisturising they feel...



Search the forum for Zaneys No-slime castile.  Most of us find it not slimy when prepared to her method.  Also it's very important to keep out of standing water and allow to fully dry between use.

Hope


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## Anstarx (Aug 7, 2020)

I've only ever made on batch of castile (do plan to make more tho) and it was not slimey, at least not when washing.
I added an egg yolk and cane syrup to the oil when mixing and have froze milk as liquid, inspired by a thread discussing egg yolk in soap. Not sure which helped the most or it's a combined effort. It doesn't have the best lather but it does make bubbles.




↑Sorry for the blurriness. I took a video to record how my soap lathers and this is how the castile behaved after 6 months.
If you left it sit when it's wet it will create some sort of slimey film on the surface but as long as you rub with it there's bubble so I'm fine with it.


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## Dahila (Aug 9, 2020)

yes bastille is vegetable oils,  I just put my combination of my best soap,  I do not like the bastile cause people use a lot of CO in them


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