Castile Soap
- Thread starter Lee242
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Yeah, but that is what the outside non-soaper world does. The "start with a bar of Fels Naptha" recipe for laundry mix is like those cake recipes that layer a store-bought cake mix with store-bought cherry pie filling and such. There's nothing wrong with that -- it tastes better than a ready made cake -- but this kind of recipe is definitely not "from scratch" cooking.
There are real soapers here who know how to do this task "from scratch" and do it right. That's why you're getting different advice than what you read "out there." :mrgreen:
There are real soapers here who know how to do this task "from scratch" and do it right. That's why you're getting different advice than what you read "out there." :mrgreen:
Have you also been reading the other laundry soap threads going on recently? Look for the big post from DeeAnna, with some top tips. That will say to drop the borax and the baking powder.
Please stop thinking in terms of 'a bar' and 'a box' and get in to using weights and weights alone. And from a clarity point, 100% CO is not Castile - Castile is just 100% olive oil.
Please stop thinking in terms of 'a bar' and 'a box' and get in to using weights and weights alone. And from a clarity point, 100% CO is not Castile - Castile is just 100% olive oil.
DawninWA
Well-Known Member
The recipes call for bars of castile soap, but they're usually using dr bronners (mostly coconut with a few other oils) or Kirk's Castile (coconut).
That said, my current laundry soap is mostly olive oil castile. I made some soap for laundry a while ago, it was probably 50% lard, 25% coconut and 25% olive oil (0% superfat). And when I went to make up the laundry soap, I used the wrong bar, I used a 100% olive oil bar. Got my clothes clean. I discovered my mistake a couple days later and I was worried that it wasn't strong enough, so I added some of the original lard/olive/coconut soap to it. Works incredibly well, but I am very sensitive to coconut oil, and I think it may be causing some skin irritation even in such a small amount. I may make some again and use only the olive oil soap.
That said, my current laundry soap is mostly olive oil castile. I made some soap for laundry a while ago, it was probably 50% lard, 25% coconut and 25% olive oil (0% superfat). And when I went to make up the laundry soap, I used the wrong bar, I used a 100% olive oil bar. Got my clothes clean. I discovered my mistake a couple days later and I was worried that it wasn't strong enough, so I added some of the original lard/olive/coconut soap to it. Works incredibly well, but I am very sensitive to coconut oil, and I think it may be causing some skin irritation even in such a small amount. I may make some again and use only the olive oil soap.
They're simply soap, Lee. Just soap. There are no fancy names for most types of soap. The only real way to know if a soap is made from lard or palm or coconut or whatever is to read the ingredients list.
You can't go by the name "castile" when looking at the packages in the store. As we've already discussed, the word "castile" has been bast**dized to mean a soap made with all vegetable oils, but to know specifically WHAT those veg oils are ... you gotta read the ingredients list.
You can't go by the name "castile" when looking at the packages in the store. As we've already discussed, the word "castile" has been bast**dized to mean a soap made with all vegetable oils, but to know specifically WHAT those veg oils are ... you gotta read the ingredients list.
