Castile soaps

[Oboegirl]

So, I kept hearing everyone talking about how utterly fabulous this Savon de Marseille soap is so I bought a bar to see what all the fuss is about. I love the soap but can't stand the smell. Hubby does not seem to care about that sort of thing so I put the bar in the shower to see if he would use it and he loved it except he thought it didn't make good bubbles. He even told the people at work how wonderful this soap makes you feel! (hubby never does that sort of thing) I know this is a castile soap and I've never used any other castile soap. Is the no bubbles and horrid smell part of the Savon de Marseille experience exclusively or are all the castile soaps that way? Is there a way to do a bastile soap that saves the skin softening while making better lather?

C

 

[jenneelk]

I did my 2 bastile's with 85 OO/15 CO then 75 00/17CO/7castor. Haven't tried yet so curious to know thoughts on this so don't mind me. I'll just be back here lurking with my popcorn waiting for answers.

 

[jennikate]

Not sure about smell I never noticed. Basille is the way go about the bubbles I do 85 oo 10 coconut and 5 castor works for me get better bubbles still very mild . I do mean precent on numbers given .

 

[Robert]

The irony is that the classic recipes for bubble blowing solutions used potassium oleate, which is the largest constituent of olive soap. Of course there's a difference between blowing individual bubbles and making lather.

 

[dagmar88]

Savon de Marseille has a very distinctive scent. One you either love or hate. But, it's nothing like regular castille or soap with a high % of olive oil.
Olive oil soaps do get slimy. You could add some coconut and castor for better lather.

 

[Oboegirl]

They say that castille soaps need to cure for a year or even two, would the bastille soap need the same cure time? Also, Savon de Marseille says they make their soaps with salt water, would adding salt to the soap make it more similar?

C

 

[juliet]

The irony is that the classic recipes for bubble blowing solutions used potassium oleate, which is the largest constituent of olive soap. Of course there's a difference between blowing individual bubbles and making lather.

I think they are related actually, both rely on breaking the surface tension, the more the surface tension is reduced, the bigger the bubbles. I have two small kids, we're into bubble blowing!

Sent from my HTC Desire X using Soap Making mobile app

 

[Candybee]

Hmmm.. I may want to try using salt water in my next batch.

I make bastile soaps and have several recipes for them. The simplest is 90% olive oil with 10% castor. It has no smell other than a light clean soap scent. I've used them as early as one week old up to 6 mos old. I just could never save one for a full year I love them so much!

I make another thats 80 and one thats 75% olive oil and use some coconut oil in them. They also have no smell and make great soaps that you can use in 6-8 weeks.

 

[tryanything]

They say that castille soaps need to cure for a year or even two, would the bastille soap need the same cure time? Also, Savon de Marseille says they make their soaps with salt water, would adding salt to the soap make it more similar?

Yeah, any soap high in olive oil should have a long cure (6 months minimum is best but I prefer a good year). Salt can help make the bar harder. Not sure what other properties it would add though.

 

[engblom]

Added salt will give less lather. Thus it's not great for castile.

 

[Oboegirl]

They say this on the savon de marseille web site:

"It takes our Maitre de Savon (soapmaster) two weeks to make Savon de Marseille. The delicate mixture of olive oil, alkaline ash from sea plants and Mediterranean Sea salted water are heated for ten days in antique cauldrons, then poured into open pits where it hardens. Cut into cubes and stamped, the soaps are then set out to dry in the sun and mistral winds."

What would cooking it for 10 days do? Ash from sea plants? Would kelp do the same thing? Idk how to fake a "mistral wind" here in Wisconsin. They do say some soaps are made with 50% palm oil, that should help with bubbles?

C