Help with 100 % OO cp soap

[claireobell]

Hi all, I need to make a 100 percent olive oil soap for my brother in law who was told by a dermatologist to use as he has reactions to shop bought soaps. I have never made castille soap before and was after some advice!
I am planning on using pomace OO with no colorants or EO to keep it as plain as possible.
I use soapcalc and was wondering what percent of water and superfat I should be using? Should I be gelling my soap? Any tips or tricks?
Any advice would be much appreciated, hadn't done much research on this type of soap as it sounds kinda boring lol but if it's being recommended by skin specialists for people with sensitive skin then I think it would be a good soap to master!
Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[ClaraSuds]

I make mine with 10% superfat, but many people use closer to 5%. I don't gel mine because I hate partial gels, plenty of others do gel theirs. It seems to make little to no difference. Most people use a water discount when they make castile.

 

[shunt2011]

I make my castile 6-7% superfat as it has a tendency to have a slimy feel anyways. I do gel all my soaps and you will want to us a water discount to get it to trace quicker as all olive can take a long time to trace otherwise. You will also want to give it a really long cure of 6 months or so. I'm sure your brother in law will appreciate your doing this for him.

 

[Obsidian]

I use a 2:1 water:lye for castile.

 

[seven]

the most sf for my castiles are 5%. once i did a batch using pomace using 0% SF, i quite like the result. i gelled my castiles.

 

[loopyloop]

Hang on... Why 100% OO? Reaction to shop bought rubbish does not mean that at all? That's some dermatological advice, I tellya. Tell him to change the dermatologist.... There are so many oils out there which in combination to oo will give him a much superior soap. Fact.

 

[Dorymae]

Because Castile is considered the mildest of all soap ( it is used in all hospitals) I believe they want to get him to something that is absolutely non- irritating. For that point he could, if he chooses, try adding one more oil at a time to see if there is a reaction.

This would be common advice from a skin care professional, otherwise you are suggesting he try's different oils until he finds one without a reaction. That could be very uncomfortable for him depending on his sensitivity.

 

[claireobell]

Hang on... Why 100% OO? Reaction to shop bought rubbish does not mean that at all? That's some dermatological advice, I tellya. Tell him to change the dermatologist.... There are so many oils out there which in combination to oo will give him a much superior soap. Fact.

It's because of skin allergies and sensitivities, I am a beauty therapist and know that when it comes to a sensitive skin LESS is MORE! The less ingredients the less likely a reaction.

 

[DeeAnna]

^^^ What Dorymae said!

As far as the water content in your recipe ... you may want to consider using a lye solution concentration of 33% to 40%. These numbers are NOT "water as % of oils", just to avoid any misunderstandings. A more concentrated lye solution will jump start the saponification of the olive oil. With "full water" (about 27-18% lye solution concentration), olive can take a long time to come to trace.

I would also choose a moderate to low superfat as most of the others are suggesting. OO soap doesn't lather a lot to begin with, so don't make matters worse with too much lather-killing superfat.

 

[MorpheusPA]

To chime in, with mostly things other people have already said as well:

1) I like a 2:1 water to lye ratio with my Castille. It traces and sets up a little faster.

2) Your pomace will trace a bit faster anyway, which is all to the good when making Castille. One suggestion, though, might be to use Grade A olive oil instead. It's definitely not going to have hexane traces in it, which pomace might (although I don't know if those would survive the lye monster).

3) For Castille, 5% to 7% superfat is entirely sufficient in most cases. Start there and adjust it as necessary if your BIL finds it too drying. He probably won't have an issue with it.

4) Gel. It'll allow you to unmold a little faster. Put it in the oven at 170 if you have to and if your mold allows that.

5) Even gelled, unmolding may be slow. Ungelled, it'll be very slow.

6) Long cure times are key for Castille. Three months is about the minimum I like, with 6 to 12 months being far superior in terms of soap quality and durability. Do a small batch, give it to him at the 4 week point, and if he likes the initial soap, start a larger batch that can cure longer immediately.

7) Given the long cure time, I might be tempted to make two initial batches, the other with a decent amount of palm oil. Give him both and have him try the oil/palm mix first. If he can tolerate that, he can buy time to allow the Castile to age.

 

[claireobell]

Ok great! Heaps of good advice thank you all! Just one question about water discount -do I put 2:1 in soapcalc under water :lye ratio?

 

[Susie]

Couple of thoughts:

1. Castile is used in hospitals for enemas. The "soap" they use on patients' skin is the usual syndet you can buy in the store, usually with triclosan added.

2. The dermatologist may not be aware of any other kind of "true soap", it would be a great idea for the BIL to ask on the next appt. Many of us "cured" our eczema just by getting away from syndets. There are so many soaps you can make that might not bother him at all. Also, the doc may be thinking about Dr. B's liquid or bar "castile" soap.

 

[MorpheusPA]

Ok great! Heaps of good advice thank you all! Just one question about water discount -do I put 2:1 in soapcalc under water :lye ratio?

Yep, right in the water:lye ratio box. Water as a percent of oils on the printed recipe should work out around 25.7%. Lye concentration will be 33.333%.

If you find that slow to trace and slow to set up, don't be afraid to knock it back a little on the next batch, and so on if it still isn't to your liking.

I dislike the idea of going much under 1.5:1 as a ratio in any case, but some people actually do use 1:1 ratio. Be seriously careful with water heating and lye volcaonoes as your water discount goes up!

 

[Dorymae]

Couple of thoughts:

1. Castile is used in hospitals for enemas. The "soap" they use on patients' skin is the usual syndet you can buy in the store, usually with triclosan added.

2. The dermatologist may not be aware of any other kind of "true soap", it would be a great idea for the BIL to ask on the next appt. Many of us "cured" our eczema just by getting away from syndets. There are so many soaps you can make that might not bother him at all. Also, the doc may be thinking about Dr. B's liquid or bar "castile" soap.

Everything you said is true, however if he has really bad reactions the safest bet if to eliminate as much as possible and then begin adding back "the good oils" one at a time to find the culprit or culprits. Without knowing exactly what is causing the reaction it would be silly to just give him soap after soap hoping you happen upon one he can use.

If someones sensitivity is bad enough to send them to a dermatologist then I believe you start from the safest place and build from there.

Edited to note that using Castile soap for enemas should show just how gentle the soap is. Also if you have bad burns or lesions they will also use Castile. This could vary by hospital, I can only speak for 2 in Connecticut.

 

[jnl]

if you want the cleanest, purest soap, then i would not use pomace olive oil. pomace uses chemical solvents to extract the oil. extra virgin olive oil or regular "olive oil" is mechanically separated only - no solvents.

 

[jnl]

I got an email reply back from Costco Canada today confirming their "Olive Oil" contains no pomace and is mechanically separated with no solvents. Their EVOO, obviously (and it states on the label) that its cold pressed (no solvents).

Unfortunately they said their grapeseed oil uses solvents

 

[Susie]

Everything you said is true, however if he has really bad reactions the safest bet if to eliminate as much as possible and then begin adding back "the good oils" one at a time to find the culprit or culprits. Without knowing exactly what is causing the reaction it would be silly to just give him soap after soap hoping you happen upon one he can use.

If someones sensitivity is bad enough to send them to a dermatologist then I believe you start from the safest place and build from there.

Absolutely the safest thing to do is to follow the doctor's instructions to the letter! This is why I said for BIL to ask the doctor about trying other true soaps.

And yes, once BIL's skin is better is then, with MD approval, add one oil at the time to the soap. Then, if tolerated well for at least a full week, try a soap with an additional oil. This will mean that the soapmaker needs to make small batches and give them plenty of cure time before BIL gets them. Lots of trial and error ahead.

But right now, BIL needs to use exactly what the MD ordered. And I suggested the store bought "castile" as there is no substitute for adequate cure, and he will need some sort of soap until the first batch cures.