Is this the right color for Castile?

[saltydog]

Tried this for the first time this morning, it seems very dark.. Amanda's looked much lighter to me on her tutorial.
I used regular OO. I'm not going to gel, I'd like it to look creamy and light. Hopefully, it will get lighter?

Also, I used the same amount of lye as I did water, thanks to Amanda's recipe, and it traced almost as fast as my PO recipe.
My lye water def looked different than it usually does. It never became clear, but stayed cloudy, even though I couldn't feel anymore lye crystals in it as I stirred. Is this normal for a steep water discount?
I'm thinking these might be nice for Christmas gifts.


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[Dragonkaz]

Wow ... I made castille during the week for the first time and after 1 1/2 hours it still didn't appear to trace, but it was thicker, so I poured it into moulds. It's still not set ... which is worrying.

The colour of mine looks a little lighter than yours ... but it's 48 hours old now and did gel ... and still not set. I'm not sure mie will work.

PS ... mine is 100% EVOO, 1.5:1 (40%) lye concentration and I superfatted at 7%.

 

[saltydog]

Wow ... I made castille during the week for the first time and after 1 1/2 hours it still didn't appear to trace, but it was thicker, so I poured it into moulds. It's still not set ... which is worrying.

The colour of mine looks a little lighter than yours ... but it's 48 hours old now and did gel ... and still not set. I'm not sure mie will work.

PS ... mine is 100% EVOO, 1.5:1 (40%) lye concentration and I superfatted at 7%.

Dragonkaz, I did read your post about your Castile. All the stirring I've read about made me leary about trying it. When I read Amandas recipe, I figured I'd try it because she said it would trace quickly.
Good luck with your soap. I think yours is just going to take some extra time to set up, hang in there & post some pics when it comes out, please!

I'm embarrassed to say, I don't understand the 1.5:1 (40%) calculation. Is the 1.5 the water and 1 the lye? Math was never my strong point, thank goodness for calculators. And how do you even change those percentages in SoapCalc?

 

[Dragonkaz]

LOL ... maths is definitely not my strong point ... and I find all this figure stuff scary, which keeps me researching, as I couldn't work out how to do this using SoapCalc. I now understand (I think) that SoapCalc does both or either ... the ratio and the percentage.

I think ... 1.5 - means 1 1/2 times the lye, whereas I think you did 1:1 ... the same amount of lye and water ... which I'm guessing is 50% ... but I'm not real confident about that!

Can you please share the link to Amanda's tut?

 

[saltydog]

Sure thing here's Amanda's link:
http://www.lovinsoap.com/2011/03/castille/

 

[Dragonkaz]

Sure thing here's Amanda's link:
http://www.lovinsoap.com/2011/03/castille/

Thanks! Great link!

 

[saltydog]

I knowwww.... :wink:

 

[Dragonkaz]

What I needed was a dose of patience! I wasn't expecting it to take 72 hours to unmould ... but I'm thrilled with the look. Now to wait three months (at least) before trying it ... will I make it that long ... ummmmm

 

[saltydog]

Ha, I proly won't. I'll try after a month and think it stinks!

 

[agriffin]

Tried this for the first time this morning, it seems very dark.. Amanda's looked much lighter to me on her tutorial.
I used regular OO. I'm not going to gel, I'd like it to look creamy and light. Hopefully, it will get lighter?

Also, I used the same amount of lye as I did water, thanks to Amanda's recipe, and it traced almost as fast as my PO recipe.
My lye water def looked different than it usually does. It never became clear, but stayed cloudy, even though I couldn't feel anymore lye crystals in it as I stirred. Is this normal for a steep water discount?
I'm thinking these might be nice for Christmas gifts.


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Looks good! I think when it sets up it might be alot lighter but it really depends on the olive oil you use. My olive oil (Bertolli regular) makes a really light soap. My lye water gets clear so I'm not real sure about the clouding? Maybe next time add a bit more water to see if it clears up. Let me know how it turns out!

Dragonkaz - your soap looks beautiful!

 

[Dragonkaz]

Thanks Amanda! I'll definitely be making more.

I also use Bertolli, but I used extra virgin olive oil, due to getting some on special. Next time I'll make it with olive oil so I can compare the colour.

 

[kharmon320]

Val- you had asked a question about SoapCalc. Under the #3 Water, you would choose the Lye Concentration button and put 40. When you calculate the recipe and go to the print page, it shows both the 40% and the Water:Lye Ration as 1.5:1. HTH.

Dragonkaz- Very pretty soap. Val- have you unmolded yet?

 

[saltydog]

Val- you had asked a question about SoapCalc. Under the #3 Water, you would choose the Lye Concentration button and put 40. When you calculate the recipe and go to the print page, it shows both the 40% and the Water:Lye Ration as 1.5:1. HTH.

Dragonkaz- Very pretty soap. Val- have you unmolded yet?

kharmon, Thank you for that, it was REALLY helpful! Yes, I was able to unmold the following day thanks to a steep water discount (1:1) that I read about on AmamdaG's blog. Here's a pic of the unscented Castile unmolded, I did put it in the Photo Gallery section, too:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/594/img1305ae.jpg/

 

[MeadowHillFarmCT]

You both have - beautiful soap.

Castile was one of my firsts and still soft at 3 months so I am looking at sometime in November for it to be ready. I wish I seen that post earlier..

 

[kharmon320]

Val- They are lovely. Don't you love that creamy color?

Kerrie

 

[saltydog]

Val- They are lovely. Don't you love that creamy color?

Kerrie

I do, Kerrie! I stuck them in the fridge after pouring to prevent any gel. Don't think they gelled at all

I mean, I am only assuming that Castile gels just like any other cp??

 

[kharmon320]

Well, I think mine gelled in the middle. It was insulated with the wooden mold/towel. There is the faintest circle that's noticeable. I had to point it out to my hubby, so I don't think anyone else would see it if not looking. Next time, I may stick it in fridge to try to prevent gel, but that's if I have room

Edited to Add: I also used less water (1.5: 1; water: lye), which may have helped to prevent a full gel.

 

[Lynnz]

Looks great, I have never done castile but feeling inspired :0)