Superfat% for castile?

[Obsidian]

What does everyone SF their castile at? My first batch of castile started to get DOS after a couple months so I'm using the bars now before they become unusable and its is quite drying to me.
I do believe I only SF at 7 or 8 for this particular batch, wondering if I shouldn't have gone higher.

My mother-in-law seemed to really like it though so maybe its just my skin. Hopefully the remaining bars don't develop DOS and will continue to cure.

 

[Lindy]

I SF it at 5% and find it quite conditioning so it could be just your skin....

 

[Honey B]

Hi there, Obsidian,
I think if you did HP via the crock pot, you could EFFECTIVELY Superfat your soap after the saponification process was done- in short order, I might add, before putting in molds. (It takes maybe an hour or so, I think?)I was told that is how it is done, and possibly LIKELY more effective too, as lye is not choosy as to which oils it saponifies. That to me means, it could very well be saponifying all the super fat oils or butters you are putting in- or some portion of them anyway. But in HP, that would not be the case, as I understand form experts on the process. Anyway SAPWYN in Greece, has a soap using ONLY butters- very interesting. I'm going to try it. But I am sure there are CP experts on this site who can help with your conundrum, thereby providing a solution for us all! : D Hope that helps a wee bit??

 

[judymoody]

hi HoneyB,

In this case, SF is a non issue as Castille is 100% olive oil. In this case SF can also be understood as "lye discount" or the relationship between the lye you use and the amount of fats it will saponify. You want more fat than lye so your soap is not lye heavy.

To answer your question, Obsidian, Castille should not be drying at 7-8%. What brand olive oil did you use? (many are adulterated with other oils; this could also be responsible for your DOS as well as possibly altering the amount of lye required) Did you use a fragrance or essential oil? You might be having an allergic reaction to the fragrance.

 

[Nightlilly]

Honey B, castile soap is 100% olive oil, so it wouldn't matter when she superfats, the superfat is going to be olive oil.

 

[Obsidian]

It was made with Montolivo extra light OO. How in the world do you know if a certain brand is pure? I've tried searching but all I've been able to find is one site that says kirkland brand is the only pure brand tested in America. I think I'm going to switch to pomace, the local grocery store sell it in 1.5 gallon jugs.
My bars feel like castile, they are super slimy with very little bubbles. I didn't scent them.

 

[judymoody]

Periodically, there are reports about olive oil testing. If you google olive oil and adulterated or adulteration, they will pop up. UC Davis does these periodically but your brand was not among those tested. The study did mention that extra light OO was the poorest quality and best avoided. Olive oil from California tends to be reliable.

 

[sistrum]

It might just be you. Sometimes soap that has been fine for years with me will all of a sudden not feel the same for awhile. Who knows why? Give it a try again in a few weeks and see how it goes.

 

[Obsidian]

I'll stay away from the extra light for now on, too bad really as it made a beautiful white bar. I prefer kirkland but its hard for me to get to Costco. I did buy a gallon of pomace today so I can get started on Christmas soaps.

Its possible that my skin just doesn't like castile. I also have a bar thats been aged over a year and while it doesn't make me feel dry, it does make my skin feel tight. So far, my 100% lard has been the gentlest for my skin.

 

[Stinkydancer]

It was made with Montolivo extra light OO. How in the world do you know if a certain brand is pure? I've tried searching but all I've been able to find is one site that says kirkland brand is the only pure brand tested in America. I think I'm going to switch to pomace, the local grocery store sell it in 1.5 gallon jugs.
My bars feel like castile, they are super slimy with very little bubbles. I didn't scent them.

You don't really know if an oil is unadulterated but I wouldn't do an extra light oil. I use Sam's Club brand Olive Oil not Extra Virgin for years and years and have never had DOS from it. Lard is a different story though. LOL

For the sake of a lye discount, I would do 3-5% on Olive Oil.
I would HP a Castile soap- I prefer HP soap to Cold Process in general and I mainly do HP now though I started CP only. Castile is hard enough in a week or so- the longer it sits the better it is.

For some people, Castile soap is very drying to them. No rhyme or reason it just is since everyone's skin is so different.
I would maybe work in some other oils or a dash of coconut or palm kernel oil flakes. Low dose of those oils. Avocado Oil would blend nicely with the olive and it's awesome. You could try that since castile seems drying. Castile needs a long cure like a few months so maybe that is why it's drying as well.
Hope this helps.

 

[Obsidian]

I made a batch of bastile with 5% castor oil and it already feels nicer then the pure castile I made. Like I said before, I'm only using the castile so soon because a couple of the bars had DOS.
I probably won't make castile again for a long while, I have plenty to last and I really do prefer another recipe I came up with.

 

[judymoody]

I can't stand Castille. I have some that is two years old and it's still slimey. I prefer a nicely balanced bar with 3-5 oils. But even 20% coconut and 80% OO is a vast improvement over 100% in my opinion.

 

[Obsidian]

The slimy doesn't bother me at all, in fact I kinda like it. Would like it better if it bubbled more though.