Zany's no slime castile

[Zany_in_CO]

This is a tried and true recipe that I've made several times. Others have tried it with excellent results. Be sure to keep the bar high and dry between uses by using a soap-saver-type soap dish. Tweak to your heart's delight! (Like, do I even need to say that?! )

ZANY’S NO SLIME OLIVE OIL CASTILE
Ingredients: Olive oil, water, sea salt, sodium bicarbonate.

1) MAKE FAUX SEAWATER - Use for water portion of the lye solution.
1 quart warm water
1 Tablespoon sea salt
1 Tablespoon sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)

I make up a quart at a time and store it in the fridge until I need it.
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2) MAKE LYE SOLUTION - Mix and allow to cool to 35°C - 40°C (100°F - 110°F).
1.7:1 Water to Lye Ratio (Note decimal and colon)
0% Super Fat/Lye Discount

Notes: I’ve tried 2:1 and 1.5:1. 1.5:1 gets almost too hard and 1:2 is okay but a bit slimey, so, for me, 1.7:1 is the ideal. Olive oil is high in unsaponifiables; so 0% SF works best to reduce slippery slime.
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Prepare lye solution and set it in the sink to cool. Weigh olive oil into soap pot. Warm to 35°C - 40°C (100°F - 110°F). Combine when lye and oils are within -12°C (10°F) of each other. SB on and off to emulsion stage (5 - 25 minutes, depending on grade of olive oil.) Slowly pour into mold. Tap to remove bubbles. Spritz lightly with alcohol. Cover with plastic wrap. Insulate. Leave soap undisturbed for 12-24 hours.
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UNMOLD in 12-24 hours
CUT Day 2
CURE Ready to ship in 2 weeks. 6 weeks is best. The longer the cure the better the soap.
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Unscented, this soap is suitable for babies, sensitive skin, and for cancer patients undergoing radiation. Add 5% castor oil and 10% coconut oil for bubbles and an even milder soap.

If adding fragrance, add 0.85 oz. FO or 0.5% EO /PPO (Per 500 grams) to the castor oil an hour or so ahead of time (or overnight) and a teaspoon PPO of dry ingredient of choice -- corn starch, oat flour, arrowroot powder, White Kaolin Clay, etc. -- to help “stick” the fragrance.

VARIATIONS: Infuse Calendula Petals (yellow) or Bay Leaves (green) in oil ahead of time. Strain. Use up to 40% in the batch to add mildness and color.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Thanks Zany,

What's the advantage of the (faux) sea water? I might give this recipe a try. I thought Olive oil took months to cure to a hard bar?

 

[Misschief]

Thanks for this, Zany! (Dang it... I thought I'd replied earlier but it seems I forgot to hit "post reply"). I'm looking forward to trying this.

 

[Dawni]

Thanks Zany,

What's the advantage of the (faux) sea water? I might give this recipe a try. I thought Olive oil took months to cure to a hard bar?

Not Zany but I've only tried a handful of batches using saltwater and I noticed that the soaps are much harder than the ones without.. Could also be to cut down on the slime you usually get with Castile?

Just a guess, but someone with more knowledge and experience will come along hehehe

Thanks for the recipe @Zany_in_CO, I must have a go at this.

 

[Steve85569]

Soleseif Castile?

 

[Zany_in_CO]

What's the advantage of the (faux) sea water? I might give this recipe a try. I thought Olive oil took months to cure to a hard bar?

After years of formulating Castile, I re-read some of the research I had on file. I learned that both makers of Savon de Marseille and Aleppo Soap (olive + laurel oil) originally used natural sea water to create the soap. Also in my files, I found an old recipe for Faux Sea Water. Tried it. Liked the result immensely. It was just the final tweak necessary to get the bar, not only slime free, but to cure quickly as well. I'm currently using a bar that I started using after the 6-week mark and it's as good, IMO, as a 1-year cure.

It's true... many soapers wait a full year before selling their castile soap. IME, (In My Experience) 12 weeks/3 months is enough for the formula I used before this one.

But, as mentioned above, the longer the cure, the better the bar.

 

[kayak1987]

Thank you, interesting!
Any idea why bicarbonate?
I also added in mine 2 teaspoon of salt in the lye solution, and even if lye concentration was around 20% i had problems in dissolving it...
I'm an aleppo soap estimator unfortunatly laurel fruits oil is too hard to find and very expensive...

 

[penelopejane]

Thank you, interesting!
Any idea why bicarbonate?
I also added in mine 2 teaspoon of salt in the lye solution, and even if lye concentration was around 20% i had problems in dissolving it...
I'm an aleppo soap estimator unfortunatly laurel fruits oil is too hard to find and very expensive...

The bicarb makes the water semi equivalent to sea water not just salt water.

 

[Obsidian]

Thank you, interesting!
Any idea why bicarbonate?
I also added in mine 2 teaspoon of salt in the lye solution, and even if lye concentration was around 20% i had problems in dissolving it...
I'm an aleppo soap estimator unfortunatly laurel fruits oil is too hard to find and very expensive...

Dissolve the salt in the water before adding the lye. If you do it the other way, the salt won't dissolve properly.

 

[madison]

After years of formulating Castile, I re-read some of the research I had on file. I learned that both makers of Savon de Marseille and Aleppo Soap (olive + laurel oil) originally used natural sea water to create the soap. Also in my files, I found an old recipe for Faux Sea Water. Tried it. Liked the result immensely. It was just the final tweak necessary to get the bar, not only slime free, but to cure quickly as well. I'm currently using a bar that I started using after the 6-week mark and it's as good, IMO, as a 1-year cure.

It's true... many soapers wait a full year before selling their castile soap. IME, (In My Experience) 12 weeks/3 months is enough for the formula I used before this one.

But, as mentioned above, the longer the cure, the better the bar.

This will be an interesting experiment, even though I have never heard that original Aleppo soap is made of seawater, my understanding from what I have read, researched and the people I have talked to, that Aleppo soap is made from local ingredients. I don't think they have used seawater in making the soap, as Aleppo city is far from the sea. Unlike Marseille city is located along the Mediterranean Sea in the southeastern part of France, that makes it much easier for them to use sea water in manufacturing the soap. Also, from what I have learned that Aleppo soap was affordable for people in the region, it was the main soap that almost every family have to have all the time, especially extended families with elder people.
Do you mind exchanging a bar of your castile soap with one of mine? I couldn't perfect my castile soap to become similar to what I have tried from some regions where they make castile professionally. PM me please if you are interested.
Thank you

 

[Misschief]

@Zany_in_CO, I made your recipe yesterday, left it uncoloured and unscented. It came together beautifully, a gorgeous creamy white. This morning, I unmolded it; I'll cut it when I get home from work this evening. I just wanted to say thank you for sharing your recipe. This may well be one that makes it into regular rotation.

 

[shunt2011]

When I made my Aleppo style soap (4-5 years ago), I did my research I didn't find anything that said Aleppo was made with sea water. So, I inquired with a friend who was from and still had family in Aleppo. He said it was just made with water from their water supply, lye, olive and laurel in big pots over fire. Mind you he had never made it. He actually had family coming to visit and he gave me a bar of Aleppo soap. Hate to say it, but I didn't like it. It was so much like castile and I don't like that either. I had already made my soap. I still have quite a few bars and still don't care for it. Keeping them just for fun. The oil was expensive.

 

[GreenDragon]

I have a saltwater reef aquarium, and as someone who's mixed up 100's of gallons of saltwater I can confirm that it does contain both Calcium, Magnesium, and carbonates in addition to table salt (Sodium Chloride). The baking soda adds Calcium and carbonates to the batch. Sea salt, while technically made from sea water, does not contain the same ratio's of minerals as natural sea water due to chemical reactions / properties of the minerals during evaporation and crystallization. (Note - natural sea water is approximate 35% salinity, or about 1/2 cup of salt per gallon of water.)

It is interesting that the original recipes called for using natural seawater. I would imagine that the natural presence of Ca and Mg, which make up the components of "hard water" and bind to soap molecules making soap less effective, are in effect probably working against the "slimey" properties of castile type soaps right in the bar.

As I mix my saltwater for my tank in the garage where I soap, I've used it in several soaps recently instead of walking back to the kitchen for water LOL. Makes a nice, hard bar of soap. I'm definitely going to try it in my next batch of castile! My first batch was made last December (with distilled water) and I'm packaging it up to give to my mom for Christmas as she has sensitive skin.

If you want to give it a try, you can get purchase seawater mixes at your local fish store. Look for packages that say "for reef aquariums".

 

[penelopejane]

. (Note - natural sea water is approximate 35% salinity, or about 1/2 cup of salt per gallon of water.)

It is interesting that the original recipes called for using natural seawater. I would imagine that the natural presence of Ca and Mg, which make up the components of "hard water" and bind to soap molecules making soap less effective, are in effect probably working against the "slimey" properties of castile type soaps right in the bar.

As I mix my saltwater for my tank in the garage where I soap, I've used it in several soaps recently instead of walking back to the kitchen for water LOL. Makes a nice, hard bar of soap. I'm definitely going to try it in my next batch of castile! My first batch was made last December (with distilled water) and I'm packaging it up to give to my mom for Christmas as she has sensitive skin.

If you want to give it a try, you can get purchase seawater mixes at your local fish store. Look for packages that say "for reef aquariums".

^^^ I think seawater is 3.5% salinity.

 

[GreenDragon]

^^^ I think seawater is 3.5% salinity.

Thank you! Typo

 

[SaltedFig]

I have a saltwater reef aquarium, and as someone who's mixed up 100's of gallons of saltwater I can confirm that it does contain both Calcium, Magnesium, and carbonates in addition to table salt (Sodium Chloride). The baking soda adds Calcium and carbonates to the batch. Sea salt, while technically made from sea water, does not contain the same ratio's of minerals as natural sea water due to chemical reactions / properties of the minerals during evaporation and crystallization. (Note - natural sea water is approximate 35% salinity, or about 1/2 cup of salt per gallon of water.)

It is interesting that the original recipes called for using natural seawater. I would imagine that the natural presence of Ca and Mg, which make up the components of "hard water" and bind to soap molecules making soap less effective, are in effect probably working against the "slimey" properties of castile type soaps right in the bar.

As I mix my saltwater for my tank in the garage where I soap, I've used it in several soaps recently instead of walking back to the kitchen for water LOL. Makes a nice, hard bar of soap. I'm definitely going to try it in my next batch of castile! My first batch was made last December (with distilled water) and I'm packaging it up to give to my mom for Christmas as she has sensitive skin.

If you want to give it a try, you can get purchase seawater mixes at your local fish store. Look for packages that say "for reef aquariums".

Plain Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃) doesn't contain any calcium (the C stands for Carbon)
(It should be possible to edit out your typo's from your original post )

 

[GreenDragon]

Plain Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃) doesn't contain any calcium (the C stands for Carbon)
(It should be possible to edit out your typo's from your original post )

Guilty - That's what I get for not paying attention! We use Sodium bicarb to regulate the availability of Ca and Mg in the aquarium by balancing PH and CO2 availability. Serve me right for trying to sneak a few posts while at work

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Do you mind exchanging a bar of your castile soap with one of mine? I couldn't perfect my castile soap to become similar to what I have tried from some regions where they make castile professionally. PM me please if you are interested.

I'm sorry, Madison, I don't have a bar of castile available. I make castile/aleppo soap for wholesale customers. If making for myself, I prefer liquid soap. Why not try a small batch? I don't think you'll be disappointed. It may not be like the commercially produced castile because they have the advantage of large machinery to do "triple-milled" among other things.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

@Zany_in_CO, I made your recipe yesterday, left it uncoloured and unscented. It came together beautifully, a gorgeous creamy white. This morning, I unmolded it; I'll cut it when I get home from work this evening.

Hiya Misschief, I'm wondering if you'd care to update your experience. Quick cure? No slime?

 

[Misschief]

Hiya Misschief, I'm wondering if you'd care to update your experience. Quick cure? No slime?

I always let my soaps cure for a minimum of 4 weeks but I can say that the bars are nice and hard. I was able to unmold and cut within 24 hours. The bars are a beautiful creamy white and the sliver that I tried after cutting lathered beautifully with no slime. Just tried it again (made on Dec. 12, btw) and it lathers great. The bubbles aren't big and fluffy but definitely creamy and plentiful without being slimy. I'm really liking it, Zany.