Lady Di Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 I've always wanted to make a batch of plain olive oil soap. Yesterday, I finally made a 3.9 lb. batch. It was very easy and traced/poured beautifully. My question is this... It seems to take a long time to "set." My regular CP soap recipes are pretty set a few hours later and ready to unmold within about 18 hours. This batch is taking longer. Is this common for castile soap? Don't have my notes in front of me, but I believe this is the recipe I used:16 oz. water7.96 oz. lye62.4 oz. olive oil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BubbleBath Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 I recently made my first batch, but I added 10% Castor oil. I had to wait a couple of days to unmold it. I understand that is a characteristic of castile soap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 Your recipe is fine. Castiles can take FOREVER (or what seems like it) to set up. Give it a few days and see what happens.(If I'm during just plain castile - no color, no FO - I do 40% lye solutions. Those go much faster.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meridith Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 My castille soap usually sets up pretty fast and am able to unmold the next day. My normal recipe has been 90% OO and 10% castor. Lately, I've changed it a bit and now do 90% OO, 5% castor and 5% babassu and I can still unmold within 24 hrs. That babassu really improves the lathering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkangel Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 I discount the water a lot more on castille. Hardens up quicker, but I still give a cure time of 6 weeks. I think the longer the cure, the better the castille. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLSoaps Posted May 21, 2007 Share Posted May 21, 2007 My castille takes several days to unmold. It does take longer to trace, set up, harden, cure, etc. When I make it, I make as much as I can (12-15 lbs) so I don't have to make it nearly as often. I actually like to let mine cure several months before selling. I've found it makes a big difference between getting slimy lather (not cured enough), and small tiny bubble lather. It's a wonderful soap, but takes forever to make, unmold, cure, etc.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarieJeanette Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Ever since I discovered the joys of using either a 33% or 40% lye solution with my CP soaps, my Castile's set up in no time. I remember the first Castile batch I ever made. I used a full water amount and it took about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours to come to trace, almost a week to unmold it, and then even more time on top of that to even be able to cut it. It was just so soft for what seemed like forever. Things are so much better now with the lye solution percentages that I use. I can unmold and cut my Castile's within 18 hours and they are good and hard. I still let them cure for at least 4 weeks before using, though, which is what I do with all my soaps anyway. My Castile's are my favorite soaps to use and also the hands-down favorite of my guinea pi- oops, I mean testers. MarieJeanette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crafty1_AJ Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 I also do a water discount with castiles and am able to unmold/cut the next day. Otherwise, it takes forEVER. lolI use a 33% lye solution. I seldom take a water discount, but this is one place where I make an exception. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Ok, I need to ask...How do you figure out Lye solutions, for example, lets say I'm using soap calc...how would I put in a 33% lye solution? And what makes castilles a better soap? Sorry to hijack your thread :embarasse Christina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 In the upper right hand corner of the screen you have the option to set the lye concentration.As for what makes castile a better soap - well it depends on your definiton of better. Castile is a very mild soap but it doesn't lather well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarieJeanette Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Ok, I need to ask...How do you figure out Lye solutions, for example, lets say I'm using soap calc...how would I put in a 33% lye solution? And what makes castilles a better soap? Sorry to hijack your thread :embarasse ChristinaWhat CareBear said. You do have to click the little white box in the lye concentration section that says "set" first, though, before you can type in your own number.Castille's are my favorite soap for their gentleness and high conditioning qualities. I don't make a true 100% olive oil Castile, but to me, my bastiles or Castile-types, are awesome just the same. I add 10% castor oil and 10% Babassu to my 80% olive oil Castile-type for a little extra bubbliness and hardness. I also add sugar and silk to them and they lather up real nice. I've also been experimenting with 70%, 60% and 50% olive oil amounts to see how I like it, and also making other batches where I've been substituting some of the olive out with rice bran oil to cut down on the 'sliminess' factor that some don't seem to like (I personally like that slickery feel). My personal favorite so far is the 80% Castile-type with goat milk a part of my liquid amount. Can you tell I just love experimenting? MarieJeanette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crafty1_AJ Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Actually you don't need to do anything to get a 33% lye solution except take the amount of lye your recipe needs, then double that figure to get your water amount. So if your recipe calls for 50 grams of lye, you need 100 grams of water to mix it in.1/3 of the final solution will be lye, by weight, and 2/3 will be water -- which is a 33% lye solution.hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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