Pure Olive Oil Soap Recipe (Castile Soap) (2024)

It’s gorgeous…

SimpleMamaon 10/19/2009 at 10:23 am

I’m not brave enough yet to try making my own soap – but this photo almost makes me want to try. They look wonderful!

Tomato Ladyon 10/19/2009 at 10:46 am

Ooops! That should read per POUND of soaping oil!!! Sorry, will correct that!!

Frugal Kiwion 10/19/2009 at 11:39 am

When I make Castile, I felt the soap after it is cured. By putting bits of wool roving around the soap and agitating, you end up with a soap that has its own beautiful body scrub wrapped around it. This gives the Castile plenty of lather, allows you to totally use up the last tiny bit of soap and when your are done you have a pretty bit of felt. You can cut the felt open and use it as a small pouch, turn the felt into jewellery or even put a couple of drop of EOs on it and use it to scent your lingerie drawer. Full instructions over at my place if you’d like to see how.

Ha!
I just took out the large jug of olive oil and set it next to my lye and crisco, on the kitchen counter, to stare at me…
I reeeeeally am going to try it one of these days….

Can this be a hot process recipe? Like in a crockpot? Thanks.

Where do you buy lye? I want to try this. Soon, so the bars can cure before Christmas. Plus, I have a whole jar of bacon fat that’s waiting to be saponified.

Tomato Ladyon 10/20/2009 at 7:57 am

Thank you, Michelle!
Simple Mama–You should try it, it’s easy.
hillel.kitty–By weight, and thank you very much!
FrugalKiwi–I love that! I will check it out definitely.
Kat–Take the plunge, it really is so easy.
jlind–Yes, I imagine it would do just fine hot process.
Angela–You pretty much have to order it online. There are many outlets. Just find a soaping supplier and follow their directions to fill out a form saying you are using it for innocent purposes and they will ship it directly to you.

YAY! Thanks so much for posting this! It’s soon to be the annual (sometimes semi-annual) soap day at our house!

I just became totally jealous of your beautiful, white bars. And baffled. This weekend I made 50% olive oil, 30% lard and 20% coconut bars. They are not remotely as white as yours and they semi-gelled, which left a kind of cool, swirly effect in the middle but… yours are definitely prettier than mine. So how long will you cure/have you cured these? I did a 35% water discount but and they set up and cut into bars just fine, but it will be a while before they are any kind of hard, let alone “rock hard”.

Can this be made as a liquid soap with the appropriate amount of KOH?

Also, do liquid soaps in general need to cure to complete the saponification like solid soaps do? Or are they ready to use immediately? Thanks!

Tomato Ladyon 10/21/2009 at 1:03 am

Jill–Hope you enjoy!
Carla–These all-olive oil bars are the whitest I have made. I don’t know the reason, but my blends of other oils never have been as white. One factor may be the absence of essential oils, too. These are completely unscented.
These have cured a couple of months now, but they have been very hard from about the ten-day point. My blended oil batches usually take several weeks to reach that stage. I’m sure your bars are very pretty!
Robert–I don’t see why not, although I have never done so yet. I would like to try it someday.
Properly made liquid soaps don’t need the cure time of bar soap. Suds up right away.

I’ve been looking for a liquid soap recipe. Can anyone steer me towards one?

Thanks for the idea. Mine came out great. They are already very hard and beautifully white. After they are done curing I would like to try making shampoo and dishwashing soap from some of them.

What kind of olive oil did you use? Not extra virgin–that would make yellow-green bars and be pretty expensive, I would guess. I have some large quantities of really cheap plain olive oil and may need to try this! My soaps always turn out beige. Except one time I put blue-green algae powder in a lime-scented soap and it was a very nice muted green. Ooooooooooh. I haven’t made soap in over a year–maybe this weekend I’ll make some more. I’m almost out, anyway!

Tomato Ladyon 10/24/2009 at 8:53 am

Hi Jen–Sorry to take so long. Yes, it’s plain pure olive oil, not extra-virgin. Sounds like you’ve got the fever. Get soapin’!

Silly question……I get that you have to weigh the lye but do you have to weigh the liquids as well? Even if my soap doesn’t turn out I’ve had a blast. Thanks for the inspirations!!!

Tomato Ladyon 10/25/2009 at 9:31 pm

cinder–I weigh everything. I don’t think you have to weigh the water, though. So glad you had a good time and hope the soap turns out beautifully!

Murano Glasson 10/27/2009 at 11:23 am

Thanks for posting. Interesting article.
I’ll try to make a soap !

I’m on a couple of soaping forums where they recommend to weigh everything, even water, in grams. I’m new at soap but these guys have many multiples of successful batches under their collective belts. I trust them.

What does “It’s a little bit of a water discount…” mean? And could you tell me the approximate size of your soap mold/box so I have an idea what size container I should use? Last time I tried making soap (which was also my first time–and inspired by this site nonetheless!) my bars came out like less than a half an inch thick! *hehehe* I’ll be using my good extra virgin, first cold pressed olive oil this time around and would really like to look forward to nice, thick bars like yours! 🙂 Thanks!

Would this be fine to use as shampoo as well. What soap would you suggest if not this one?

Tomato Ladyon 10/28/2009 at 9:33 pm

Elle–I use it as a shampoo. I recommend it.

Making soap is this weekend’s project. I’ve just wrapped up canning with the last batch of jam in the canner as I type. Sounds great!

Tomato Ladyon 10/29/2009 at 10:39 pm

Good luck, Kimberly!

Hi!
I have never made soap before but I keep coming back to this page. That soap looks beautiful and I love the idea of such a pure soap with no added fragrance. I want so bad to make it but I’m a little scared!

Tomato Ladyon 11/02/2009 at 6:53 pm

Mila–I hear this a lot. I was the same before I tried it for the first time. Once you have made your first batch you will wonder what the fuss was about. You can do it!

I am going to get the ingredients today! What should I use as a form for the soap?

Tomato Ladyon 11/08/2009 at 4:13 pm

mila–You don’t have to have a special mold. Many people use old milk cartons,shoe boxes, Pringles cans, etc. and just tear off the paper when the soap has set, then slice into the desired-size bars. Rustic is good.

Good to know! Thank you so much!

nice looking soap. how much time did you stir before you get the trace, I’m trying to make pure olive oil soap but I’m failing in getting the trace, I have to say that I’m not very patient 🙂

Tomato Ladyon 11/15/2009 at 2:57 pm

brainfault–Thank you. I use an immersion blender to get it to trace. With the blender, it only takes a few minutes, fewer than 10. By hand I’ve heard pure olive oil is especially reluctant to thicken up. I love the immersion blender. Saves so much stirring!

dear brainfault, I have had to stir as long as an hour to get trace on handstirred olive castille.
And TL what brand of olive oil did you use, if you can tell me. I have always gotten beige bars, which does not bother me that much if at all, but those amazingly white bars are, well, just amazing and I would like to try my hand…
Thanks, Mika

Tomato Ladyon 11/17/2009 at 12:29 pm

Mika–The container reads: Kroger Imported Pure Olive Oil. It’s in the big green metal can. Sorry I took so long replying, had to search for it a bit.

Thanks TL for the info.
When I go to Savannah the next time I’ll have to pick some up. No Kroger around these parts and I just don’t make that two hour x 2 drive that often anymore with the gas prices and all. But I am excited to try that oil… Maybe I have some friends I just have to visit.
Thanks again, Mika

For liquid detergent, go to Homestead Happenings by Crystal Miller. Or google homemade liquid detergent.

Just made this!
I halved the recipe and used rosemary essential oil (about 5-10 drops) to scent the soap. My fingers are crossed…
I also just took two loaves of bread out of the oven, and I can’t tell you how yummy the house smells!

Tomato Ladyon 01/16/2010 at 9:35 am

Kat–Oooh, I’d like a whiff of that! Good job!

I know I may be late to this but where on earth do you get the lye?

Tomato Ladyon 05/14/2010 at 6:52 am

Alicia–While once in a blue moon my local Lowe’s restocks their containers of Roebic Drain Cleaner (the ones that are 100% lye), I usually order from a soaping supply company. Simply search for “soaping supplies” and select the company you prefer. You will have to fill out a form, either an online one or one you have to mail in to the company, which says you are using the lye for good, not evil.

Tomato Ladyon 06/21/2010 at 7:53 am

Jen–Olive oil tends to make a hard, relatively brittle soap anyway. The additives may have contributed some to the speeded up hardening, but I’d attribute it mostly to the fact that it’s all olive. Being a somewhat impatient soaper I usually cut pretty early, as soon as it feels like it can take it. Now, being lye-heavy is another cause of fast setup, but if you used the exact proportions from the recipe (as I’m confident you did) it checks out fine on the lye calculator.
On the bright side, using the whole loaf would combine bathing with an upper-body workout. Two birds with one stone?

Thanks, sounds like a plan then, shower and workout all in one! The lot without additives turned out brittle to, so I probably should have cut it when I was really impatient to, but was afraid of messing it up, oh well, can’t wait to soap again!

Tomato Ladyon 06/21/2010 at 5:52 pm

Jen–Love it. Maybe you can carve it into a little barbell shape!
Glad you’re not discouraged–you done good!

I have to ask how is it that everyone has hard bars. Mine were soft and had to sit like 2 weeks before they were hard enough to cut. And they are still hardening up. It’s like Fimo clay. I’ve been making soap for over a year now but never just straight olive oil soap. I thought I would give it a try and it’s my first flop ever. Perhaps I should have hot processed it?

Tomato Ladyon 10/08/2010 at 2:42 pm

Vicky–Sorry about the softness. I wish I could tell you exactly what went wrong, but I can only wonder if it could be a bad batch of lye. My experience with hot process was my big flop, but most people have success with it. Hopefully they will eventually harden properly. Here’s hoping.

LOL! And it seems like all my problem batches are cold process. I think next time I will make a batch of hot process, and a batch of cold and a cheat of 10% coconut oil. (insurance) 😉

For the extra special luxurious french milled castile 100% olive oil. Grate 2 pounds of the soap and place in a gallon ziplock freezer bag, adding 1/2 cup of water. Zip it up and carefully put in a large pot of boiling water, that has some sort of toweling on the sides so it doesn’t touch the sides, and at least 4-6 inches of water. Let it sit in the boiling water for 15 minutes, take out with an oven mitt, and press it, smooshing it and smoothing out the bumps. Add your botanicals, and your oils and your additives, like your ground up oatmean at this point, zip the bag back up and place in the water, for 15 more minutes, smoosh again and then snip the bag at one end, and pour into molds.

This may sound like a silly question, but do you have to have palm oil or any hard fats to make this? I read the soapmaking tutorial and it made it sound like you needed a hard fat as well as the olive oil. Thanks for your help!

Tomato Ladyon 04/12/2011 at 4:36 pm

Victorian Lavender–No, none necessary. Just the olive oil is fine for this recipe.

The book Making It has some genius directions for making a batch of olive oil soap in a standard-size blender.

Can you give me the complete title of “Making It” please? Maybe the author? I googled and did not find it.

I must say, I am in love with the idea of making my own soap instead of paying the good people at Kiss My Face $2.99 a bar, but I have had the worst luck trying to purchase lye. If you try to buy it online, the shipping charges are very high: I assume due to the fact that lye is a caustic product. On Monday I am going to my local Amish Goods store, hoping they will carry lye because as I understand it they make their own soap. Will let you know if I have success. Aaagh. I really think this soap-making is a process worthy of my time, if only the lye didn’t cost more than a family pack of Dial at Sam’s Club. I’m frustrated.

My soap-making project is dead. I went to Good’s, which is what my sister calls the Amish Wal-Mart. I asked if they had lye, and they said to check Fergusson-Hassler, which is the nearby amish-type grocery. The owner of that store said no, and don’t expect anyone else to have any either. (That was a quote, even though I didn’t put it in””‘s.) All done. I guess we’ve evolved past soap-making. I would still love to make my own soap if anyone lives in Southeastern PA and has a lead, but I’m not holding out hope. 🙁

Hi Kris B in PA. Check Ace Hardware. That’s where I get mine. I’m addicted to making soap. Happy soaping!

Tomato Ladyon 09/05/2011 at 6:04 pm

Thanks so much Tomato L. and Tanja D. for the suggestions. I just called my local True Value and they do have it. Yay! That store was so little, and well…so close, I figured they weren’t worth a try, but I was wrong. Thanks for the help and I will post after I make my soap and tell you how it turned out.

you rock, kris b.! way to go, soapgirl! i am so trying this. teacher gifts, here i come.

Thank you Kath. Can’t wait to hear how yours turns out!

I’ve now developed a soap making obsession too and after reading how to make olive oil soap I decided to give it a go. I had no idea what the trace stage in soapmaking should look like so after beating the life out of the mixture with a wooden spoon and getting no where I resorted to the electric cake mixer. When it looked like thin pudding I was fed up by that stage and poured it into moulds. I watched over it like a mother hen, cursed my impatience several times over when there was no change to the setting consistency. I spent a day on the computer looking up videos on soap making trying to work out what I had done wrong only to realise that the house temps were cool for those two days and day 3 I had set soap! It doesn’t look soft and creamy white like yours but they are hard white bars smelling of georgeous lavendar. My next batch of soapmaking used extra ingredients and by now I’d wised up to the fact a stick blender was the way to go and the soap nearly set in the pot in minutes. Every batch will be a trial until you try it! Roll on 6 weeks so I can try it! Happy soapmaking everyone.

Tomato Ladyon 10/28/2011 at 6:26 am

Karen Hann–Glad you stuck it out! Thanks for the encouraging words for first time soapers!

Well, this is months later but it’s by Erik Knutzen and Kelly Coyne. The whole title is a mouthful. Making It: Radical Home Ec for a Post-Consumer World (though if you just put ‘Making It’ into Amazon, it *should* come up. Sorry for the delay!

So I am getting very excited about making soap! I have read 100 articles, posts, and stuff. But I have a question that has yet to be answered- what do I need to get started? And although it hasn’t been mentioned, but it may be a obvious thing- once its used in soap, it isn’t safe for cooking? So my stick blender is never to be used for food again? And can anyone give me a general startup costs? Can you use Teflon coated pots? I intend to use this recipe, for my first go around, I like the simplicity of it! So is the lye my only costs? Or do I need certain things? I saw gloves and I assume those are a necessity. Thanks!

Tomato Ladyon 12/05/2011 at 3:37 pm

Elizabeth–Check your inbox! I sent you a long, rambling email!

I have been making soap forevr and I will tell you that olive oil soap is a tricky mistress. STICKBLENDER!!!! Olive oil soap can somtimes take DAYS to trace by hand. And it can take a long time 20-40 mins with a stick blender. Sometimes I even walk away from it, take a break and come back to it just so I won’t burn out the motor of my blender, but here are a few tips- Make sure the lye mix is good and hot and the olive oil is room temp or cooler. This can shock the oil into tracing. Add an essentil oil that you know will act as a catalyst such as cinnamon, or an ounce of bees wax will often do it. HTH Heidi

PS No teflon, aluminum or wood

I am not terribly inclined to start making my own soap. The lovely oloive oil soap I found at Tuesday Morning satisfies my need for luxury. But reading all the comments and postings here is very entertaining. Thank you all you couragous and dedicated soap makers! 🙂

I wonder if the lye being caustic is not bad for your skin? I have never read much about making soap but would like to if the lye isn’t dangerous or bad for you. Does all storebought soap have lye in it? Could you use something else instead of lye?

Tomato Ladyon 01/15/2012 at 1:27 am

Maggie–Good question. We get this question a lot, as do other soapers. One of our favorite sites actually has a scrolling banner across all its pages that reads “No Lye, No Soap, Can Not Make Soap Without Lye!” It is true that lye is caustic until it has reacted with the oils and water, but once it has, called saponification, it goes through its reaction and is no longer caustic. Storebought soap is also made with lye.

I am fairly new to the cold process. I made melt-n-pour for years and finally got up the courage to battle the lye after watching hours and hours of videos. I found my Sodium Hydroxide at Ace Hardware (pipe cleaner), but had to buy my Potassium Hydroxide on Ebay. My first recipe of cold process soap is with olive oil, coconut oil, and palm kernal oil. I love it. It has never dried my skin out like store bought soaps. I even shave it down, melt, & dilute it with water when I want to make some shampoo. I have not used the potash yet for liquid soap. I want to get comfortable with the bars first. I made my second batch today and it is setting up in my storm building right now. Some are an awesome creme brulee’, peppermint, and peppermint & tea tree oil. My daughter has some skin issues and I have read that olive oil soap with tea tree and mint is very good for her skin. So far it has worked great. I hand-stirred the 1st batch for 3 hours and 20 minutes and this time I used a stick blender for about 10-15 minutes! It is definitely the way to go. I gave my family bars for Christmas from my 1st batch, this time I think I will label and set some out for sale at my sister-in-laws beauty shop. I think the hardest thing for me is having to wait the 6 weeks for curing before using. God bless

I am a beginner soap maker and I didn’t think that you could use drain cleaner as lye. Isn’t that more harmful to your skin?

Tomato Ladyon 04/23/2012 at 9:50 am

Melody–Soap is made with sodium hydroxide. It’s the only way to saponify the oils. Some (not all) drain cleaner is 100% sodium hydroxide. Only use 100% sodium hydroxide. Once the saponification is complete, it isn’t harmful.

Fran & Jackieon 05/10/2012 at 6:52 pm

I am absolutely new here and have perhaps very silly question. The oz – is is liquid oz or weight oz. I assume with lye it is weight, but what about oils and water?

jack–Not silly at all. Weight oz here. And water weight is equal either way.

Hi, could you possibly send me the long, rambling email you sent to Elizabeth too? What is the stick beater? (hand mixer?). And if I want to add coconut oil and or beeswax, how much/how do I adjust the recipe? Thank you in advance!

PS What is the difference between sodium or pottasium hydroxide? What is each used for? It sounds like the sodium hydroxide is the lye. But, is the other necessary?
Thanks,
Melissa

Melissa–Sodium hydroxide is lye, you are correct. Potassium hydroxide is also a caustic soda, but it is used to make liquid soap. We’re only using sodium hydroxide in this recipe. Thank you!

Melissa–I tried emailing you but it was sent back. Can you check it and see if it is the right one (should there be an a?).

Thank you for all the information! Where can I find the recipe for the liquid soap you mentioned that uses potassium hydroxide? I would love to make both types of soap for my family.

Yes, the “a” was missing. Thank you so much for th response! I found the lye at Lowes, 2 pounds for about $13-14. A bit pricy, but I think the amazing olive oil soap will be well worth it! Plus it doesn’t take the whole container. I am anxiously awaiting your email! I am so excited about this! I made the moisturizer bars and I love them! I changed the recipe a bit to suit the softness to suit me. I used 1/2 cup (melted measure) beeswax, 1 cup even olive oil and one cup coconut oil(soft out of the container) it melted in the oils anyway. Plus I added about 50 drops of a vitamin e oil and some. Essential oil that I liked.

I added the extra ev olive oil and coconut oil, when what I made following the recipe cooled it was harder than I liked. I bought what claimed to be beeswax at Michael’s. But, it was white, very hard, and smelled like petroleum. So I think.that may have been the culprit. What was labeled beeswax probably wasn’t. Which is bad for a well known store to be selling a product that is not what it says. The fact that it didn’t smell like honey and was so hard is what made/makes me suspicious.
Although now it is lovely and soft it may be too soft to take outside and carry with me. So I may make onother smaller batch and make it a bit harder so. I can enjoy it on the go.

I used little Dixie cups to mold it in, about 3/4 inch deep. It. Is so perfect! I put about 1 1/2 small droppers of the essential oil in it, and it seemed to be too strong at first and I was sad. But after about a day, it smells lovely and just right! Sort for such long posts. But, I really wanted to share! Also sorry about any weird words or spellings. My auto correct has gone wild! Cheers! Melissa

I have been making olive oil soap for many years and have never used a stick blender. You can pick up a stand mixer or a hand mixer at yards sales for cheap. I have a friend that uses her kitchen mixer but wipes the mixer with white vinegar thoroughly when finished and also cleans the beaters with vinegar then into soap and water. Vinegar neutralizes the active lye not taken up in the saponification process at that point. A thorough understanding of saponification and saftey issues is necessary before making lye soap to prevent injury and accidental misuse of the products. It would scare me to death to start working with a caustic agent like lye without complete knowledge of the process. Please, do your homework. Soapmaking is a wonderful and rewarding hobbie.

OK, where do you buy 100 oz of olive oil that doesn’t cost and a leg? I am trying to be as frugal as possible while getting the chemicals out of my family’s life!

I have been making pure olive oil soap for a long time.
Mine always takes a while to set and is always various shades of pale green in colour….depending on the type of olive oil used.
How do you get it white

G Grover–I followed the recipe shown, no additives to whiten it. I guess it was just the nature of that particular oil that day.

Hi, will this work with the hot process as well? I’m totally new to soap making so I’m looking to keep it simple in the beginning. I’ve been looking at crockpot hot process with few ingredients…like pure Castile. Thanks!

Sylvia–I don’t see why not, although I’ve never tried it myself. Simple is so nice, I agree.

Much love to Nate for posting that link for lye.

Do you have any recipes for soap without lye? and what is a stick blender?

carol–Unfortunately you can’t make soap without lye. The only alternative to sort of make soap is to use melt and pour premade soap and customize it with your own additives. A stick blender is a kitchen appliance used to “bring the blender to the pot.” You can do a search on them and find options and sometimes find them at thrift stores/goodwill.

Unstead of using a stick blender I used my dewalt cordless drill and a wire wisk. It worked great for me. I have only made 1 batch but it truned out great. I used olive oil coconut oil and veg. shorting with some beeswax.

I’ve never made soap before but with the price of the Olive Oil Soaps I may be interested in making some for gifts. I have a large Cuisinart planetary-type kitchen mixer with stainless steel bowl. Can that be used instead of a stick blender with either the paddle, dough hook, or whisk attachment or would the lye cause problems or ruin my mixer?

Doug–While most people prefer to dedicate certain equipment for soaping, technically the lye is reacted and then washed away when you clean your tools after soap is made. The thing I would worry about most with a mixer is the splash factor. Immersion blenders, when used properly, keep splatters at a minimum or eliminate them completely. Too, the lye/soap could possibly splash into the motor area of the mixer through the vents. My recommendation is to be on the lookout at yard sales and thrift or overstock stores for used immersion blenders to be on the safe side.

A Google shopping search will find you stick or “immersion” blenders starting at $8.00 – They are WELL worth the investment and you sure don’t want raw soap flying our of your mixer. Plus, even if it doesn’t splash – it will fill your soap with bubbles. The immersion blender will probably cost less then the olive oil in your first batch. Trust me – it’s the tool you want.

Having a hard tome getting my castille soap to trace. I have been stirring 2 1/2 hours already, am ready to quit. Help!!

Nova–Aaah! Are you using an immersion blender or stirring by hand?

I heard that soap made with all olive oil can feel “slimely”. ? Also, make sure you test for pH as I also heard that this soap can take a long time to cure, if that’s the word. I don’t know as I haven’t made soap but was making enquiries about it as I want to have a go.

Robin–I don’t find it slimy. For me, this recipe hardens quickly, but then I also always prefer to let it cure for six weeks or longer to dry up nicely so it doesn’t soften overly much in the soap dish when it gets wet. All homemade soaps (all soaps, really) should be put in a soap dish where it won’t sit in a puddle of water–something with slats.

That’s good news then. I’m glad I asked, thanks. I’ve been using a bar of coconut oil soap I was given and quite liked it. A friend just started making her own soap – with the olive oil – and I thought I’d like to give it a go. The information above was what I was given by the person who sells all the ingredients for soaps and cosmetics. Maybe it depends on the individual experience of what slimy is so I might make a half batch to try.
Thanks again, Daisy.

Great post. I’ve yet to try my hand at making Castille soap but after reading your article, I’m definitely going to try it. Can you tell me about how much of a water discount you used?? Also, I sometimes “cheat” when making my soaps by either adding a little bit of sugar (for bubbles) or salt (to make a harder bar of soap), so I may try adding some salt to bring it to trace quicker. Anyway, any info you can give would be great! Thanks a bunch 🙂

Renee–The recipe as stated is on the dry side of the recommendations–I use the amount of water in the recipe. For a trace with an immersion blender, this really doesn’t take ever so long so I’ve not tried sugar or salt, but I’ve heard others like that. I love pure olive oil soap, def give it a try!

Daisy, thanks for the info 🙂 I’m wanting to cut the recipe down a bit for a smaller batch, that’s why I was asking. I’ll just play around with the measurements in a soap calc. until I can come up with something a bit smaller for me. Can’t wait to see how it turns out!

Love this recipe too……. seems so easy to make. My wife ‘suffers’ a dry skin so I make all her creams for her, most of which need refrigeration to last.
I, however live in an area with summer temps that average between 93F and 112F with February months reaching 122F. Hot barely describes 2 or 3 consecutive days of this.
My question is what temps would be ideal for drying, and would these high temps not cause a problem with the soap.

Tony–High temperatures won’t make much of a difference, except perhaps to make it cure faster. Humidity is more of an issue (will cure faster in low humidity) but it will do fine in any atmosphere.

Thanks Daisy. That helps. Oh and ggreat site. Can see y you have a big following. Time, care and a love for what you do, got you there. Keep it up. Thanks again.

Appreciate it, Tony. Good luck with your soap. I know your wife enjoy it.

GailC–Water is equal in weight and volume, so that should make it easier! Good luck!

I just made this batch of soap and it is saponifying now, but I have noticed a layer on top of olive oil that doesnt seem to be saponifying. I checked with a ph strip and it is ONLY olive oil that is on the top that doesnt seem to be saponifying. I was wondering if you knew why this is happening ? or maybe if I need to just give it more time. its been 3 hours since I put it in the mold, but it still just doesnt look right. If it isnt supposed to happen like this, do you think I could fix it ? or just remove the extra olive oil ?

Angela–It’s possible it will disappear as it cures, and if it doesn’t you may be able to remove it. Have you cut it yet? What does it look like on the inside and did it firm up?

I havent cut it yet it is still not yet solid. I mixed thw extra olive oil into it woth a spatula last night. And this morning not as much olive oil stayed at the top this time. So I guess I just need to wait ? I was scared maybe the olive oil didnt mix with.the lye and my soap would be wasted !

Angela–I don’t think it saponified. It should be hard by now. Did it seem to trace? Did you use an immersion blender?

I used a hand blender. And I think it did trace but maybe I was wrong. Do you have any suggestions of what I should do ? Thankyou for helping me out it means alot. This is only my second batch of soap

But my batch was warm the whole day because I figured it was going through sapomification. And the majority of the mixture is coming together

Angela–Warming is a good sign. I still wish it were harder. When I make this recipe, it usually hardens superfast–I don’t wait until overnight because it will have gotten brittle by then. Still, it may just be taking its own sweet time and you may end up with hard soap eventually.

Great site! I’m glad I’m not the only one lost and confused. I want to make an olive oil soap, but if I don’t have a hand mixer/immersion blender, will I be stirring for days? What is the average amount of time for mixing by hand?

Aimee–I think I did it once, and it took over an hour. It wasn’t much fun.

I used to make pure olive oil soap all the time. To answer a couple of questions I see here, I have always mixed by hand and it should never take longer than an hour. You have probably missed the signs of trailing and should continue to pour into the mold as you can mix too long. Once you have poured you should check the mold every 12 hours and if you see puddles of oil on top stir in with wooden spoon. Continue this every 12 hours until you don’t have any oil on top then let dry. I never added any essential oils until I would French Mill the soap, which is letting it dry, grating it and remeltting it.

if i want to make a olive oil soap with a coconut smell could you give me a recipe

michelle–I don’t have one like that. Thing is, coconut oil doesn’t smell like coconuts (in my experience) and the only thing I’ve seen with a strong coconut smell is coconut fragrance oil, and I don’t use fragrance oils. If anyone out there knows how to do this, feel free to chime in.

Hi. I make 100% extra virgin oo soaps and I’m happy with all of them -( Rooibos tea, goat’s milk and plain). I was wondering if anyone here perhaps uses, or has used Lampante olive oil. It’s a 100% olive oil, but not fit for human consumption, but apparently been used for soap. This is the lowest of all grades. I would like to find out how the soap comes out, is it any different to the better grades of olive oil? Is there any benifit to using EVOO?

Peggy Williams (South 47th)on 05/13/2013 at 2:36 am

@Ziks I’ve made Pure Castile soap for about 12 years with EVOO. Personally I find it better for sensitive skin, and my customers swear by it. As far as the Lampante? I’ve never heard of it. Sorry. You can perhaps pick up a small bit, for a sample batch and check it out.
On a side note, I’ve never had a ‘slime’ feel to my Castile, and as Daisy says, if you want tons of bubbles just use a scrubby. Cheapo ones or make one yourself by crocheting with some really nice organic wool. In fact if you choose that route, make a few and sell them. Folks love em’.
I also use a Dehumidifier that I picked up at the Goodwill for 5 bucks. It works great when the weather is crappy. Goodwill is a gem to get non reactive stock pots, stick blenders, etc. If you’re going with large batches, hit Home Depot for the big gun blender and some 10 gal buckets.
Hope that helps!
Love your site Daisy!

Peggy Williams (South 47th)on 05/13/2013 at 2:45 am

Forgot to add I do long cures of 3-6 months.

I’ve enjoyed reading all of these posts, I’ve been nervous about using lye, but I’m going to try making soap this weekend. My question, I’ve seen some lye calculators that use the size of the mold in the calculations, is this necessary? I have an old wooden box that I was planning to use that measues 12.5 x 14.5 x 4.5 (inches). I’m really excited about trying this recipe, I’ve heard pure olive oil soap is the best and these bars look positively luxurious! Thanks!

Carolyn–Your box size sounds good. I warn you though that I have the anti-math gene and could be leading you down the garden path. Have an extra milk carton or Pringles can at the ready in case I am as clueless as I think I am.
I’m sure it will go well. Good luck!

So I made my very first batch of soap today! It went well although I didn’t get the nice white bars! Firm enough to cut after just about 8 hours. Just have to be patient for the next month or so before trying it out. Already thinking about how to change it up for the next batch. I’m hooked!!

Carolyn-Woohoo! Congratulations!

You must let Castile bars cure for at least 6 months. I’ve been a soaper for a year now & all my teachers & fellow soapers let their Castile soaps cure for this long as well.

Admiring your creamy white bars of soap…just wondering what type of olive oil you used??

Jan–Thank you! Afraid, though, I don’t remember the brand. It came in one of those big tins from a local big box or chain grocery, that’s all I know for sure.

Jan-I wondered the same thing. Looking back through the posts, it was the Kroger brand of olive oil. I used that as well, didn’t get nice white bars though, very pale yellowish. It’s only been two weeks since I made my soap, I had to try it (6 months is a long time to wait!) will try to put most of it away for a long cure!

Unless soap is made hot process, the soap must sit & cure for at least 4 weeks. Depending on where you live, it may take up to 6 weeks. You must not use before that time if its cold processed. You run the risk of a very serious lye burn!! Patience is the key. 🙂

I just made this soap…its setting up now and I should be able to cut in a few more hours. SUPER Simple! I have never made soap before and was able to follow the instructions in the LHITS Book for this recipe – used an immersion blender and it was tracing in just a few minutes. I halved the recipe to get 12 Bars and scented it with lavender and lemongrass essential oils. I am sad that I have to wait six weeks before I get to use it!

Klara–Congrats on your first batch! I hope you love your soap as much as I do and thank you for telling us about it!

I’d like the recipe to make your pure olive oil soap. I see the ingredients and have all of the tools. I just need to know what to add and when and what temperatures. Thank you in advance.

brett–If you followed the proportions in the recipe, the lye should be right. However, how long did you wait before using it? Cool idea (re)using the olive oil for soap!

I’ve been hearing a lot about it. Where is the formula for making olive oil soap?

I waited 6-8 weeks, but the soap is a bit soft to the touch – a consistency similar to Muenster cheese.

Heather–The coconut oil soaps are known to be drier than others, so that may help you in your situation. Also, have you tried using a very dilute vinegar rinse AFTER you use soap for shampoo? Keep diluting the vinegar until it doesn’t irritate.

brett–hm. Never had a problem with this one not getting rock solid. Could it be there are impurities remaining in the oil from the prior processing?

I think I’m going to give the coconut oil a try. I will say that my hair has never been healthier since I started making this soap, but I don’t like the residue feeling. I still use vinegar; it was the baking soda that irritated my scalp. I had to give up my homemade deodorant for the same reason!

Arthur–I’ve never had soap spoil. It may yellow a bit in color, but it doesn’t seem to effect how well it does its thing. Use about 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar per quart of water. Unfortunately, you will not smell like a salad, but if you infuse the vinegar with oregano and garlic, you might smell like pizza. Seriously, though (if we’re going there) the soap smells like soap once it’s saponified, not much of a smell at all, and the vinegar smell goes away once your hair is dry.

Ive just stumbled across this and must say I’m thrilled. I’m going to try it!
I’ve just stopped using ‘conventional’ shampoo and for the itchy scalp that comes once every other day or so I’ve been advised to use lemon juice diouted in water – its amazing how efficient it is at stopping the itchiness and how much gunk comes out!
I use one whole lemon, squeezed directly into a big bowl of cold or luke warm water and pour over my head (directly over the bowl) and Gently massage through. I don’t think I could ever go back to shampoo now…

Was wondering if a person could do this as a hp soap, with this recipe? Have u ever tried it that way? I love doing hp soap in a crock pot and thought this would be a wonderful soap for my young childrens winter dry skin! Thanks so much!

Michelle Ortner–I’ve never done it, but I’m sure it could be adapted for hp. I hesitate to advise you on the particulars since I’m less familiar with hp, but I’m sure you could do it.

Hi there. I’m confused. Why is the soap in your photo a creamy white color (also in your description)? Mine is yellow-green, the same color as the olive oil I used. It also smells strongly of olive oil. The recipe doesn’t specify a certain kind to use. I just got finished pouring it..does it change as it hardens? This is my first time making soap with olive oil. My intent was to use this for general household purposes but I’m concerned about the color and smell. Thanks.

Colleen–No worries, the color is dependent on the type of olive oil used. Sometimes mine is yellow-green, too. This particular batch turned out white, but that was a less typical result. I like the olive-y soap just as well or even better.

Thank you. I love making crock pot soap. I also use another HOT PROCESS, it is great also. Line your soap form with freezer paper, I use cookie sheets and line them. Set asside. Pre-heat your oven to 175 (F). (do not use your crock pot, use another heat save bowl big enough for your batch) You use the ingredients and directions from your soap recipe, go through the trace step. Pour the batter into your prepared forms or pan. Put them in the over for ONE hour. turn off the oven and leave the oven closed for 6-8 hours. I usually make this type of soap in the evening befor bed. In the morning (later) remove your forms (pans) from the oven, they will still be hot beccause of the chemical reaction with heat and lye. Let sit on cooling racks about 30 minutes. Lift soap from forms using the sides of the freezer paper for handles. put on a cutting board and slice. If you use forms and can put it down in the slicer go for it. Before putting it in the oven spray the top of the soap with 90% alcohol, this will reduce ash that might form on top. If this happens just take a damp clothe and wash off the the top of the soap. Also to make a pretty soap you can make ‘waves’ and designs in the top of the soap and/or sprinkle a little color sugar on top. You can also use soap slivers if you rebatch your soap to sprinkl on top then lightly press into the soap batter. when using a cookie sheet ypu need one with 1 inch sides. Cut into 2 – 3 inch squares like you would for cookie bars or cake. Cool and cure on your soap racks. This soap can be used now if you wish, but I like to wait at least 2 weeks so the bars can harded more so. I also prefer using coconut oil soap or halp and half mix of olive oil and coconut oil. This makes a harder and better lathering soap. Love coconut oil soap. You can also fragrance with a soap fragrance or prefer an essential oil.Be careful if you know some one has an alergy to coconut. I hope thishas give you all a few new and fun ideas. God bless!

To convert your recipe with a mix of oils I use the MMS Lye calculaor at TheSage.com. It is a real easy converter and you can save your soap recipes there on line or print them out to save.

I cant imagine unmolding a Olive oil soap in just 8 hours! There is no way! My no less than 48 hours from my experience.

Riens handmade soapon 12/30/2014 at 10:05 am

Unmolding pure olive soap for me is within 48 hours max. The soap is very soft before that. Curing time for me is longer.

When making cold press soap with just olive oil I w
Read it can take 6-9 months to make a firm soap bar.the harder the better for olive soap

Just found this recipe and made it two nights ago. Took the soap 12 hours until I could remove the mold and cut it. I used a small amount of coconut oil in the recipe, and added 4 oz of lavender . Can’t wait to use it in 6 weeks it smells fantastic!

Julie–Nice. Love lavender!

I made this soap a week ago. Fantastic recipe. No need for another. I really like it. I however never wait the requisite 4-6 wks before using. I was using mine after 4-5 days. Even when I make a regular batch of cold press I usually use it within a week after making it with no problems. This soap is really hard now and the lather is wonderful. I used the 4oz of frankincense EO and it smells wonderful. Thank you for the recipe.

Wish I could edit my last comment, but, I forgot to add that I took my soap out at about 10 hrs. I forgot to check it before then. Then smell was so good I checked it and It really was ready to take out that quickly. I was surprised because that definitely doesn’t happen when I use the regular cold press recipe. This recipe is AMAZING! I cannot say it enough!

So, just combine the ingredients (lye into the water, water into the oil), blend with a stick blender until saponification, then pour into the mold? Also, I’ve read the optimum temperature is between 120 and 130 degrees Fahrenheit for standard soaps. I’m asking because I’m about to make my first batch of soap and I am choosing your Pure Olive Oil Soap recipe to get me started. Get back to me if you will and wish me luck. Thanks.

Jason–Basically, yes, that’s it. I don’t take temp readings much anymore, but you are correct, that is optimal. I definitely wish you super luck and I hope you enjoy some awesome soap!

Cinnamon–Yes, I’ve noticed it sets up very quick, too. Some results may vary, though, I think since oils vary a lot from batch to batch. All olive oil is not created equal. I’m so glad the soap turned out so well!