Teach Soap

Is it possible to make a 100% olive oil or 100% coconut soap? I have a ton of both of these and would like to use them because I already have them. Plus I have a bunch of 2 lb molds.

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@!BuG!@

100% olive oil is called castile soap. For 100% coconut, I would do a 20% superfat since coconut is considered a very cleansing and possibly a drying oil. The 20% superfat counter reacts the dryness.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

What Irena said - we are noticing a difference in our coconut oil vs no coconut oil soaps due to dry winter weather.

I put my 100% coconut oil soap in the kitchen - it is amazing at taking off oily gunk from your hands from cooking. And I also use it to clean my soaping equipment! I gave one to my niece who is a hairdresser - she uses it to clean her combs and brushes.

People with oily skin living in a hot, sticky climate - and engaging in physical activities that make one sweat - would probably love a 100% coconut oil soap. But that sure isn't us!

AND - the first recipe I started with was 70% olive oil + 30% coconut oil. You could play with the ratio of those two oils and get all sorts of results. I keep coming back to that recipe to do swirls as it traces nice and slow.

HOLY CRAP - I just noticed I've gone over 400 posts. Good god I do go on.....

100% olive oil soap is wonderful! It does, however, take 4-6 months to cure, where other soaps typically take 4-6 weeks, so consider how soon you need to use your soap.

100% coconut, as was mentioned, can be very drying, so use about 20% superfat, normal being anywhere from 3% to 8%, I believe. However, if you need a bar to grate up for laundry detergent, coconut at 0% to 3% superfat is PERFECT, as long as you don't have household members who are allergic to coconut soaps and therefore develop rashes from the clothes or dish cloths washed in it. It's amazingly good at cleaning greasy cooking stains out of one's brand new henley shirt from The Gap (voice of Bitter-Experience-Turned-To-"Everything-Went-Better-Than-Expected!").

I made a 100% olive with goats milk and it is wonderful. It is rock hard!!

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

I did a 100% olive oil using frozen goats milk.

The final prodict felt greasy. I only did a 5% superfat on it.

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Genny

Olive oil, Castille soap, does feel differently than other soap. A lot of people think it feels rather slimy. It truly can be a matter of acquired taste, or feel, as it is in this instance. Personally, I don't care for it, but there are a lot of people who love it.
Also, I don't know when you made this batch, but it requires a 6 month cure to be at its best. If it is new, exercise patience and wait for the cure, then try it again. You may find that you enjoy it better when it's more mature. It really does make a great facial bar, so if you don't like it for anything else, try using it for your face care.

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

That is just the nature of a Castille soap, which is why some people make an 80/20 blend, a bastille soap, instead of the Castille soap. It can be an acquired like as well. Some people hate it to begin with, then end up liking it with more use . Since it has sat a year, it is well cured. If you don't care for it, you don't. It is just what it is. Sorry bout that!

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy