Teach Soap

Okay, I could use everyone's help.

A good friend who has a child with Lupus, who just got released from Children's Hospital yesterday after repeated chemo, found out last week that his wife has breast cancer and called me for support. So, besides all your prayers, I am hoping you can all help find the best, the most non-sensitive soap recipe that I can make for this family as they try to have a "normal" life for next few months.

I thought Bastille was 90% olive, 10% coconut. Then I heard it was 90 olive, 10 castor. Can someone help me create the best, softest, most profound soap I can make for this family? If it isn't Bastille, whatever that is, tell me what I can do.

Would be very, very grateful for the help, soapers.

Lisa

Bastille is a bastradized version of castille. People use all kinds of things. I would try to make 100% pure castille. No scent, no color; just pure olive oil and lye water. I would HP it, to speed up the curing process.

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

I made a semi castille or (bastille? never heard that term before) but i made this for a friend that had breast cancer and she was having problems with rashes from soap after chemo. She loved it. No color or fragrance added.

I used olive, coconut, palm and castor oils, but there is also a recipe in alicia grosso book for just olive and coconut and superfat with castor.

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

wish i was brave enuf to try pure castille. Thanks spotted cat and soapbuddy. Gonna do this tomorrow as cpop which should shave some time off cure. I am not due to visit till next weekend so I think I can get this good to go with cpop. Poor family. The dad looks like death warmed over. I guess God only gives you what you can handle but that seems like a lot to me for them.

thanks again,

Lisa

when my mother had cancer and radiation treatments last year the hospital told me to stop useing soap on her neck ( where she had radation) beacuse it would irritate her skin) I told them ( bull ####) but I switched her to my unscented Goats Milk soap and every morning and night we also put aloe gel on her neck and she never got radation burns but her skin did darken a little.

Hi Lisa,
I've never made Castille soap; but have often heard of its wonderful mild properties. What a wonderful gift. Prayers are on the way for this family. Keep us posted on your Castille recipe, it sounds like a very special soap.

DOn't be scared of castille, Lisa! I would say reduce your water though, otherwise it takes forever to even be hard enough to cut!

I don't like the term bastille...I mean, it is what it is, but it kinda sounds ugly kwim?

One of my favorite bars ever was a 25%-75% coconut and olive, 5% superfat. I dunno why, it just felt really airy and gentle.

This family is sure to appreciate some REAL soap, with no fragrances to irritate. What a blessing to know you!

Since you say you only have one week, I would discount your water.

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

Hi there,

I didn't get it done this am but here is what I am thinking . ..will soap tonight after I get home from work.

CPOP--since I want to get this ready for next week (and I will ask them to wait a couple of weeks to use), I was going to CPOP. I still am leery of hp so this is what I am comfortable doing.

Infused Oil: I was thinking of using some calendula/chamomile infused olive oil. Could that be irritating at all? Should I leave it out?

Water Discount: Normally I do 30% on soap calc so my water for a 45 oz oil recipe is 13.5 oz. What would you suggest I discount to?

Sodium Lactate: I should leave this out, yes?

Lisa

CPOP should be fine. If you can, put your mold in an low (170 degree) oven. Let it gel. As soon as it gels completely, take it out and let it cool. I would not add any infusion, including calendula or chamomille. Keep it simple and plain. For a faster cure time, I would do a 40% lye solution.

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

Thanks soapbuddy. . .so I am going out on a limb here and will do 90% olive and 10% castor, or should that be 90% olive, 5 castor and 5 coconut. . ..

Coconut and or castor might not be the best choice for someone with lupus. But castor will add more bubbles to the olive. You really won't miss the coconut in there. And at 5%, it won't make a big difference.

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

I did it. . .used about 85% olive with 15% split between coconut and castor. It actually traced in 5 minutes (surprised at that) and it looks great and is cooking away in the oven. It was pretty fun to do because I was sure it would never trace. But the stuff is nicely creamy, easy peasy to pour, but still had some thickness to it.

If coconut and castor aren't good in this situation, is there another "hard" oil I can use to create bubbles and hardness? Any thoughts? I made this batch very tiny (1 lb) to see if it works and am cpop'ing it in a silicone mold. So I could do it again if there is a better oil to use. I also have rice bran, flax, jojoba, almond, avocado in addition to olive, palm and coconut.

I will post photos tomorrow as this mold is super cool and thought you'd all like to see it.

Since I am CPOPing it, is it still a 3 week cure time? Or should I say 4 weeks or more?

Lisa

Rice bran is comparable to olive. Flax, jojoba, almond & avocado are all soft oils. If you want a harder bar, you could add sodium lactate, but with that much olive it should harden up fairly quickly. For bubbles, castor oil is your best bet, or you can add a small amount of sugar to your lye water. If you discounted some of your water & with CPOP, if the person can wait at least 2 weeks, the soap will be better and last longer by then.

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