DIY Castile Soap Recipe

Posted on March 12, 2019

With a quick and easy castile soap recipe, you can make your own multipurpose solution in no time. Learn how to make castile soap with minimal ingredients and enjoy the multitude of uses the soap will provide.

DIY Castile Soap Recipe:

Castile soap is a natural, high-quality soap that generally contains plant oils as a rich base. Historically, castile soap was mainly formulated with olive oil in the Spanish region of Castile. Nowadays, castile soap is formulated with a blend of coconut oil, argan oil, jojoba oil and more. Due to the amalgamation of nutrient-dense oils, castile soap can be an extremely nourishing and beneficial product to have as a staple in your home.

Homemade castile soap can be very simple to make, and just as effective to use for health and beauty. In order to make castile soap, it involves a reaction between fat and an alkali ingredient called lye. When this chemical reaction occurs, it produces soap as the end product.

The following steps will guide you through the DIY castile soap recipe.

You will need:

• A slow-cooker
• A blender
• A kitchen scale
• 24 oz olive oil
• 8 oz coconut oil
• 8 oz argan oil
• 10 oz potassium hydroxide lye flakes
• 4 cups water for lye (preferably distilled or filtered)
• Additional water for dilution

Step 1: Making the paste

1. Mix the oils in a slow cooker on high heat. 
2. With gloves and safety goggles on, mix the lye flakes with 4 cups of water in a steel or glass bowl. Stir until it has fully dissolved. 
3. Carefully pour the lye mixture into the slow cooker to combine with the oils.
4. By using a blender, blend the solution together for 5 minutes until it starts to slightly thicken. Repeat blending every 5 minutes for half an hour, while the slow cooker is still on high heat.
5. The mixture should start becoming too thick to blend.

Step 2: Heating the paste

1. Leave the mixture to cook for 3 hours on high. Cover with a lid.
2. Stir the mixture every half hour for uniform results. Make sure to use a heavy duty stirring spatula that is heat resistant.
3. Eventually, the mixture should start to turn into a clear, thick gel that has a slightly yellow tinge.

Step 3: Testing the soap

1. To measure the clarity of the soap, perform the following steps. Scoop out a blob of soap from the mixture, and add to ½ cup of boiling water. Stir until dissolved fully.
2. Leave the soap to cool. If the soap turns opaque or forms scum, it is not ready yet. Cook for another hour and retest.
3. When the soap is clear once cool, it is ready for dilution.

Step 4: Diluting the mixture

1. Mix 10 cups of filtered water to the soap mixture. Leave the slow cooker on warm, and allow to heat overnight in order for the soap to melt into the water. Mix in the morning and turn off the slow cooker.
2. When the soap is fully dissolved, pour the soap into clean jars for use.
3. Enjoy the soap!

This recipe will yield 5 large jars of soap. If you need less, simply adjust the recipe by halving the ingredients.

Conclusion

Making castile soap at home can be a great way to create natural soap that is free from nasties and toxins. Feel free to add essential oils to your soap to give it a lovely aroma. Better yet, you can mix your homemade castile soap with aloe vera, for even more health benefits. The possibilities are endless.

If this process sounds too lengthy for you, there are some high-quality castile soap products that can be just as good as homemade castile soap. For more castile soap uses and recipes, take a look at the castile soap Ebook.

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