Olive Oil Soapmaking Recipe
True castile soap, an olive-oil-based creation from Castile, Spain, represents the height of luxury for most soapmakers-and bathers. Olive oil contains high amounts of skin-loving proteins, vitamins and minerals for a luxurious moisturizing bar. Make sure to follow a recipe precisely to attain "saponification"-that magical point at which the acid (in this case, olive oil) neutralizes the alkali (household lye). Does this Spark an idea?
Ingredients
While olive oil undeniably costs more than shortening or lard, don't spend extra dollars on an extra-virgin olive oil bottle. "Fortunately for the soapmaker, the cheapest-quality olive oil offers the greatest advantages in the saponification process," notes author Melinda Coss in "The Handmade Soap Book."
Good carrier oils to pair with olive oil include palm oil (to help produce a hard, good-lathering bar) or coconut oil (for creaminess). For a true castile soap, use at least three times more olive oil than the secondary oil. For example, a recipe for a 2-lb. batch of soap might include 24 oz. olive oil and 8 oz. palm oil. Of course, you could simply use 32 oz. of olive oil by itself.
Use distilled water for most recipes, although you may find a goat's milk/olive oil recipe in which the milk replaces some of the water.
Lye, of course, cannot be avoided in true soapmaking. Treat this extremely caustic powder with the utmost respect by wearing gloves, goggles, long sleeves and long pants. Cover nearby surfaces with newspaper. Make sure not to breathe too closely near the stockpot when mixing or adding the lye solution.
Finally, a myriad combination of essential oils, powdered herbs, beeswax pellets, coloring agents and additional "superfatting" carrier oils (added at the last stages) exists to tempt soapmakers. Keep your first batches simple. A single fragrance note of pine, rosemary or a citrus might be added; about 2 tsp. essential oil per a 2-lb. batch is a good starting point.
Equipment
Craft stores sell any number of wooden and plastic soap molds, but you may prefer to recycle plastic containers or a use a wax-paper-lined shoebox. Virtually anything can be used as a soap mold.
You'll need a large enamel or stainless-steel cooking pot: Lye will interact and damage other cooking materials. Other necessary equipment includes a heatproof glass or plastic measuring cup, measuring spoons, a food scale, nonstick cooking spray, plastic spatulas, two glass cooking thermometers, eye goggles, rubber gloves, a sharp knife, sodium hydroxide (lye), olive oil, distilled water, and whatever other carrier oils, essential oils and additives you plan to use.
Technique
Find either a reputable olive-oil soap recipe or study a saponification chart online (see Resources). Soap simply will not come together with an improvised batch of ingredients. For saponification to occur, everything must be balanced precisely.
On the kitchen scale, weigh the olive oil and any additional oils or grated beeswax. Pour oils into the cooking pot and cook on low until the cooking thermometer reaches 130 degrees; turn off the heat. In a sturdy bowl, weigh the required amount of lye and add it to the distilled water (always add lye to water; never pour water into lye). Wait until the chemical reaction brings this second batch of ingredients to 130 degrees.
When both mixtures reach the optimum temperature, pour the water-lye mixture into the olive oil mixture and stir until you can achieve raised lines on the surface of the liquid soap when trailing a spoon across the surface. Soapmakers call this crucial stage "trace."
After trace, stir in any essential oils, powdered herbs or coloring agents and pour into greased molds. Cover the molds with old towels for about 24 hours. Turn the soap out of the molds; if using a large mold, cut the soap into bars. Cover again with old blankets and leave to age for at least one month.
Tags: carrier oils, distilled water, essential oils, 2-lb batch, batch ingredients, castile soap, coloring agents