Easy, Beginner DIY Liquid Castile Soap Recipe
Made with only olive oil, this pure liquid Castile soap is easy to make and mild. It’s perfect for face and body, and for cleaning around the house.
A couple of years ago, I showed you how easy it was to make a basic beginner soap, even if you’ve never done it before.
Making solid soaps can be a lot of fun, but not everybody likes using bar soap. Many people prefer using something in a dispenser like a shower gel or a liquid soap.
I made many different types of bar soaps before attempting to make a true liquid soap. There aren’t as many resources about making liquid soaps, so I had to do a lot of trial and error before posting this first liquid Castile soap recipe.
Once you find a good recipe, it’s pretty simple to make. While it does take a little more time and effort than whipping up some bars of cold process soap, I think you’ll find that it’s well worth it, especially when you take a look at the price of a store-bought liquid castile soap.
How does liquid soap differ from bar soap?
The main difference between bar soaps and liquid soaps is the type of lye used to make them. Liquid soaps are made with KOH, or potassium hydroxide, rather than NaOH, or sodium hydroxide.
You can read more about the different types of lye in my post about lye and why it is needed in soap.
While some people like to make a “liquid soap” of sorts by diluting bar soaps in water, you can’t really get a true, transparent liquid soap that way. Some people are happy with the result, but every time I’ve tried it, I’ve ended up with a gloopy mess. It doesn’t have the same cleaning power as either a bar soap or a true liquid soap, and the texture and appearance aren’t the same either.
What is pure Castile soap?
Technically, by definition, Castile soap is a type of soap made with only olive oil. The name “Castile” soap originates here in Spain. (You can read more about the origin of Castile soap and other soaps in my post with a recipe for pure Castile bar soap.)
Over the years, the definition of Castile soap has broadened to include other types of vegetable oils such as coconut oil. Dr. Bronner’s liquid Soap, which may be the most famous commercial liquid Castile soap, actually has a greater percentage of coconut oil than olive oil. (I made a Dr. Bronners liquid Castile soap copycat recipe for those who are interested!)
When it came to making a homemade liquid Castile soap, though, I was a bit of a purist and made the real deal: a soap made with only olive oil.
Olive oil in soap
Soaps made with different oils have different properties.
Soaps made with olive oil are more conditioning for your skin than soaps made with coconut oil. On the other hand, they don’t lather up as much as a coconut oil soap, nor do they leave you feeling squeaky clean in the same way (partly because they are more conditioning).
Some people find pure Castile bar soap to be “slimy” and not cleansing enough. On the other hand, pure coconut oil bar soap can be drying.
- Pure coconut oil soaps are great for general cleaning and for laundry. That’s why I made my homemade laundry soap only with coconut oil.
- Pure olive oil soaps tend to be gentle on the skin and great for gentle body cleansing.
Read my post about the properties of different oils in soaps.
Ideally, you’d combine different oils to get the qualities you want for your soap. That’s exactly what they did when they formulated Dr. Bronner’s soap, and what I did when I showed you how to make a basic beginner soap which uses a combination of olive oil and coconut oil.
Combining liquid soaps
When you make a bar of soap, you have to decide what combination of oils you want to use from the very beginning and your entire batch will have that very same combination.
With liquid soaps, though, you have the advantage of being able to combine your various soaps after the fact, making it easier to experiment with smaller combinations until you find the perfect soap for your need.
That’s why I made a pure liquid castile soap, using only olive oil, and then later made a pure liquid coconut oil soap. Once you’ve made both of them, you can combine them, as needed to get the type of soap you want.
Coconut oil liquid soap vs. liquid Castile soap
When I first started making liquid soap, I assumed that liquid soaps would be just like bar soaps. The difference between a pure Castile bar soap and a coconut oil-based bar soap is HUGE!
I was very surprised to find, though, that liquid soap made with coconut oil was actually quite similar to that made with olive oil. Sure, the olive oil-based liquid soap was darker in color than the coconut oil-based liquid soap. For me, that was probably the most notable difference.
Yes, the coconut oil soap does make a bubblier lather than this one and may be slightly more drying. It does give more of a “squeaky clean” feeling.
In the end, though, the difference isn’t as pronounced as I expected. In fact, I normally just make the coconut oil liquid soap recipe these days. I can buy refined coconut oil cheaper than olive oil, but also love the look of a lighter-colored soap. I also love the fresh, subtle scent of the coconut oil soap when left unscented.
Both soaps give a decent lather. They are also both relatively mild for skin. If you have sensitive skin, though, this soap is probably the better choice.
Those who have very sensitive skin may find that they have issues with the higher pH of any soap. In those cases, it may be best to use something like my DIY Baby Wash and Shampoo. (I made it pH balanced for a baby’s delicate skin.)
Ingredients
This soap uses 4 main ingredients: olive oil, potassium hydroxide, water, and glycerin.
You can use extra virgin olive oil or a lighter olive oil. What is important, though, is that you are using pure olive oil. (If it’s not pure olive oil, it may need a different amount of lye.)
For the water, it’s best to use distilled water. Tap water has minerals and may have other impurities that can affect the clarity of your soap.
Why use glycerin when making liquid soap?
One of the methods of making liquid soaps is called the glycerin method. It replaces part of the water with glycerin.
Adding glycerin moves the soap-making process along more quickly. Because I wanted to share a beginner liquid soap recipe, I chose the glycerin method to have this soap be as quick and fool-proof as possible.
Using glycerin may have some other benefits:
- The resulting soap paste dissolves very easily in water. I don’t need to heat the water nor do I need to leave it for days at a time. I can cover my soap paste with distilled water and usually, in a couple of hours, I have a beautiful, clear liquid soap effortlessly.
- Glycerin is a humectant, meaning it draws moisture into the skin. I find that even my liquid coconut oil soap doesn’t feel drying, despite the fact that it hasn’t been superfatted at all. I think the extra glycerin helps to make a really great, hydrating soap that is clear and doesn’t need extra oils. (I think my homemade glycerin bar soap has the same benefits.)
Materials
To make liquid Castile soap, you only need a few basic tools. An immersion blender helps mix the oils and lye solution quickly so the soap reaches trace faster. A slow cooker works beautifully for keeping the soap at a steady, gentle heat while it cooks. A kitchen scale is also important here, since soap making relies on accuracy. Measuring by weight instead of volume helps ensure that your recipe turns out perfectly every time.
Procedure
Making a liquid Castile soap isn’t difficult and it can save you a lot of money.
To get the clearest soap we can, we’ll use a hot-process method. That means that we will be cooking the soap. During the cooking process, the saponification process will complete and our soap will be ready to use immediately afterwards. (Liquid soap doesn’t need a curing time in the same way as bar soap does.)
The easiest way to make this and have it come out perfectly is to use a slow cooker. If you don’t have access to a slow cooker, though, you can also try baking it in the oven. (I showed how I used this method in the post and video for the coconut oil liquid soap.)
Making the lye solution
Weigh out the glycerine, water, and potassium hydroxide (KOH).
Add the glycerin to the water and then carefully add the KOH to the water and glycerin mixture. (Not the other way around!) Make the lye solution in a well-ventilated area.
Stir the KOH into the water until it dissolves. It will be cloudy at first, but then it will clear up.
Making the soap paste
Measure out the olive oil and heat it over low heat directly in the slow cooker.
Slowly add in the the KOH mixture to the warm olive oil, and gently stir them together over low heat.
Once combined, use an immersion blender to blend the ingredients together in the slow cooker. In a few minutes the mixture will begin to thicken and look like mayonnaise. Soon after, it will look like a creamy pudding. (If you aren’t doing this over heat, it will take a bit longer.)
A few minutes later, the mixture will begin to look grainy and look like mashed potatoes or applesauce. Continue to blend.
If, at any point, the mixture becomes too thick to blend with the immersion blender, switch to mixing with a spatula or wooden spoon. It’s also a good idea to take breaks during the blending process so as not to burn out the blender.
As you continue to blend, it will start to get creamy again. It is now time to cover it and cook it for a while.
Cooking the soap paste
Cooking the soap paste will allow the soap to finish the saponification process and will also help achieve a perfectly clear liquid soap immediately. The process will take 3-4 hours, and you will want to check on it and stir it up every half an hour or so.
As you cook the mixture, it will begin to thicken up and become more translucent.
To check for “doneness,” we will look to see if our paste is dissolving into a completely clear liquid soap. To do this, take a small amount of the soap paste and dissolve it in water, and look to see if the water is clear once the soap paste is dissolved.
If the liquid is cloudy, you should continue to cook the soap in the slow cooker. Let it cook another half an hour before checking on it again. If it dissolves clear like the soap in my picture, you are finished making the soap paste.
Note: If you aren’t using distilled water, the soap paste may stay cloudy no matter how long you cook it! (For more reasons your soap paste may be cloudy, read my post about troubleshooting liquid soap problems.
How to dilute the soap paste
Once you have made your soap paste, you’ll need to dilute it to obtain a liquid Castile soap.
To dilute a soap paste you can:
- Let it dissolve by itself into water over the course of several hours (or overnight).
- Speed up the process by warming the water and soap paste over the stove or other heat source (like the slow cooker).
For clear soap, use distilled water. That will also help ensure the water is free of contaminants and the soap will keep as long as possible. By choosing distilled water, not only are you keeping the possibility of microbial contamination to a minimum, but you are also ensuring that minerals and other substances in your tap water won’t cloud your soap.
If you are making small batches that are going to be used relatively quickly (and aren’t concerned about clearness), you can probably get away with tap water without any issues. I still recommend using distilled water when possible.
Read more about how to dilute a soap paste here.
Customizing your liquid soap
How else can you personalize your soap?
Adding fragrances
Unlike with bar soap, you can add in additives like essential oils after the fact. So, you don’t have to divide your batch at trace and work quickly to make soaps with a variety of fragrances. Instead, you can make a large batch of concentrated liquid soap paste base. The soap paste can be stored away and keeps well for a very long time. (I’ve successfully stored soap pastes for several years without issues.)
You can then add in the essential oils or fragrance oils as you dilute the soap paste. This gives you the freedom, even months after making the soap, to play with fun combinations.
At the time of dilution, I mix the soap paste with distilled water and then I add essential oils to give my soap a personalized fragrance.
Does it need a preservative?
Whether or not liquid soap needs a preservative is a controversial subject. Personally, I don’t use one as the pH of soap is high enough that it’s not a favorable environment for the growth of most of the microbes that we’re trying to avoid.
If I were going to sell a liquid soap, though, I’d do proper microbial testing of the liquid soap to see if a preservative was needed or not. Most natural preservatives on the market aren’t effective at the high pH of soap anyway. (Euxyl® K 900 is an exception and would be a great preservative to consider for using in soap.)
For more liquid soap FAQ’s, read my post How to Make a Liquid Soap: Start Here.
Video
Easy liquid castile soap (made from scratch with olive oil)
Materials
Instructions
- Measure out the olive oil and add it to the slow cooker on low heat.
Make the lye solution
- Weigh out the glycerine, water, and potassium hydroxide (KOH).
- Mix the water and glycerin.
- Carefully add the KOH to the water and glycerin mixture. (Not the other way around!) Do this step in a well ventilated area.
- Stir the KOH into the water until it dissolves. It will be cloudy at first, but then it will clear up.
Make the soap paste
- Slowly add in the the KOH mixture to the warm olive oil, and gently stir them together in the slow cooker.
- Once they are mixed together well, use an immersion blender to blend the ingredients together. In a few minutes the mixture will begin to thicken and look like mayonnaise. It will later look like a creamy pudding.
- The mixture will go through stages, from creamy to grainy and back to smooth.
- As you continue to blend, it will start to get creamy again. Once you reach this point, you can stop blending with the hand held blender and can leave the soap paste cooking covered in the slow cooker.
Cook the soap paste
- As you cook the soap, it will continue to thicken and will become more translucent. To achieve a clear liquid soap we'll need to cook the soap paste for 3-4 hours. During that time, check on it and stir it up every half an hour or so.
Check for doneness
- To check for "doneness," we will look to see if the soap paste dissolves clear. To do this, take a small amount of the soap paste and dissolve it in distilled water. If the resulting soap is clear, the soap is finished cooking. If it's cloudy, continue to cook the soap paste for another half an hour before checking on it again.
Dilute the soap
- To make a liquid Castile soap, dissolve some of the paste in distilled water. I ususally use a ratio of one part soap paste to 2-3 parts distilled water. Let it sit until dissolved, or gently heat to speed it up.
Notes
- A slow cooker is perfect for this because it gently heats without burning and keeps everything at a steady temperature. If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can bake the paste in the oven or cook it in a double boiler.
- Take breaks while blending so you don’t burn out the motor of your immersion blender. If your blender gets too hot, you can pause and let it cook before continuing.
- If the mixture becomes too thick to blend at any point, switch to mixing with a wooden spoon.
- If you’ve cooked it for more than 3–4 hours and it still isn’t clear, there may be other issues. Tap water can cause cloudiness. For other possibilities, see my post on troubleshooting liquid soaps.
- This recipe makes about 4.5–5 pounds of soap paste, which can be diluted to 10–20 pounds of liquid soap or more, depending on how concentrated you want it. That’s roughly 1–2 gallons or more.
- Keep in mind that liquid soap is not as thick as commercial gels or surfactants. It has a thinner consistency and doesn’t need to be thick to be concentrated and work well.
- Undiluted soap paste can be stored in glass or plastic containers in a cool, dry place for more than a year. I’ve had some last for several years without any problems. It may eventually develop a slightly rancid smell, but can still be used for general cleaning.
DIY liquid body soap recipe:
If you would like to combine this soap with a liquid coconut oil soap to obtain a bit more lather and a squeaky clean feeling, try using this ratio:
60-70% liquid Castile soap (made with only olive oil)
30-40% liquid coconut oil soap (for bubbly lather, link goes to the recipe post)
Essential oils of choice.
Mix all of the ingredients together, and keep a bottle in the shower to use instead of shower gel.
Add essential oils for fragrance. Lavender essential oil gives a lovely herbal scent. I also like citrus blends using lemon and bergamot.
What are your favorites?
This post was originally published on June 29, 2016. It was rewritten and republished in June of 2021, adding new information, more photos, and video.
Hey Tracy ,
thanks for the amazing Blog.
my question is can i use liquid castile soap as hair shampoo?
Hi Salma,
Thanks so much!
I personally don’t use soap in my hair. Soap is on the alkaline side, and I feel like it strips hair of its moisture, and just isn’t the best choice for hair. If you have used other castile soaps to wash your hair before, though, this one would work in the same way. If anything, this one would be gentler because it is made with only olive oil, and most castile soaps sold commercially aren’t pure castile soaps and use mostly coconut oil. Some people use castile soap on their hair and their hair adapts to it, and they like it.
I’ve been working on developing some gentle shampoos using gentle surfactants, and hope to get them up on the blog. I’ve also used my DIY hair conditioner as a sort of cleansing conditioner. It’s worked well for me to a point, meaning I can go a week or two between washing with something else, but eventually I need to wash with something else.
I am experimenting and working on different ideas for people to try, and will try to get them up on the blog soon after figuring out what I think works best. 🙂
Hi Salma.
Years ago, I experimented with a lot of different options for washing hair. The best I have found, and still use to this day, is simply diluted ACV. Not many people can cope with the smell though – my kids hate it!
The vinegar must be unfiltered, with the mother still in it. Otherwise it will strip your hair, rather than condition.
I put about 1cm into a 600ml plastic bottle and top it up with shower water, pour it over my scalp and let it run through my hair.
Afterwards, I use about half a teaspoon of a mixture of olive oil, castor oil and rosemary EO. This is used only to look after my curls and is probably not required if you have straight or wavy hair.
I hope it works for you! 🙂
Tracey,
Fantastic recipe. Can’t wait to try it out! I love that you’ve kept it as basic and natural as possible.
Thanks.
Hi Tamara,
You’re welcome!
I hope the soap goes well for you.
Also, thanks for the tips about cleansing hair!
I’ve tried so many different things myself, and although I don’t mind the scent of vinegar, I couldn’t get it to work well with my hair. (It almost left my hair feeling like it had some weird buildup on it, which seems impossible seeing what vinegar is, but… it is what it is.)
I tried using only water for awhile, which actually worked well for me for several months, until it didn’t.
Lately I’ve been using a cleansing conditioner, and alternate that with using my homemade conditioner as a cleansing conditioner. (I can’t use mine exclusively because after a certain number of washes, it feels like it starts to build up too.)
I’m now working on formulating a gentle shampoo. I’ve been experimenting, and it will eventually make its way to the blog when I’m fully happy with the formula. 🙂
I think it’s great to have options. We are all different, and our hair is so different, so I guess we each need to experiment and find out what’s best for us!
Throughout the journey, I found that my hair is actually quite curly too. I always thought it was straight with unruly waves on the lower layers. It’s amazing how your hair can change when you stop stripping it with harsh shampoos! 🙂
Hi Tracy, I love the sound of your conditioner, as soon as I can get hold of some btms (seems a little elusive here) I will give it a try. I use an infusion of rosemary with some citrus EO’s added at the moment, I have used it for yeeaars lol so would be good to try something new.
Hi Pauline,
I hope you’ve been enjoying the sun! 🙂
I wanted to mention last time that if you were using a shampoo base, that shampoos are made with surfactants and not soaps, so that could explain the difference in behavior. Of course, if you were making a homemade shampoo using soap as one of the ingredients, that’s different.
I did make my double batch of liquid soap, but I’ve been using the old one up mostly for cleaning. I haven’t really played much with the essential oils as I still have all of the soap dispensers around the house mostly full. I’ll try to remember to use rosemary next time, though, to see if I have the same problem.
It’s always been difficult for me to find stuff here in Spain, and I normally have to look to the UK and Germany, so it’s interesting that you can’t find BTMS there. I can try to look for it later on. (I’m about to head out right now.) I lucked out and found a relatively new online store here in Spain that has all sorts of natural ingredients, oils, emulsifiers, etc.
I imagine they probably ship to anywhere else in Europe, so you may be able to get it from them. I have no idea how much shipping would be. I buy lots of stuff in bulk, as I’m always making new things, so I usually get free shipping for having spent so much. 🙂
Have a great weekend, and enjoy the weather!
Hello Tracy,
Ooh would you let me know the details of the online store you have found please? I don’t suppose shipping will much different to that from France or Germany.
No I didn’t use a surfactant shampoo base, I used a gentle liquid soap psste, rosemary infusion and EO’s. I know a lot of people don’t think you should use soap for your hair, but mine is doing much better with it than with commercial shampoo.
Must get some more coconut oil then I will make both soap pastes again, then experiment with the essential oils. I WILL figure it out lol The weather took a turn for the worse and we had lots of rain and it felt quite chilly. It seems to be improving though. ? Thanks for your help.
Hi Pauline,
I buy from a place called cremas-caseras.es.
I just took a look and they do appear to send to all of Europe. They also send through Amazon. http://amzn.to/2uk7NNt
(That’s an affiliate link to the BTMS)
I’m not sure if it works out cheaper to buy through one or the other. (Their site or Amazon)
So you may want to take a look to see which way works out better. 🙂
Yeah–things have been colder here lately too. Most people seem to be happy about that, but I like pool and beach time with my little guy and easily get cold, so…
I don’t mind the heat. Ha!
Enjoy your summer!
Hi Tracy, thank you for replying, the oil combinations I used were rosemary and lavender, and rosemary and orange. I will try to do a test and see which is the culprit. It is really odd because I use rosemary and citrus oils (blood orange, lime and grapefruit) in my shampoo (made from a different soap base) because it smells divine ? and haven’t had this happen.
Thanks again, looking forward to more recipes ? Take care.
Hi Pauline,
That’s really interesting. I have often used a combination of lavender and citric oils, but I don’t think I’ve used rosemary in the soap. I don’t know why it would change the consistency like that, though! I do often use a combination of lavender and rosemary in hair products like my homemade conditioner, but that’s a totally different sort of recipe too.
If you do figure out the problem, I’d love to hear about it. I just made a huge double batch of the coconut oil soap, so maybe I’ll try it out on that.
If it does end up being rosemary that’s the “problem oil,” perhaps you can try with lavender and orange. I really love that combination, and I’m guessing it’s pretty similar scent-wise. 🙂
I will let you know when I make my next batch. The weather is really nice at present, so I am enjoying that while it lasts lol we don’t see enough of it here in the UK, so soap will have to wait a while ? How did your experiment go?
Hi Tracy,
I made a couple of different liquid soap pastes which came out great. But, I dissolved some of the castile paste (50 gms in 150 gms distilled water) it was lovely like a shower gel consistency, I then added a few drops of essential oil (as I didn’t like the olive/soapy smell) and it changed consistency immediately to that of water ? I wanted a nice body wash/shower gel. Any ideas what went wrong and what to do with the next batch please?
Thank you.
Hi Pauline,
Hmm, interesting- that hasn’t happened to me (yet)! I’m sorry that happened and I totally understand your frustration!
What essential oil(s) did you use?
If you don’t like the new consistency, there is something you could try to save this batch.
I’ve been using foaming soap dispensers with my liquid soap, and I really love them! You’re supposed to use them diluted anyway, so the watery texture isn’t a problem. When you pump the soap, it comes out nice and foamy, and you end up using less soap that way! (Plus, I find dispensers easier to use in the shower than trying to open bottles.)
As for what to do next time…
I guess I’d try separating out very small amounts and test them with a few drops of different oils to see which ones are reacting with the soap to change the consistency like that. Once you have a better idea of what causes the problem, you can avoid those oils in your larger batches. I haven’t experienced that myself yet, but it is now something I will be on the lookout for!
I’d love to hear back if you figure it out, and if I find out something, I’ll let you know too!
It’s be great to help other people avoid the same frustrations!
Hi i have some questions. where do you storage? Plastic or glass? And the crock pot can be stainless steel? Do you know the shelf life?
Hello Jariliz,
I usually store in glass because that’s a personal preference. Some people do store in plastic, though, without any problems. I wouldn’t recommend storing in any sort of metal container, though.
I would assume that if the crock pot is stainless steel, that should be okay. When making soaps, you have to be careful of metals because the lye can react with certain metals. That said, stainless steel should be fine.
As for the shelf life, I’m not really sure. I’ve had a batch stored as a paste at my house for around a year and a half, and it seems to still be working fine. It will probably depend a lot on the water content, how you store it, the temperature, etc., but it should store for a long time. 🙂
Hi,
Can I use regular cooking pot instead of a crock pot and would that make the cooking process longer? We don’t have them where I live so I can’t buy one. Thank you
Hi Lena,
Well, you can give it a try in a double boiler, being very careful not to let it burn. The reason for the slow cooker is that it stays at a constant low heat and is safe to leave alone for several hours. With this being such a long process, the slow cooker is ideal.
The other, perhaps easier option, would be to bake it in the oven, at least in the later stages. I’d probably try the first part over the double boiler, and then once you are ready to cook it, to bake it in the oven at around 190ºF/90ºC. (That’s the normal temperature for the low setting of a slow cooker.)
Remove it from the oven to stir, and then place it back in the oven to continue cooking it.
I hope that helps!
Hi! I’d love to try this recipe but I have a serious issue.
I do not own a slow cooker. Is it possible to be made in ordinary pot?
If yes, please let me know the cooking time and procedure.
Wait for your answer anxiously! Thank you
Hi Matina,
While it’s possible to make this in an ordinary pot in a double boiler on the stovetop, you’d have to be a lot more careful throughout the process to keep the soap from burning, or to keep from running out of water, as you go. The reason most people use a slow cooker for this is because the temperature is maintained pretty steady and you have a lot less possibility of burning the soap paste.
I have recently seen one other possibility. After reaching trace, you can cook the paste in a pan in the oven (at around 250º F), removing the pot to stir the ingredients throughout the process. That sounds like an easier, less messy way to do things without a slow cooker!
I want to know if potassium chloride is the same as soda ash?
Hello Olaitan,
Soda ash usually refers to washing soda or sodium carbonate. It can’t be used for making liquid soap.
Help!
I measured out all the ingredients exactly.
My original stick blender burned up by the “mayonnaise” stage.
The second blender wasn’t able to handle past the “mashed potato” stage.
I used a spoon and got through all the steps… but it turned into a white stiff, hard lump I haven’t been able to stir.
I put the lid on the crockpot, the very outside of the blob started to look a little yellow/ clear , but the inside is still hard and white.
Is it going to be okay?
Help!
Hi Terry,
I’m sorry to hear your blender had issues with the mixture. I guess I should update the instructions and let people know that they should allow the blender to rest and not use it too continuously, and that if it appears to struggle, to just move to hand mixing.
I wasn’t able to use my blender much for making coconut oil liquid soap, but with this recipe, the mixture stayed thin enough for me to use the blender throughout the entire process. From what I hear, there is a huge difference in types of olive oil, and many people have told me that in the US, many olive oils are diluted with other oils. I don’t know whether or not that is actually true, but if it is, it would definitely explain differences when trying to make soaps with the various olive oils.
I had a very hard time stirring the coconut oil liquid soap, and had to work really hard with steal forks, and spatulas to try to mix it as best as I can. You may want to check out that recipe to see if the process mimics more the struggle you were having.
Having a solid, hard mass, though, does surprise me a bit. You did use KOH and not NaOH, right?
My gut feeling is that it probably is still OK, but, of course, it’s hard for me to be able to assure you without having been there and being able to check to make sure all was done correctly.
If I were you, I’d go ahead and try dissolving it and seeing if it behaves as soap. Castile soap made from only olive oil doesn’t provide a lot of lather, so it’s normal for it not to be super bubbly, but you should get some bubbles. I’d try cleaning something with it to see how it behaves.
You can also check out my posts on diluting the liquid soap, and my thoughts on pH and neutralizing the soap. They may help you get a better idea about the quality of your final soap.
I hope that helps. If you have any more questions about it, don’t hesitate to ask!
Hi Tracy!
Thank you for getting back to me so soon!
Last night I turned off the crockpot, put on the lid and went to bed.
This morning most of the glob was mostly gelatinous and clear with only a small amount of firm foam tracing within it.
I tried dissolving a little of the clear and the same amount of ‘foamy’ in distilled water… the results were CLEAR.
That’s good, right?
I’ll check out the pH and go from here.
Any other suggestions?
Tracy, you are amazing!
Thank you
Terry
Oh, yay!
Yes, that does sound good! I’m sure it all worked out after all. 🙂
Thanks so much, you are too sweet! I’m always happy to help. I know these sorts of things can be intimidating at first- and that things don’t always turn out exactly the same.
As long as the outcome is good, that’s what’s important. 😉
Have a great weekend. Don’t spend too much time cleaning with your new soap. Ha!
The olives are gathered from many different distributors (Turkey, Spain, Italy, Greece, etc) to make the batch. Could this be the reason?
Hi Jackie,
That’s possible. Anything is possible. 🙂
There are a lot of different varieties of olives, even here. That said, lye calculators tend to use all olive oils, except pomace, at the same amount. They don’t even specify a difference between extra virgin olive oil and a “light” olive oil (whatever that may mean in different places).
I think the bigger issue is when other oils have been mixed with the olive oil (and yet they still call it olive oil). Other oils often have a different value and need a different amount of lye than olive oil would. A non-pure olive oil could most certainly completely throw off a recipe if enough non-olive oil were included!
Hello Tracy
This is the ‘skinny’ on Olive Oil (from “theKitchn”):
Richard Gawel is an olive oil expert and long-time appointee as Presiding Judge in various major olive oil shows. On the difference of refined and unrefined oils he says, “Refined oils have little or no olive aroma, flavour, or colour (what they have gets there via blending in few percent of an extra-virgin oil). They also have no bitterness.”
Virgin Olive Oil is unprocessed. Light is processed and has some stuff removed. There may be a reduction of Oleic content, but not enough to alter soap, just the color and odor.
I started with your recipe. I missed the glycern, but it came out fine.
Hi Don,
Thanks so much for the extra info. I’ve always wondered what the light oil really was. I do know that they all seem to have the same saponification values in lye calculators so that makes sense.
Yes, it’s fine to skip the glycerin, or to trade it out for a bit of water. It’s there to make the recipe move through the stages more quickly, and I’ve found that it helps the final paste dissolve a bit easier. It’s helpful for beginners to add it in, but as you saw definitely not essential. 🙂
I think it may help make the soap milder, too, making the liquid coconut oil soap pretty mild on the skin.
Hi Tracy,
Thank you sooo much for such an informative article. I was about to start making the liquid soap according to your formula, but was wondering how you got the amount for KOH, because I was trying to convert to grams, so I did my own calculation for KOH, for 32oz of olive oil, I get 6.08oz of KOH, I am scratching my head on this, I am new to soap making, am I missing something here?
Thank you again for your help, can wait to try your recipe.
Julie
Hi Julie,
There is quite a bit of variance in the calculations of the KOH for liquid soaps in the various lye calculators online. Many places say that it’s because some account for the humidity that may be left in the KOH crystals, making them weigh more or less, and others don’t. Lye calculators don’t seem to vary so much for NaOH used for bar soaps because they supposedly don’t hold water in the same way. 😉
I actually tried out a lot of different calculators at the time I formulated this, and after researching what people had to say, I ended up using this calculator because most people seemed to say it was THE lye calculator for liquid soap formulation. I also liked that it allowed for adding glycerin to the recipe, which is good for beginners because it helps move the process in the right direction more quickly.
I think the Bramble Berry one gave me a smaller amount of lye to use, specifically 6.4oz, but I haven’t seen one so far go as low as 6.08oz. It doesn’t surprise me that there is one, though, as I’ve often seen people complain about the crazy amount of variance in the lye calculators.
I will say that after having made this, my soap is clear and isn’t irritating to our skin, so I think the calculation is pretty good. If you were to use less KOH, you’d probably have leftover oils that would end up clouding up your soap. (I have more information about that, pH, neutralization, etc. in this post.)
I hope that helps, and I hope it works out for you! I love this soap- and actually use the coconut oil soap version even more. (It’s great for general cleaning, washing dishes, etc.)