Is making quality homemade olive oil soap without lye possible? You bet. If you’ve gotten into the timeless art of making amazing homemade bar soap…I think you will enjoy this, too! If you’ve got scraps of soap you’ve made, from the imperfect bar that you’re not sure what to do with, to the irregular pieces and shavings left over, try this – and you won’t have to touch a lick of caustic chemicals.
Olive oil is an awesome ingredient to have in the kitchen…but did you know it is a winning ingredient in homemade soap as well?
Surprising Benefits of Olive Oil Soap
Olive soap is amazing for dry skin and provides good moisturizing properties. I love to cook with it as olive is one of the best and the healthiest oils out there.
As a matter of fact under some advice I got somewhere, I rubbed a little of it into my cat’s fur to condition it – but I digress 🐱
Do you suffer from allergies? As it turns out, it may not be dust and dander that has been giving you problems lately…surprise, surprise. this recipe might be just what you’re looking for.
Related Post: What Are the Benefits of Handmade Soap?
Materials Needed
The following recipe can be made in a couple of hours, all from the scraps of your previous soap making ventures. This method employs the “rebatch” approach – a great way to bring new life into the old! To get started, you’ll need:
16 oz. of homemade soap from prior bars or base (Any kind. should be free of sodium laurel sulfate)
48 oz. water
16 oz. white vinegar
6 tsp of pure olive oil
Cheese grater
Double boiler or slow cooker
Kirkland Signature Kirkland Pure Olive Oil, 2 Count
Saponify Soap Base Variety Pack – Eight 1-LB Bricks Melt & Pour BaseSilicone soap molds kit Flexible Rectangular Loaf Pan and Scraper
Did You Know? In the old days, people made “castile soap” using pure olive oil, lye and water. It got that name due to the province in Spain known as Castile, where the first batches were developed.
Soap Making Instructions
This is a different ball game from the cold process, which is more lengthy.
Just want to clarify before we get into the nitty gritty here, that ALL soaps are made with lye as it is part of the saponification process. You just won’t have to be concerned with handling it, for the rebatch strategy.
Use a grater to easily cut your bar or base into manageable pieces , into your mixing bowl. Add about 1/4 cup of water.
Melt your ingredients using a double boiler. (Don’t stir it as that can cause air bubbles) Add some water to the bottom of the double boiler.
Continue to heat until the soap chunks are completely dissolved. Your liquid soap will be quite thick, but it will thin a bit once it has completely cooled.
Take the melted mixture off the stove and add 3 tablespoons of olive oil. If you want your soap to be scented you can add a few drops of essential oils. The mixture will have a subtle greenish tint to it naturally so you probably won’t want to add dye to it. Now begin stirring.
Pour the mixture into your chosen molds and let them set. Let the batch(es) cure for at least 24 hours .
Last…pop them out of the molds…..they need to do some curing time after this, so be sure to set your bars out on a cooling rack to finish. This process may take several weeks.
Handmade olive oil soap makes a terrific gift, so if you get the hang of it, you may want to consider giving some of your bars to friends or family to test them out. Olive oil creates a good rich lather in soap. I have heard some people say that the lather has a “slimey” feel to it if you’re not used to it, at first.
Your skin will thank you! I think you will really enjoy olive oil soap, you will be amazed at how well it cleans too.
Let me know how it goes for you… Enjoy your new batch of handmade olive oil soap!
Check out this tutorial and all the details in this article right here.
Images Courtesy of Soap Queen
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