Monday, September 19, 2011

Bitch Post #12: You Call It Castile, I Call It Baloney!

Time for a new pic...I look nothing like this anymore, lol!
I haven’t done a bitch post in a long time, and I’m long overdue! Bitching is so therapeutic, and one of my biggest pet peeves is misinformation (or misleading information)-of any kind. When I see listings for Castile soap, the first thing I look at are the ingredients, and guess what? Eight times out of ten, I’ll see something like this:

Olive oil, coconut oil….
Wrong. WRONG. WRONG!

A true Castile soap has only one oil: Olive. If a soap has filler oils even in the most minute amounts, then it cannot be called a true Castile soap. Amy from The Olde Crone has a good word for those soaps: Bastile, or bastardized Castile soap. One thing about Castile soaps that I like but others may find a real turnoff, is the lather. The lather is dense and creamy-not very bubbly-although I’ve seen some Castile soaps that have cured for up to a year (I personally can barely wait 3-4 weeks, yet alone a year for a soap to cure) and the lather was sick-as in frothy and abundant. 

Stone Washed Denim
 I have made only 2 Castile soaps in my three years of making cold and hot processed soaps. The first one I made back in late 2008? I called it Stone Washed Denim, and it was scented in a clean cotton scent. I did notice that the bars were still kind of soft even after about a month, so I let them sit. And sit. And sit.  I would say these bars did not fully cure until about month 3. I sold the last bar probably about 6 months after I listed it, and it was rock hard. That experience deterred me from making another Castile soap-until now.

Castile My Beating Heart

Castile My Beating Heart
This new batch of Castile soap I call Castile My Beating Heart (after Sting’s Be Still My Beating Heart). It’s colorless and scented in a blend of chamomile, neroli, and sweet orange essential oils. I’m not a big fan of chamomile, so I wanted to get rid of what I had. It’s a little too strong for my liking, so I cut it with the sweet orange, but it didn’t do much good. It might as well be chamomile soap. Any way, I CPOP’ed this batch, and it’s made a noticeable difference in the cutting and curing time. I waited a day to actually un-mold and slice the soap, and my knife glided (Why did I almost type glode as in ride/rode?) right through it. There was no sticky residual soap left on my knife. After 3 weeks, the soap is about 90% firm, but I’m going to let this one cure for at least another month. I sprinkled the tops with calendula, cut lemongrass, and poppy seeds because it was just too naked. So….

I know there are varying opinions on this subject, and I welcome your thoughts.

Side Bar: Speaking of long overdue, this blog was long overdue for a makeover. I'm a colorful person (Absolutely no pun intended), and I needed my blog to reflect that, so KA-BLAMMO!!!  I told my new graphics designer to go buck wild-like Skittles on acid. I not only wanted you to taste the rainbow, but swallow it...You like?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the new blog colors! I've got a castile bar I've frittered away. It is nearly a year old now. Can't wait to see how it does after that long of a cure. The slime suds factor of a fresh castile really turns me off. Hopefully this bar will not have that with the super long cure.

Holly said...

A love a well-cured castile but I don't make them and usually only make a bastile. Your new soap is super gorgeous! I love the colors on the blog too!

Jarmelia- DIY Skin Care Products said...

Like the new blog look!! I have made a castile but, I do not like the long wait and I don't like the smell...

I'm impatient and I can't wait longer than 2 weeks for soaps to cure.

I also agree that a Castile is just Olive Oil but, you know folks will say anything to get a sale...lol

Rose Clearfield said...

I'm not a big fan of chamomile either, but the new soap is beautiful. And your blog looks great, too.

Kellan said...

I usually only make pure Castile soap, although I'll admit, it's in a liquid soap. I like making it but it gives me SUCH a hard time, it takes FOREVER to come together. In the past the bars I've made were all HP but you've inspired me to CP the batch I make this week.......pray for me.

ANA said...

Beautiful!! The "Jabón de Castilla" is perfect if you can wait much time. When older is, best soap. It´s like Alepo Soap and the best wine. Time after time.
Greetings.

Patrice-The Soap Seduction said...

Wow! Thanks for all the comments and opinions. I love interactive blog posts and not just "Ooh, look at what I just made..." all the time. I'm already thinking of my next Castile creation...

And thanks for the positive feedback on the blog layout. My pupils dilate every time I visit my own page:)

Amy Warden said...

I'm with you. Castile has to be pure olive oil. (And goat's milk in my case.) Love the colorful blog!!!

Anne-Marie said...

Love the new blog layout! And your uncolored soap looks wonderful with just the sprinkling on top. =)

Unknown said...

LOL you are a trip! I love the colors of your blog. They are bright yet airy.

Unknown said...

Amen on the Castille. It bugs me, too.

Herryponting said...

Nice colorful blog.so very helpful
Buy Castile Soap

Unknown said...

Love the colors on your new layout. I have still to try making a Castile, the long cure time has always turned me off as I am an impatient soaper. I'll get to it one of these days just to have the experience. Love yours, looks beautiful!

Unknown said...

Totally agree with you about Castille vs Bastille ingredients. One of my pet peeves when someone asks me to make a "Castille soap like dr bronners". HELLO!!! READ INGREDIENTS PEOPLE! THERE ARE LIKE 6 DIFFERENT FIXED OILS IN THERE! Bronners must be closely related to Satan because people fall for that crap every freaking day. It technically isn't even a Bastille since it has such high percentage of coconut and sweet almond oil. Its just plain soap but since it says "Castille" on the label, people think its the best there is. *Grumble Grumble*