Olive Oil Soap Recipe
Olive oil soap is great for cleansing and moisturizing the skin. Find out some simple pure olive oil soap recipe in this article.
Olive oil soap is great for anyone trying to cut down the use of harsh chemicals on their skin. Commercial soaps contain a great many chemicals that dry out the skin by removing essential moisture from it.
Olive oil
soap on the other hand, is quite gentle and mild. The homemade soaps made with olive oil as the main ingredient are usually hard, but produce a very creamy and mild lather that cleanses the skin effectively without causing skin dryness. The benefits of using homemade olive oil soap are many, which are discussed below along with the olive oil soap recipes.
Benefits of Using Olive Oil Soap
Traditional olive oil soap, which is made only by using pure olive oil with lye and water is known as castile soap.
Castile soap is an excellent natural soap for dry skin
. It is so mild that even people with sensitive skin can use it. Olive oil soap can also be made by incorporating several other ingredients like, palm oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter, jojoba oil and avocado oil, which are also known for their moisturizing properties and benefits for skin care.
Olive oil, as well as coconut oil, jojoba oil and cocoa butter can moisturize the skin from deep within to make it soft and supple. Moreover, olive oil contains vitamin E, for which it can nourish the skin. It also contains a substance, known as ‘squalene’, which enhances skin regeneration and the moisture retaining ability of the skin. These are some of the most important natural olive oil soap benefits.
Homemade Olive Oil Soap Recipes Making your own soaps can be a really rewarding experience. The basic olive oil soap recipe is quite simple, as there are only three main ingredients, olive oil, lye (potassium or sodium hydroxide) and water. These are the main castile soap ingredients. Soap is formed as a result of the process, known as saponification, where lye reacts with oil or fat. Lye is however, a very dangerous chemical, which needs to be handled carefully. So, be sure to wear a pair of protective hand gloves while handling lye for making olive oil soap. Below here are a few recipes for making olive oil soap.
Recipe #1 This is the basic castile soap recipe
. The main ingredients of this easy olive oil soap recipe are, 3 cups pure olive oil, 2 cups water and about ½ cup lye crystals. First, pour the water in a glass mixing bowl or heat proof container, and slowly add the lye crystals to it. While adding the lye crystals to water, be sure to keep stirring the mixture, so that the lye crystals get dissolved completely. Let this mixture cool down and in the meantime, heat olive oil in a pan at low flame till it reaches a temperature of 98 to 100 degree Fahrenheit.
Wait for the temperature of the lye solution and the oil to become equal, after which pour the lye solution slowly into the oil, and keep stirring the mixture while doing so. When the mixture becomes thicker, pour it into the soap mold and cover it with a lid or parchment paper. Cover the mold with blanket to keep the mixture warm. Let the mixture remain undisturbed for about 18 hours, after which remove the blanket. Wait for another few hours before removing the soap from the mold and cutting it into different shapes. Now, keep the soap bars in a cool and well ventilated area for about two weeks before using them.
Recipe #2 Apart from olive oil, several other ingredients can be included in making olive oil soap. The basic ingredients of this olive oil soap recipe are, olive oil, coconut oil
, palm oil, lye and water. You will need 6 cups olive oil, 5 ounce each of palm oil and coconut oil, 2 cups water and ½ cup lye. The basic procedure of making the soap is same as described above. First, you have to add the lye to the water, and keep stirring the solution until lye gets completely dissolved in water. The next step is to heat the olive oil and the other ingredients of the recipe such as, palm oil and coconut oil till the mixture attains a temperature of 98 to 100 degree Fahrenheit. The subsequent steps of making olive oil soap are same as described in recipe #1.
Olive Oil Soap Recipe Without Lye It is not possible to make fat based soap without lye
, as lye is the product that reacts with oil to produce soap. Without lye, soap cannot harden. If you do not want to use lye crystals for making olive oil based soap, then you can use the melt and pour soap base, which has been made with lye. Melt and pour soap bases are usually made from glycerin. To make olive oil soap you will need, ½ cup of melt and pour soap base (olive oil, glycerin or coconut oil base), about 6 teaspoons olive oil and 10 to 15 drops essential oil for fragrance (optional). You can also add dried flower petals or herbs if you want to.
First, melt the soap base in the microwave using a microwave safe bowl for 10 to15 seconds at a time. Stir the melted soap from time to time between heating, and make sure that you do not overheat the mixture. When the soap base has melted completely, add olive oil, essential oil and any other ingredients that you want to use, and stir the mixture gently. Now, pour the mixture into the soap mold. Let the mixture cool and harden, after which you can remove it from the mold and cut it into different shapes of your choice. Do not use aluminum mold for soap making, as the soap base contains lye and lye can react with aluminum.
So, these were some of the simple olive oil soap recipes. Hope this article was helpful in giving you a brief idea about making homemade soap with various natural ingredients.
