DIY Catile Soap

It was a couple years ago that I decided to try making my own soap. There were a couple reasons I wanted to try, the biggest reason was that it seemed fun and I love to make things. The other reason is that store bought Castile soap can be expensive, like $5 bars of Dr. Bonner's soap! If you aren't familiar with castile soap, it's a handmade type of soap that is made with olive oil that come from the Castile region of Italy (my olive oil is from the Italian store....close enough haha), I think the name is now just used to describe soap made with olive oil. When I first started researching recipes and how to make my own soap I learned that most store bought soaps are made with animal fat (anything that lists 'tallow' on the ingredient list contains an animal product), I'm not a vegetarian, but this surprised me!  Here is the simple recipe and the instructions on how to make you own castile soap!

Recipe: (adapted from here)
6 ounces Lye (sodium hydroxide) - this can be hard to find in Canada, I order mine from here
12 ounces water
44 ounces olive oil
Essential oils

Tools needed: 
-digital scale
-immersion blender
-glass bowl
-glass jar
-wooden or silicone spoon (not metal or you may burn yourself)
-well ventilated area
-eye protection
-soap mold or pliable plastic food containers

Directions: 

-weigh out lye and water in separate containers
-add lye to water  (never water to lye - this can be dangerous), and stir until clear (about 3-5 minutes) with wooden/silicone spoon in a well ventilated area - I always do this outside as it smells pretty terrible- be careful here as the solution is boiling hot, you should wear eye protection, and make sure to use a glass container at least 3 times the volume of the water as it could boil over if not
-weigh out olive oil and heat in microwave (or on stove top) to approx. 120 degrees F
-measure the temperature of the lye/water mixture, we want it to be about the same temperature as the oil, so place it in an oil bath to help cool it down faster
- once both the oil and the lye/water solution are about the same temperature (120 degrees F is ideal), add the lye/water mixture to the oil
- use the immersion blender to blend the solution until you reach 'trace' (like pudding) consistency
- once you have reached the trace consistency you can add any scents or colorings you want
- pour into your mold and cover with parchment paper or tea towels and let sit for 24 hours
- after 24 hours remove from mold slice to deisired size and allow to sit for 4-8 weeks! (this is the hardest part!) - the bars should have air circulating around them so I place mine on a board all sperated and put it away for a month so I don't get tempted to use them too early

Things to remember/cautions: 
- always add lye to water and wear eye protection
- the solution is very basic (more than our skin) right after it is combined and can irritate the skin, try not to get it on you, or wear gloves

^^ the 'trace' consistency ^^

^^ I made a 2 layer bar, one layer plain^^ 

^^ and the other layer orange- coloured with tumeric^^ 

^^ cover with parchment paper and let dry for 24 hours ^^ 

^^ after taking it out of the mold ^^

^^ slice it to whatever size you want ^^ 

^^ wait patiently while they cure ^^ 

Style and Beauty Circle

Hi, I'm really excited to be writing my very first blog post, and what better way to kick it off than to talk about the chance we had to do some work for a great organization!

I have been knitting for the past year or so, I'm still in the beginner stages, but I love it.  I knitted my friend a scarf a few months ago and her co-worker loved it- yay! She got in touch with me and asked whether I would be interested in donating a few handmade pieces for a silent auction put on by the Style and Beauty Circle - check out their event page here. They support the Suit Yourself organization that helps women in need find employment and return to the workplace in confidence - check out their page here.

Over the holidays, I had actually been researching some ways to get involved and give back to the community, whether it be by volunteering my time, donating gently-used items, or in various other ways (not really a new years' resolution...but pretty much). This chance to donate to the Style and Beauty Circle silent auction seemed like the best way to start getting involved, and giving back. Ali was interested in donating a few items too - all in all, we were able to donate five headbands and a few bars of our tangerine castile soap. The patterns and recipe are to come!

^ homemade tangerine castile soap ^

^ The headbands we donated ^ 

If your closet is overflowing like mine... think about donating to this great organization that helps women in need. I already have a few bags waiting to be dropped off!

-M