There is an ongoing debate among soapmakers about how much olive oil must be used in a soap to be called 'Castile'
Some use as little as 40% olive blend while others right up to 100%.
Traditionally Castile Soap is a very white bar & usually softer than other soaps because they contain none of the other oils that can contribute to the harness of the bar. Yes, taking some liquid discounts can & will harden the bars up sooner.. but left to cure for many many weeks, will leave you with an absolutely lovely hard, extremely gentle bar of soap. Actually the gentleness of the olive oil and its ability to act as a humectant ( draws moisture from the air to your skin ) makes Castile soap absolutely wonderful to use. Most often.. the bubbles are low and plentiful.
Myself.. I make a variety.. goat milk castile, herbal castile ~~ for both their additional skin care properties that I love in a nice bar of soap. We make all of our castile bars using 95 % olive oil & will cure for a good 6 months if not better before I'll sell them. I absolutely love the creamy gentleness of these bars on my skin. While spending a month in Italy last year, I had the good fortune of visiting a large soapmaking factory with a friend.. naturally... olive oil abundance is never a problem in Italy and I was in my glory testing all the huge blocks of pure castiles while there.. and took home :+) Too bad I couldn't fit a few vats of olive oil in my suitcases too! LOL
These are some of my castile offerings.
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