Thursday, January 30, 2014

Lavender Bastile Soap

I have wanted to try to make a castile soap batch for the longest.  What is "castile soap"?  Well that is soap that is made with just Olive Oil.  It's a wonderful, gentle soap bar.  But it also takes a long time to cure.  About 6 months, but the results are worth waiting for.  Now some people don't care too much for 100% Olive Oil soap.  It can get a little slimy and sometimes you don't have the wonderful bubbles that you can have with other handmade soaps.  Keeping this in mind I decided to try a "bastile soap".

While not 100% Olive Oil, it still has a high amount of Olive Oil to make it as luxurious.  I decided to add some Coconut Oil and Castor Oil for some bubbles.  I like bubbles in my bars and have even read that if you add sugar to your lye water you can get some wonderful bubbles!  I have yet to try that trick :)

Now in doing my research for my bastile soap, I kept coming across many soapers doing a water discount.  This is when you lower your water content in your recipe so that your soap can trace faster and also cure faster as well.  I have always been a little nervous to try water discounts...too chicken to try since I am afraid I may be faced with a picky fragrance that may act up on me and just set too fast.  But this time around I decided to jump in with both feet and give it a try!I decided to use Bramble Berry's Lavender 40/42 Essential Oil.  I have been saving this fragrance for just the right soap and using it for my first batch of bastile soap would make it even more special :)As always I did add a bit of Goat Milk.  I am happy to report that my batch soaped perfectly.  No problems what so ever, and for the first time I had no problem whatsoever getting it out of the mold!  I was worried about that.  I struggle terribly in taking my soaps out of my silicone molds.  I think because I use full water and since I have stopped using Palm Oil my soap tends to get a little sticky.  I have even tried putting it in the fridge and I just end up with the worst soap ash.  But this batch was my lucky one!

I am wondering now if I should try doing water discounts on my soaps more often.  I always use Sodium Lactate, and with the water discount I think it may be the trick to easily unmold it.I also decided to do a mica swirl on the top and I am really happy with the results!

I was surprise at how smooth my soap is.   I keep picking up my bars and just smiling like a crazy fool :)

I LOVE MY BASTILE SOAP and can't wait until it's fully cured and ready to use.  Just in time for my birthday!

Here are some more pics:







It smells amazing by the way.  I am usually  not so big on lavender scents but ever since I have started soaping I have come to enjoy it.  

Thanks for checking out my blog!
HAPPY SOAPING!!!
Roxana



14 comments:

  1. Just as delicate as the lavender flower is. I use in most of my non-milk soaps a little bit of sugar just for the bubbles. I read that somebody had tested that you get so much bubbles with sugar that you don´t need to use castor oil at all. I use a heavy water discount when I´m making Castile soap, but I don´t think it is necessary when you make Bastile.

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    1. Really?! You don't need to use Castor Oil. I need to try that! Thanks for the tip and the compliments :)

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  2. Gorgeous, Roxana! A smooth and beautiful bar of soap is really a sight to behold! Ah, simple pleasures. :-)

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  3. Such a beautiful tops and swirls, Roxana! I'm not a fan of lavender either,but I like blends with it. You can easily discount water every time you use much liquid oils, try different amounts and keep some water aside,just in case, :-).

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    1. I need to do some type of international Skype with you lady! you are awesome :)

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  4. It's gorgeous Roxana! It's so nice when you try something new and it turns out exactly the way you want, isn't it?

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  5. It looks fantastic Roxana! I make Bastille instead of castille too, because of the sliminess. My bastille soaps aren't slimey at all, you'll be happy to know. Happy early early early birthday!!

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  6. They look amazing! I love the colors

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  7. Just lovely Roxana, I love the extra purple swirling on top too. I'm not a huge lavender fan either, but it has grown on me also...and it seems to be the fragrance that people ask for the most. Hope you have a wonderful weekend! :)

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  8. Beautiful Bastile, Roxana! I have made a couple of batches of Castile and while it's tough waiting for them to cure, it is definitely worth the wait. I definitely plan to do a much deeper water discount the next time I make another batch. My last attempt took forever to trace and was soft for days. I love the purple swirls in your soaps!

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  9. That's gorgeous Roxana! The texture on the top of the bar is just wonderful, as is the purple swirl. Lavender EO soap is a real best seller for me, so I do have a soft spot for it! I made a Bastile recently for Amy Warden's Taiwan swirl challenge - it's still pretty soft on the curing rack - I think it's going to be quite a while before it's ready!

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  10. I love the swirls in this soap! Very inspiring!

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