Castille Soap?

Castille Soap? What is that? 

Well, if you have seen some of the formulations I have lately, I can completely understand the confusion!  Traditionally, soap makers have used materials from their area, much like homesteaders fed their families the things they grew and raised, or traded nearby farmers for. In the Castille region of Spain, that would mean that the most prolific  oil available for soap making was olive oil.

I used to work with a researcher who was from Spain, he was adamant that the best olive oil in the world was that from Spain.  I don't know if that is correct, but I have always thought one should believe in the product he created, and being from Spain and working in America, I imagine that is about as close as it comes. But I digress, the Spanish oil in abundance, and therefore most efficient and economical to use was olive oil. This also meant that it was more likely to be pure and fresh.

Why does it matter that the oil be pure and fresh?  Let's back up a bit...

Many of you know that I began making soap because my daughter had lots of allergies. She has many environmental allergies, and also cannot use anything on her skin with synthetic ingredients or preservatives. That pretty much knocks out what is commercially available. Still, she is fine with the good coconut oils, almond oil, etc, as long as the only item I used to preserve is Vitamin E, and any essential oils are just that- essential oils, not fragrance oils.

When folks learned that I could make soap, and knew how to work within recipes to adjust to the needs of the individual, I started getting LOTS of requests. I can understand why. I mean, as much as it would be great to always make your own, that requires a lot of supplies on hand, and if you can work with a truly trusted source for the items you don't make or grow, as farmers always have, trading the farmer next door or across town for the items they grow/ raise, but you don't- you both benefit.

While the allergies in our house are mostly limited the additives (at least as far as soap is concerned), we still had a large range of all natural ingredients available to us. This is great for us, but I have learned that there are a large number of folks who cannot have any tree nut based oil, or even coconut oil.  Coconut oil is very healthy, and a wonderful, variable base, so it is heavily used in soaps and lotions and lotion bars, lip balms, etc.  

For folks with those immune responses much greater than basic skin sensitivities, we formulate to avoid the ingredients which cause issues, and often recommend Castille soap. Lately, I have seen a lot of different formulations in use by soap makers- castille soap with many other things to make them more luxurious. Because we work so frequently with customers with health concerns, we choose to stick with a very traditional interpretation of Castille soap- with olive as the only oil. I sometimes make some with goat's milk as well, but the batch currently in stock is a very strict olive oil castille, with lavender and peppermint essential oils.  Others will be available soon, and the available varieties do change over time by request and season.

In cases such as these, purity is critical. Other added ingredients could trigger an immune response.  The equivalent I use to explain in our house, is like when we went out to dinner for Wyatt's birthday, and we asked about msg, which my daughter cannot have. The server promised they would never touch the stuff in this place. But by the time we got home, we were loading up on medications to control my daughter's reaction, and she and I were up almost all night.  Pure ingredients, without additives, are important, and fresh means that the wonderful nutrient properties of the ingredients remain true. There are some cases where shelf lives are long, but the oil should be used quickly in batches after the container is opened, and the oil thereby exposed to the environment.

There are a lot of different soap formulations. I recently highlighted emu oil, which has been a loved formulation by at least one of our clients with an intense form of eczema.  I thought it might be useful for those deciding on soaps to try and to select as gifts for friends and family, to understand more about ht e formulations in general as they are looking at choices. All of the ingredient lists are available, though sometimes become cumbersome on the site. Never hesitate to ask, an also feel welcome to share your concerns and needs so that we may help you find the right option for you.

What are your favorites?