Olive Oil Soap - Some Facts and Some Fiction

     Bar soap is the result of the reaction between sodium hydroxide and fatty acids in the form of vegetable fats and oils.  Most soap is made with a mixture of oils to get different properties in the final soap - lather, hardness, conditioning and so on.  Pure olive oil soap is soap that has been made using only olive oil.  It is also known as "Castille" soap after the region in Spain where it originated.
     Many sources say that making olive oil soap is a time-consuming affair that will only produce a soft bar of soap, but there are many factors that could affect the quality of the final bar like what type of olive oil is used, the amount of water in the formulation and the method that is used to make it.  

     Pure olive oil soap will not lather as readily as soaps containing coconut or palm oil, especially in hard water, though the lather does improve if you use a washcloth or body poof.  The lather consists of small bubbles and has been described as "slimy" by some.  But lather is not a measure of cleansing ability, although we have been conditioned to equate the two properties.  The soap itself will be hard to start with (if it has been cured properly), but may start to feel a little bit tacky with use.  That is why many soapmakers will add other oils to the olive oil to change the hardness of the final soap, how well it holds together with use and to get a frothier, more bubbly lather.  Using a draining soap dish and not allowing the soap to sit in water will help to keep it from going soft.  

     Olive oil soap is incredibly mild.  So much so that it is widely recommended for use with babies.  Also, handmade soaps tend to have some superfatting (which is when more oil than is needed to react with the sodium hydroxide is used, leaving free olive oil in the soap), which adds to their natural moisturising and conditioning properties.

   On packaging, soap that is made with olive oil appears in the ingredients list as 'Sodium Olivate'.  If a soap is truly made using only olive oil it will not have any other ingredients called 'Sodium ...' in the list.  So next time you see a soap being marketed as "Castille" or "Pure Olive Oil" soap you can check for yourself.

     Two of our soaps use purely olive oil as the oil base - Simply Soap and Honey & Orange Blossom. The formulation and method that we use result in hard bars that are fairly long-lived.  If you can get used to the slightly different feel of the soap on the skin compared with commercial soap, you will find that they are very nourishing soaps that are gentle on the skin and especially beneficial if you have sensitive skin.