So why should you care? Well, because this is the best place to start when looking for chemical-free soaps (although not all castile soaps are chemical free - like the article above states, it just means soap made with vegetable oils), and, out of all the personal care products we use everyday, isn't soap probably the one both men and women use most frequently? Castile soap is better for you and better for the environment.
Plus, castile soap can be used and combined with other ingredients you have laying around the house in order to replace other chemical filled items you have lurking in your home. So far, I have used castile soap as body wash, hand soap, shampoo, and laundry detergent, all with great success (even if a little troubleshooting was required). It can also be used as dish/dishwasher soap, a household cleaner, and it is safe for washing cloth baby diapers (among other uses I'm sure). Basically it's a dozen things in one, and if you look for the right ingredients, it's safe, too.
I got lucky, and my first attempt at purchasing castile soap turned out to be exactly what I hoped for. Shadow Lake Castile Soap can be purchased at amazon.com and ships free with super saver shipping. It is possible to find fairly decent prices on single 16 oz. bottles, but I recommend getting one of the six 16 oz. bottles (or 96 fl. oz.) deals that can be found by searching for this product, especially when it's on sale. I chose the peppermint scent, partly because I like peppermint, partly because it was the cheapest at the time, and I got six 16 oz. bottles for about 28 bucks. That's about 29 cents per ounce. So far, my husband and I have been using the soap for about a month and have not even finished half a bottle (this includes all shampooing, all body washing, and almost all handwashing, additionally, I used half a bottle to make laundry detergent which yielded about 3 gallons of detergent). Take a look at their website for more info and other products: Shadow Lake Castile Soap
The ingredients of this soap are (as listed on the back of the bottle): "Water, Potassium Cocoate (derived from coconut), Potassium tallate (derived from pine), Glycerin, Peppermint oil*, Olive Oil*, Aloe Vera*. (*Certified Organic)." As of the writing of this article, this soap is not listed on Skin Deep (SD), so I looked up each ingredient individually. The water and olive oil of course receive a rating of 0 on SD, as does potassium cocoate. Potassium tallate receives a rating of 1 due to use restrictions recommended by the Environment Canada Domestic Substance List, although according to goodguide.com (GG) it "raises no health concern," which means "it has not been detected in human tissue or urine." Glycerin also receives a rating of 1 on SD citing "limited evidence of renal toxicity," although once again GG says there is no concern. Just so you know, glycerin is a byproduct of making soap, so unless you want to get rid of soap all together, you most likely won't be able to avoid glycerin. Peppermint oil and aloe vera receive a rating of 1, both citing "Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations." Thus, they are safe in limited amounts, which seems to be the case for this soap since they are at the end of the ingredient list. For more info on any of these ingredients see the links at the bottom of this post.
Additionally, it is important to be careful with herbal oils like peppermint, because the oils could be at least partially synthetic, but Shadow Lake states on the soap's label (and reiterates on their website), "...made with only the finest vegetable and herbal oils, including chemical-free, certified organic essential oils." I guess in this case I have to take their word for it, but I do believe it is illegal to blatantly lie on product labels, even if omission of information is allowed. They do state their oils are "certified organic" as opposed to just generically labeling the soap as "organic," which could mean they are using the legal definition of organic that exists in the food industry. I may do more research into other safe soap options, and if I find anything of note, I plan to post it.
But for now, how do you transform this soap into all sorts of household products? Here are some recipes that have worked for me so far:
(1) Hand Soap: Fill an empty and rinsed soap dispenser with water and leave an inch at the top. Fill the extra inch with the castile soap. Since this is homemade, and since this soap is made from olive oil, you will find that the soap separates from the water after sitting. You will have to gently shake your soap dispenser for just a second before each use to mix it. The soap comes out very liquidy (almost like it's just water), but creates a nice lather with rubbing (make sure your hands are already wet before you take any soap). Our soap dispenser is opaque, so we kind of had to estimate the "inch at the top." We didn't put enough soap in the first time, which meant it didn't lather quite as much as one would hope. Adding more soap to the next batch should solve this problem. Apparently, foaming soap dispensers work best for this sort of recipe. E-how Hand Soap Recipe
(2) Body Wash: Some may say to dilute it with water, but I use it straight and it works just fine. No problem getting enough suds, even without a washcloth/loofa. Feel free to dilute it if you think that will make it go farther. E-how suggests adding essential oils: E-how Body Wash Recipe (check Recipe at the bottom)
(3) Laundry Detergent: I use the recipe found at this site listed below. However, this recipe calls for bar soap, and I use liquid soap, so here is my altered recipe: Dump 3 gallons of warm water into a bucket or tub (I use a 10 gallon tub I bought, but anything with a lid will be fine). I use an empty milk jug to measure the gallons. Add 1 cup washing soda (like baking soda but a little different), 1/2 cup borax (this can be toxic to pets or humans if ingested, but occurs naturally in the environment and is not bioaccumulative), although this is optional, and 8 oz. (or half a bottle) of the Shadow Lake soap. Stir. Use 1 cup of this in every wash: you will have to stir the batch each time before you scoop it because, like with the hand soap, the soap separates out from the water. This stuff doesn't look soapy at all when you add it to the wash, but everything comes out smelling nice and fresh, even if it doesn't have a fragrance to it (which is common with non synthetic scents). You can even use this as a stain remover by dipping a toothbrush directly into the mix and scrubbing it over the stain, as mentioned in the following link: Laundry Detergent Recipe
(4) Shampoo: I use the same recipe as the hand soap. For tips and tricks with long hair (my hair is about 24" long) and/or hard water, see the sub-post below.
│long hair, hard water, and chemical-free shampoo│
Having hard water and long hair was never a problem when I had chemicals in my shampoo that made it sudsy even if the minerals in the water would normally prevent this from happening. Now that my shampoo is chemical-free, I can't just pile all my hair on top of my head in a soapy plop and move it around a little bit. I noticed right away that my hair looked greasy. It smelled clean, but it felt and looked stringy and oily. Most sites advise that it takes about a week for your hair to adjust to chemical-free shampoo, but for me this means about a month because I only wash my hair twice a week (it doesn't need it more often than that, and let's face it: two feet of hair is no fun to wash every day). However, I assume my hair is also absorbing the olive oil that the hard water doesn't completely rinse out, which, although good for my hair, is not so good for me when I want to look like I showered sometime this month.
Additionally, I found that although this shampoo works fairly well as a stand alone conditioner (and might suffice for short hair), it's not quite cutting it for the length of hair I'm dealing with. In my research, I read that vinegar, while aiding in rinsing shampoo out in hard water, also conditions your hair. "What a crock!" I thought. But no, my friends, it is not a crock. I made a vinegar rinse using 1 cup of distilled or filtered water (the filtered water also helps combat the hard water, mine comes from a Brita-style filter) and 3 tablespoons of white vinegar (you can use other types, I just had this on hand). This vinegar rinse is the best conditioner I have ever used: not only does it de-tangle, but it leaves my hair smooth and silky. I got the recipe from the following blog, and divided it by 4 so it would fit inside an old shampoo bottle I had laying around: Vinegar Rinse Recipe
So, with no further delay, here is a step-by-step guide of what works for two feet of slightly thicker than average, not normally oily, brown hair when washed with Shadow Lake castile shampoo (see recipe above) in hard water:
This way, I have been able to wash and condition my hair without chemicals and still have clean-looking, plain, straight hair. Apologies in advance to any who seek advice with other types of hair, or those who style their hair, as I have the straightest hair ever, and my normal styling routine consists of maybe brushing it (if I feel up to it).
Having hard water and long hair was never a problem when I had chemicals in my shampoo that made it sudsy even if the minerals in the water would normally prevent this from happening. Now that my shampoo is chemical-free, I can't just pile all my hair on top of my head in a soapy plop and move it around a little bit. I noticed right away that my hair looked greasy. It smelled clean, but it felt and looked stringy and oily. Most sites advise that it takes about a week for your hair to adjust to chemical-free shampoo, but for me this means about a month because I only wash my hair twice a week (it doesn't need it more often than that, and let's face it: two feet of hair is no fun to wash every day). However, I assume my hair is also absorbing the olive oil that the hard water doesn't completely rinse out, which, although good for my hair, is not so good for me when I want to look like I showered sometime this month.
Additionally, I found that although this shampoo works fairly well as a stand alone conditioner (and might suffice for short hair), it's not quite cutting it for the length of hair I'm dealing with. In my research, I read that vinegar, while aiding in rinsing shampoo out in hard water, also conditions your hair. "What a crock!" I thought. But no, my friends, it is not a crock. I made a vinegar rinse using 1 cup of distilled or filtered water (the filtered water also helps combat the hard water, mine comes from a Brita-style filter) and 3 tablespoons of white vinegar (you can use other types, I just had this on hand). This vinegar rinse is the best conditioner I have ever used: not only does it de-tangle, but it leaves my hair smooth and silky. I got the recipe from the following blog, and divided it by 4 so it would fit inside an old shampoo bottle I had laying around: Vinegar Rinse Recipe
So, with no further delay, here is a step-by-step guide of what works for two feet of slightly thicker than average, not normally oily, brown hair when washed with Shadow Lake castile shampoo (see recipe above) in hard water:
| 1 | Wet your hair (shocking I know). |
| 2 | Flip your head over so that your hair is dangling in your face. |
| 3 | Take a small amount of shampoo in your hands and rub them together (because the shampoo is so watery, just take as much as you can without it dripping through your fingers). |
| 4 | Avoiding your hair as much as possible, scrub into your scalp. Repeat this until you are able to wash your entire scalp thoroughly, but don't over-do it or your roots will end up greasy when your hair dries. |
| 5 | Take a small amount of shampoo and rub a chunk of hair between your palms starting at the top and working your way down. For me, it takes 2-2.5 "servings" of shampoo per chunk of hair (a chunk being a section of hair, as if you were going to braid it; I usually split my hair into 5-6 chunks). |
| 6 | Rinse your hair. You can keep it upside-down or flip it back up for a more thorough rinse, but it will need to be upside down again for the next step. |
| 7 | Pour liberal amounts of vinegar rinse on your hair, roots, and scalp. Apply until you can run your fingers through your hair with little to no resistance from snarls. I use about half a batch of vinegar rinse per shower. |
| 8 | Let the vinegar soak into your hair for a few minutes. |
| 9 | Rinse your hair (you may want to comb it as you rinse to make sure you really get everything out). Make sure to part your hair as you plan to wear it and thoroughly rinse the roots around the part, especially in the back. This will specifically prevent the top layer of hair from looking oily. |
This way, I have been able to wash and condition my hair without chemicals and still have clean-looking, plain, straight hair. Apologies in advance to any who seek advice with other types of hair, or those who style their hair, as I have the straightest hair ever, and my normal styling routine consists of maybe brushing it (if I feel up to it).
References (only those not cited above):
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/722768/POTASSIUM_TALLATE/#multiple
http://www.goodguide.com/ingredients/190529-potassium-tallate
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/702620/GLYCERIN/#
http://www.goodguide.com/ingredients/300380-glycerin
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/703844/MENTHA_PIPERITA_%28PEPPERMINT%29_OIL/
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/700262/ALOE_BARBADENSIS_%28ALOE_VERA%29
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