Castile soap is traditionally made with a base of olive oil and water.
Some brands also add in coconut, jojoba, hemp, or other vegetable oils, in addition to sodium hydroxide.
So, what makes castile soap different from other types of store-bought soap? For one: It's vegan. (Traditional soaps are sometimes made with animal oils and fats or artificial detergents, instead of vegetable oils.) Castile soap is also extra concentrated — meaning you only have to use a little bit each time you clean, and each bottle should last you a while.
Castile soap is also extremely multi-functional. Here's how to make your own, and here's how to use it on just about everything:
1. Use a Castile soap dilution to make washable, reusable cleaning cloths.
2. Extract carpet stains by mixing Castile soap with some hydrogen peroxide.
You can either pour it directly on the stain or use a spray bottle. But know that it will take longer to get all the soap out of your carpet if you pour it. You will also need to be ready to scrub. Here's how to make it.
3. Wash your dishes with a 1 cup : 3 tablespoons ratio of soap-to-water.
4. Replace your Pine Sol with a rosemary-pine scented all purpose cleaner.
5. Add a little vodka into that basic formula and you have yourself a disinfecting stone countertop spray.
6. Dust your wood furniture with by adding a little bit of olive oil to the water-soap combo.
7. Shine old pans by pouring a few drops of the undiluted soap directly on the surface.
8. Power up your off-brand Magic Eraser game.
9. DIY your laundry detergent with Borax, washing soda, and Castile soap.
10. Or make a Borax-free version using solid bars of Castile soap.
11. Side note: if you have a bar of Castile but need it in liquid form, you can transform it.
12. Pre-treat your laundry stains with this non-toxic DIY stain remover.
13. Or melt down some solid soaps to make your own stain stick.
14. Scrub the side of your tub by mixing the soap with water and baking soda.
15. Clean your toilet bowl with a very similar recipe.
Hey, if it works! From here. And if you're using the tub scrub, you'll conveniently already have the ingredients you need to clean your toilet.
16. Use it in a gentle-but-effective four-part oven cleaner.
17. Replace your kitchen hand soap with a DIY citrusy blend, and your bathroom hand soap with a DIY lavender blend.
18. Drip a little bit of the soap into a small dish to clean your makeup brushes.
19. Remove eye makeup by mixing it with with a little jojoba oil.
20. Make it easier to convince yourself to remove your eye makeup by pre-soaking cotton pads in the remover.
This formula uses witch hazel.
21. Once your makeup's off, mix up a bottle of your own face cleanser.
22. This recipe uses a little bit of honey (and a really pretty bottle!)
23. And this recipe substitutes avocado oil for jojoba oil.
24. Dilute a few drops of it with water (and ONLY water) to clean your vulva.
25. Shave with a whipped combination of coconut oil, shea butter, olive oil, and (drumroll) Castile soap.
It looks luscious, but don't eat it. It's great if normal shave creams irritate your skin. Here's the tutorial.
26. While you have your electric mixer out, whip up some coconut oil body wash.
This recipe uses just two ingredients and will make you smell like the beach of your dreams.
27. Boil unflavored gelatin with a little water, then combine with your soap to make kid-friendly jelly soap.
28. Shampoo with a mixture of EVOO, coconut milk, essential oil, and you-know-what.
29. Relax at the end of the day with this DIY Peppermint Foot Scrub.
