Bastille Soap Recipe
A high olive oil bastille soap with a little coconut and castor for better lather and a shorter cure than castile.
BeginnerCold process5% superfatCure: 8 weeks
Why this recipe works
Bastille keeps most of castile's mildness but lathers better and hardens faster thanks to the coconut oil.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | % | Grams | Ounces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olive Oil | 75% | 750 g | 24 oz |
| Coconut Oil (76°) | 20% | 200 g | 6.4 oz |
| Castor Oil | 5% | 50 g | 1.6 oz |
| Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) | 137 g | 4.4 oz | |
| Distilled water | 274.1 g | 8.8 oz |
Amounts are for 1000 g (or 32 oz) of oils, a batch of about 1411 g before curing. Water is 2:1 to lye by weight.
Method
- Put on gloves and eye protection and clear the work area.
- Weigh the water (or frozen liquid) into a heat-safe jug. Weigh the lye separately, then slowly add the lye to the water, never the other way round. Stir until dissolved and leave to cool.
- Weigh and melt the hard oils and butters, then add the liquid oils.
- When the oils and lye solution are both around 35–45°C (unless the tips say otherwise), pour the lye solution into the oils.
- Stick blend in short bursts until light trace (like thin custard). Stir in fragrance, colour and any additives.
- Pour into the mould, cover and leave for 24–48 hours.
- Unmould, cut into bars and cure on a rack in a dry, airy place.
Tips
- Trace is still fairly slow, which makes this a good recipe for simple swirls.
- Cure for at least 8 weeks for the best bar.
⚠️ Lye safety
Lye is caustic. Wear gloves and eye protection, work in a ventilated room, keep children and pets away, and always add lye to water. Always run any recipe through a lye calculator before making it, especially if you change an oil.
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