How do I use Castor Oil in Soap?Updated 4 months ago

There are a lot of different oils available that you can use to add to your soap recipe. Soap contains fatty acids which these oils make up. One oil that stands out is Castor Oil, and I'm going to explain how to use castor oil in soap. Castor Oil is commonly used in cold process soaps to give it a very lathery feel, and is all around a wonderful product to use. You aren't only limited to soaps though, castor oil can be used in different cosmetic skin oils, bath products, lip products, and many other different products. Explained below are a lot of different benefits you can get out of castor oil, and some of our recipes that we've created using it.

Castor Oil Usage Rates in Cold Process Soap

The basic foundation of making any type of soap is mixing fatty acids, lye, and water. For cold process soaps, or any soap in general, NaOH is the preferred lye compound to use. Castor oil is used in the category of fatty acids, as it is made up of three different acids. The fatty acids are identified below with their percentage amount used in the castor oil composition. It is recommended that 5%-8% of castor oil is used in any cold process or hot process soap recipe. Using anywhere above 10% is known to make your soap really stick and unappealing to use. Also, to saponify one gram of Castor Oil, you need to add .128-.180mg of NaOH for cold processed soap. Castor oil is also known to have a shelf life of one year after opening.

Ricinoleic - 90%

Oleic - 4%

Linoleic - 4%

Properties of Castor Oil

There are many unique properties associated with castor oil that make it a great oil choice to use in cold process soap. Castor Oil is a humectant, which means that it attracts moisture to your skin. Due to this property, it's great to use in cold process soap, because it'll allow you to retain moisture when using. You can also add castor oil to lip balms and massage oils to create a silky glide. The silky glide will make applying the product way easier. On top of its moisturizing qualities, this oil is also known to provide hair growth stimulation as well. Just add the oil to any of our soap or conditioner recipes to see it's full effects. Adding this oil to cold process soap will also make it more conditioning, thus allowing your hands to be softer after use.

Benefits of Using Castor Oil

There are many benefits to using castor oil in any of our recipes. This oil is a thicker oil, so any product that it's used in will be an excellent moisturizer. There are also a lot of natural fatty acids that make up this oil. This makes the oil great for use with the skin. Castor oil will not only moisturize you, but will nourish your skin as well. When used in lotions and body butters, this oil is also known to make your skin appear more youthful. This oil can also be used in cosmetics, like for example in mascara. When used in mascara, castor oil is believed to be contributed to growing darker, more full eyebrows over time. When applied directly to the skin, this oil is also known to be antibacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory.