Castile Soap and DIY Goodness!!

Article Courtesy of  The Simple Green Frugal Co-op

As you start to research homemade soap or shampoo recipes you are probably going to notice that castille soap is almost always an ingredient. That's because it's so versatile and because its readily available in most health food stores, natural food stores and online.


So what is castille soap? Originally an all-vegetable based soap was made in the Castile region of Spain from local olive oil. Now a days "Castile" refers to any vegetable oil-based soap, versus animal (tallow) fat-based soap. Dr. Bronner's makes a "Pure-Castile" guaranteeing that what they are using is a real ecological and simple soap, not a complex blend of detergents with a higher ecological impact due to the waste stream during manufacture and slower biodegradability.


What can you use it for?

1. Soap you can use it as is as hand soap or body soap. I find the full strength to be a bit much so I dilute mine with water. I save some money and it is just as effective.
2. Shampoo
3. Toothpaste. I have never tried this but supposedly you can use a couple drops and it works. Has anyone tried this? Thoughts?
4. Laundry. 1/3 to 1/4 of a cup in a regular load of laundry.
5. Pet shampoo.
6. Aftershave.
7. Vegetable/fruit rinse.
8. Pest spray. 1/4 oz to 1 Qt water.
9. Massage oil. I got this from Dr. Bronner's site and I have to say I'm not sold on using soap as a massage oil.
10. Cleaning- counters, floors, etc 1 part castille soap to 40 parts water for light cleaning or 1 part castille soap to 20 parts water for heavy duty cleaning.
11. Dish soap.
12. Shaving lather.
13. Bubble bath
14. Carpet Stain remover. A drop or two on a clean damp towel should do the trick.
15. Cleaner/Disinfectant. 1 part white vineger 3 parts water and a squirt of castille soap and off you go.
16. Face Wash.
17. Clean makeup brushes. I imagine you could use it on things like paint brushes as well.
18. Wood cleaner. A drop on a microfiber cloth will do the trick.
19. Foot soak. A capful of soap into a basin of water will ease your tired feet.
20. Backpacking. Because it is so versatile and biodegradable you can take one small bottle with you and use as needed without worrying about what you are putting into the water.

There you go I thought of 20 different uses, are there any I missed? If you use castille soap I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Enjoy!!