How to use castile soap

Castile soap is a versatile, eco-friendly ingredient used in many DIY personal care and household cleaning recipes. (Photo: Burst via Pexels)

What’s castile soap?

Castile soap is versatile and gentle on people and the environment.

It’s named for Castile, Spain, a region renowned for its olive oil. Authentic castile soap is made of plant oils — coconut, hemp, sunflower seed, jojoba and olive. (Avoid brands that use palm oil. That’s devastating biodiverse forests where many endangered species live.) Oils are mixed with an alkali — sodium hydroxide for solid soap and potassium hydroxide for liquid.

What makes castile soap eco-friendly?

• It’s biodegradable.
• It’s vegan.
• It’s not tested on animals (check for Leaping Bunny certification).
• It’s scent-free (no synthetic fragrances, even natural essential oils).
• You can refill containers at zero waste and organic grocers or health food stores.
• You can support a local brand.
• It’s free of artificial foaming agents, harsh cleansers, deconstructed fatty acids from vegetable oils or fats (a.k.a. oleochemicals), petrochemicals and/or chemical antibacterial agents (such as triclosan).
• It’s concentrated, so a little goes a long way.

Note: Read labels carefully and choose products with vegetable-based ingredients. “Liquid soap” doesn’t mean “plant-based.”