Shaye Elliott
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Castile Soap, My Love

November 18, 2010 - 8 Comments

When Stuart and I started eating differently a few years ago, I didn't realize how much it would affect other aspects of our life.  It first began by thinking about what we were putting in our mouths and then evolved into thinking about what we put on our skin and what products we would use in our home.

That being said, I would like you to meet my very best friend.

Friend, meet Castile Soap. Castile Soap, meet my friend.

(Hey, I warned you this was a sight for geeks like me!)

Castile soap rocked my world from day one. Take a look at those ingredients.  All natural, organic oils and extracts.  That's it.  Castile soap is an olive oil based soap. I bet you are saying, “But Shaye, how the heck can I get squeaky clean from oil?” to which I say, “Try it. Your skin will squeak.”

We use castile soap for anything we would use regular soap for.  It's our body wash, face soap, hand soap, house cleaning soap, sometimes shampoo, and even sometimes our dish soap.  Prior to using castile soap, I was paying mucho dinero for a special face wash for oily skin.  I quit using it cold turkey (I was an addict-of-fancy-face-stuff), started using castile soap, and my skin is now as soft as lil' Georgia's toosh.  Instead of stripping away your skins natural oils, you are adding to them – replenishing your goodies in the process.  It's a win-win.  You use small amounts, lather it in your hands (get some good foam action going on!) and then proceed with your dirty duties.

Plus, castile soap is fairly inexpensive.  We have gone through about four bottles in the last year and a half.  The bottles come in various sizes, but the one we buy is usually around $8.  You can probably find it at your local health food store or on Amazon, here.  Dr. Bronner's comes in a variety of scents , including: hemp, eucalyptus, lavender, and peppermint.  Yummy.  We use the lavender because it is lovely. They even offer a mild baby one, here.

Traditional bar soaps and body washes contain things like lecithin, propylene glycol, tetrasodium EDTA, trisodium HEDTA, and triethanolamine.  Know what those are?  Me neither.  But they have been linked to nasties like skin irritation and even cancer.  Google the ingredients of your soap.  Do it.  I dare you!  I follow the rule “If you wouldn't eat it, don't put it on your skin!”  We absorb more chemicals through our skin than through eating!  Isn't that fascinating?  Still with me?  What we put on our skin is just as important, if not more, than what we put in our bodies!

Now I am not trying to scare you into trying castile soap but USE IT OR YOU ARE GOING TO DIE.  Just playing!  But seriously, you will die.  Kidding.  I joke with you.  Castile soap is simply a great, inexpensive and high quality alternative to traditional soaps.  Maybe small changes like this could make a big difference in the overall health of our homes and bodies.

Try it.  Let me know if your skin squeaks.

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Comments:

  1. Anonymous

    November 30, 2011 at 8:45 pm

    How does this work for your hair? Or is there something else you use?

    Reply
  2. Shaye @ The Elliott Homestead

    December 5, 2011 at 7:28 pm

    I do use this on my hair, occasionally, and it does work well. The only problem is, as my hair gets longer, it tangles easier and I’ve found that this soap tends to make it more…tangle-able. Currently, I’m using a Avalon Organics shampoo, and I alternative with castile soap and/or baking soda (which helps to remove build up). Hope this helps!

    Reply
  3. Anonymous

    February 21, 2012 at 5:34 am

    I just washed my face with the liquid Castile soap & it was so refreshing & tingly! Then I followed that with the face cream on your blog & my face is softer than Georgia’s butt right now! lol

    Reply
  4. Jaimie Ramsey

    February 10, 2013 at 2:32 pm

    I’ve been comparing brands on Vitacost, and the Dr. Woods brand is on sale for less than half of the Dr. Bronners brand. I’d love to go with what you use, but for $7 versus $16 for 32 ounces, I’m gonna get the Dr. Woods brand!! I’m also ordering coconut oil from Vitacost today, too. 🙂

    Reply
  5. Shaley Barton

    February 4, 2015 at 3:33 pm

    I’m sorry but this might be a dumb question but is it safe to use on your face?

    Reply
    • Shaye Elliott

      February 11, 2015 at 12:24 pm

      Yes, it is!

      Reply
  6. Katie

    April 15, 2015 at 11:23 am

    I made myself a body wash with castile soap, coconut milk, honey, and some essential (and fragrance, though mostly essential) oils. I found that 1. I tend to use a lot of it at once (because it’s not thick like a commercial body wash, it doesn’t stay on my poof so well), 2. I get a sort of squeaky feeling on my skin (you know the feeling of a coated bath tub where your foot can slide but there is resistance? that’s what my skin feels like), and 3. the scent of my body wash doesn’t last particularly long (I mean, I don’t smell BAD afterwards, I just don’t smell like anything).

    Does anyone else find this to be the case with castile soap? And is this SUPPOSED to be the case? Is my skin squeaky like a coated bathtub because of the oils in castile soap?

    Thanks!!!

    Reply
    • Shaye Elliott

      July 17, 2015 at 7:10 pm

      Yes that is normal, but I’m not sure if it is because of the oils.

      Reply

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