Castile Soap Bar

Keep a bar in the bathroom for washing hands, face, body, small clothing items, hair, and even teeth.

Keep a bar by the kitchen sink for washing hands, and use it with a cloth or scrubber for mildly dirty dishes.

Grate and dilute in water for foot baths, laundry, and cleaning dishes and surfaces.

Works best with warm water.

Rinse well with clean water.

It is sometimes beneficial to add a spoon of Soda Ash to the cleaning water, and a spoon of Vinegar to the rinsing water.

MORE DETAILS:

HANDS:

Wash hands regularly throughout the day, particularly after using the toilet, before preparing food, and before eating, to eliminate dirt, germs and viruses.

• Wet and rinse your hands with clean water. Warm water works best, avoid hot water.
• Turn off the tap.
• Apply soap.
• Lather thoroughly between fingers, under nails, behind the hands and down the wrist, scrubbing hands together for at least 20 seconds.
• Rinse well.
• Towel dry.
• Moisturise if necessary.

FACE AND BODY:

Wash face and body regularly with clean water to keep skin healthy. Our Castile Soap will help lift dirt and dead skin cells, while gently conditioning the skin thanks to its olive oil content.

• Wet and rinse skin with cold or warm water. Warm water works best, avoid hot water.
• Turn off the tap.
• Using clean hands or a clean cloth or sponge, lather soap to face and/or body.
• Rinse.
• Two or four times a month, exfoliate gently with a natural loofah to remove dead skin cells. On the face, only use clean fingers or a soft, clean cloth.
• Rinse.
• Pat dry.
• Moisturise.

HAIR:

Wash hair when hair or scalp is dirty. Avoid washing too often. Clean, warm water sometimes cleans well enough on its own. Our Castile Soap will help lift dirt and dead skin cells and leave hair fresh and healthy.

Washing hair with an artisan soap may require getting used to a different routine:

• Wet and rinse hair with lukewarm water.
• Run your ‘Cape Soap’ cube a few times over the top and sides of the scalp to lather.
• Using gentle finger pressure, massage soap focusing on the scalp: under the hair and onto the roots.

Fun fact: the word “shampoo” comes from Hindi and means massaging, kneading – see also chapatis – and referred to cleansing massages of body and hair at the baths.

• Rinse.
• Soap again, this time focusing on the full hair length.
• Rinse thoroughly with clean water. Make sure the roots and scalp are well rinsed.
• Hair may feel a bit rough after rinsing, this disappears after a few minutes.
• Adding a Vinegar (link) rinse is optional. Some use vinegar to soften and shine the hair. Dilute a teaspoon of vinegar in a litre of water and spray or pour over towelled-dry hair. The vinegar smell disappears within a few seconds.
• Towel dry gently.
• To comb the hair, favour natural fibre brushes and keep the brush clean, free of dead hair and dust.
• Avoid using extra products on your hair, especially if they contain petrochemicals or silicons.

Important: if you have been using commercial shampoos and products, it may take a while to get rid of residues and for the scalp and hair to adapt to being washed with artisan soap. Be patient.

TEETH:

Brush your teeth with soap?! Yes. Toothpaste is not necessary for good dental hygiene. It may take a bit of getting used to, but our Castile Soap’s taste is very mild, and not much is needed.

• Lightly rub your wet toothbrush on your ‘Cape Soap’ cube.
• Brush your teeth thoroughly to remove debris and acidic plaque.
• Rinse.
• Floss.

Your teeth will be clean, and your mouth will be fresh.

DISHES:

Rub a wet sponge or cloth on your ‘Cape Soap’ cube to use on dirty dishes. Rinse under clean water.

Alternatively:

• Lather soap in a basin of warm water and soak dirty dishes in soapy water for a few minutes.
• Scrub the dishes with a Tawashi.
• Add a spoon or two of Vinegar to a basin of clean water.
• Rinse the dishes in the clean water basin.
• Dry or let dry.

Important: For dirtier dishes, soak in warm water and add a spoon or two of Soda Ash, or use a teaspoon of the Cape Soap Co.’s Washing Powder instead of soap.

LAUNDRY:

Hand or machine wash laundry with our Castile Soap:
Hand wash:

• Rub stains with your ‘Cape Soap’ cube if necessary.
• Soak fabric in warm soapy water.
• Scrub and agitate.
• Rinse thoroughly.
• Optional: add a spoon of Vinegar (link) to the rinsing water. It neutralises residual soap, acts as a fabric softener.
• Wring out and hang to dry.

Machine wash:

• Grate 30 grams (30g) off a ‘Cape Soap’ cube.
• Dilute in 1 litre (1l) of warm water (do not boil).
• Store in a clean bottle and leave to rest overnight. (link to a blog post on best production practices)
• Use half a cup (1/2 cup) in your machine as you would do with a commercial liquid laundry product.

Important: If you have ‘hard water’ (mineral-rich) or only cold water, and want to boost the cleaning power of our Castile Soap, add a spoon or two of Soda Ash directly into your bucket or drum, or use the Cape Soap Co.’s Washing Powder.

SURFACES:

Our Castile Soap is ideal for cleaning all surfaces. Grate a ‘Cape Soap’ cube, store the flakes in a clean, dry container. Dilute a small handful of flakes into a bucket of warm water:

• Use soapy water with a sponge or cloth to clean sofas, baby strollers, chairs, shoes, mattresses, walls. Rinse the sponge or cloth, and wipe surfaces again to rinse clean.
• Use soapy water with a mop to clean all types of floors. Rinse the mop in clean water. Rinse the floor using a clean mop. Add a spoon or two of Vinegar to the rinse water.
• Use soapy water to clean brushes, hair and make-up brushes. Rinse thoroughly with clean water.
• Fill a spray bottle with soapy water. Spray as needed on dirty surfaces such as tables, countertops, walls. Wipe with a clean cloth. For a perfect finish, spray a mix of water and vinegar, let stand for a few minutes, wipe dry.

Important: If you have ‘hard water’ (mineral-rich) or only cold water, and want to boost the cleaning power of our Castile Soap, add a spoon or two of Soda Ash, or use the Cape Soap Co.’s Washing Powder.

ABOUT LATHER:

Our Castile Soap, which contains only olive oil, is a creamy soap that produces a dense lather. This may not be as bubbly as you may be used to with commercial or other handmade soaps but is just as efficient. If you prefer more lather, use a loofah or washcloth. Ensure that you dry your loofah or washcloth thoroughly between uses and clean it regularly.

Sodium Olivate (your artisan olive soap) – Aqua (pure water) – Glycerin (naturally released during saponification <8%) – Olea Europaea Fruit Oil (cold-pressed olive oil)

All our ingredients are produced in South Africa from raw materials grown or mined locally: our olive oil is produced in the Western Cape, while the salt used to make our sodium hydroxide solution is mined in Namibia and Botswana and processed in South Africa.

Store in a cool, dark, dry, clean environment.

Our Castile Soap is non-perishable if stored in optimal conditions.

To extend its life, ensure your ‘Cape Soap’ cube dries between uses. See the Cape Soap Co.’s beautiful soap-holders.

Please reuse, compost, or recycle the packaging.

Avoid contact with eyes.
In case of eyes’ irritation, flush with cool, running water.

140g soap bar, cube-shaped
(handmade: bar’s weight may vary slightly)

Packaged in an FSC, recyclable, locally-manufactured box.

Available “nude” (package-free) on request.