Castile Soap FAQ

A true soap made from plant oils rather than synthetic detergents. Ours is made with an organic blend of prickly pear, argan, jojoba, sweet almond and hemp oils, together with coconut, olive, castor and apricot kernel oil. There are no artificial detergents, synthetic dyes or foaming agents in it.

It is what turns oil into soap, and none of it is left in the bottle. Every true liquid soap ever made needs an alkali to saponify the oils. Potassium hydroxide reacts with the plant oils and is entirely consumed in that reaction, which is why our label states that none remains after saponifying the oils into soap and glycerin. It appears on the ingredient list because regulations require the inputs to be declared, not because it is present in what you use. A soap made without it would not be soap.

Yes, and it is independently verified. Our Nature's Gold Collection is the first castile soap in the USA to carry third-party palm-oil-free certification from POFCAP. That is a certification from an outside body, not a claim we made about ourselves.

No, and it is a good sign rather than a bad one. The soap is made from organic plant oils, and olive oil in particular shifts in color from one pressing to the next depending on the season and the harvest. That carries through into the finished soap, so bottles range from nearly clear to a light golden or amber. A product that looks identical every time usually has colorants in it. There are no synthetic dyes in ours.

Three years from opening, stored somewhere cool, dry and out of direct sunlight, with the cap closed tightly.

Anything you have diluted with water is different: use it within two to three weeks. The concentrate is stable on its own, but adding water introduces microorganisms and there are no synthetic preservatives in this soap to hold them back. Mix small batches as you need them rather than diluting a whole bottle at once.

It is unscented. No fragrance and no essential oils are added. Some people notice a faint natural smell from the plant oils themselves, which is the oils rather than anything added.

Because it is 2-3 times more concentrated than ordinary liquid soap, body wash or cleanser. Commercial products arrive pre-diluted. Using ours neat is wasteful, can feel harsh, and is the single most common reason people think castile soap does not work. Every bottle has nine dilution recipes printed on the label.

64 fl oz is half a gallon, or 1.9 liters. Because the soap is concentrated and diluted before use, one bottle lasts considerably longer than the size suggests.

Roughly one part soap to three parts water, which is much weaker than the half-and-half body wash recipe on the label. Foaming pumps are built to aerate a thin liquid; the standard dilution is too thick and will clog the mechanism. Pour the water in first and the soap second, then turn the bottle end over end rather than shaking it hard.

Yes. Mixed with water it foams readily, and at the right dilution the lather is creamy and dense. What it does not have is synthetic foam boosters, so it will not pile up like a commercial body wash. If yours is not lathering, the usual causes are using it neat or hard water. Dilute it properly and the foam comes back.

Nothing. A soap and washing soda mixture thickens and gels as it cools, and how much depends on your water and the temperature of the room. It is the normal state of that recipe, not a failed batch.

Three things make it easier to live with: store it in a wide-mouth container so you can stir rather than fight to pour, shake or stir before every use as the label asks, and if it is still too stiff add warm water a cup at a time until it pours, then use slightly more per load.

Use less. High-efficiency machines are built around low-foam detergent and small doses, and the half cup on the label assumes a conventional machine. Start at a quarter cup, or fill to your machine's line, whichever is less. A smaller dose in an HE machine is not weaker washing, because these machines use very little water and reach the same concentration. Too much creates suds the machine cannot rinse out. Check your manufacturer's guidance on non-commercial detergents as well.

Yes, but the acidic rinse is not optional. Mix 2 tbsp soap with 1 cup purified water, then follow with 1 part lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to 8 parts purified water. Soap is alkaline and hair sits on the acidic side; without the rinse the hair cuticle stays lifted and hair feels waxy or straw-like. Skipping it is the most common reason people tell us castile soap shampoo did not work for them.

Both are right, because timing is the whole difference. Never combine soap and vinegar in the same bottle: soap is alkaline, vinegar is acidic, and mixing them reverses the soap back toward its oils and leaves a curd that smears rather than cleans.

Using vinegar afterwards is a different thing entirely. In the shampoo and pet recipes it goes on after the soap has been rinsed out, as a separate acidic rinse that brings hair or fur back to its natural pH. Soap first, rinse it away, then vinegar. Never the two in one mixture.

Yes, at a much weaker dilution than the body wash. The label recipe is 1 tbsp soap, 1 cup distilled water and ½ cup witch hazel, roughly one part soap to twenty-four parts liquid. If castile soap has felt drying on your face before, the dilution is usually why. Patch test first and keep it away from your eyes.

Baby wash is one of the uses listed on the bottle. Dilute it well, keep it out of the eyes, and rinse thoroughly. As with any new product on a baby's skin, patch test first, and ask your pediatrician if your child has a skin condition.

Yes. Mix 1 cup soap with 1 cup purified water, keep soap out of the eyes and water out of the ears, and rinse until the water runs clear. The soap is unscented and contains no essential oils, which matters because several oils that are fine for humans are not safe around pets. Cats, animals with skin conditions, open wounds, a flea treatment on the coat, or puppies whose vaccinations are not finished are a conversation with your vet first.

No. It foams enormously in a machine built for low-foam detergent. For washing dishes by hand, add a squirt to hot running water rather than onto the sponge.

It works, but hard water is soap's weak spot. Minerals in the water react with soap and leave a film: a dull cast on glassware, or residue in hair. Using purified or distilled water in your dilutions helps, and so does an acidic rinse for hair.

It means the product has been reviewed by the Environmental Working Group against their criteria for full ingredient disclosure and for avoiding the ingredients on their list of concern. Like the POFCAP certification, it is an outside assessment rather than our own marketing.

It is Certified Vegan and Non-GMO, it is never tested on animals, and it is Certified Fair Trade. There are no animal products or by-products in it.

You can. The soap is unscented on purpose so that anything added is your choice rather than ours. Two cautions: add them to a diluted batch rather than the concentrate, and do not add essential oils to anything you use on a pet without checking which ones are safe for that species.

We handle wholesale and bulk orders individually rather than through a fixed price list. Email alex@whole-naturals.com and we will come back to you. It helps to include roughly what quantity you need, what you sell or make, and where you are based, so the reply is an actual answer rather than a request for more information.

The soap is manufactured in the USA. Whole Naturals is operated by WNLS Inc.

We are the only authorized seller of Whole Naturals soap. We sell directly through this website and through our own accounts on the marketplaces we list on. We do not supply third-party resellers, so if a listing is sold by another business we cannot vouch for how the product has been stored or what is in the bottle. If you are unsure about a particular listing, send us the link at alex@whole-naturals.com before you buy and we will tell you whether it is ours.

Only the number of bottles and whether a pump is included. The soap is identical in all of them. Bundles marked “+ Pump” include one pump that fits any bottle in the set. One per bundle, not one per bottle.