High in Oleic acid, olive oil has good conditioning and moisturizing properties. It doesn't interfere with necessary skin functions, allowing the skin to breathe and shed. The lather produces small bubbles. Use in combination with other oils for a harder bar as well as to increase the lather while allowing the olive oil to provide it's own special benefits to the soap.
Castile soap used to mean a soap of 100 percent olive oil but this is no longer the case, the percentage can be as low as half of that. Ideally oils are balanced for overall benefits and hardness. Olive oil is noted for being considered as mild for sensitive skin.

A BIT OF HISTORY
Olive oil was likely cultivated by Semitic people circa 3500 BC in its native region of the eastern Mediterranean. It is among the oldest known cultivated trees. The spanish missionaries in 1560 brought the trees to Mexico and later the Franciscan missionaries, led by Father Junipero Serra, brought the trees to the the land which later became part of the state of California. In 1769 the plants were established at the Mission San Diego. 99% of the olives produced in the United States comes from California.
These trees grow from 25 to 60 feet in height and produce a fruit which is rendered palatable by special processing which includes the use of both salt brine and sodium hydroxide (lye). Both the ripe as well as the green olives are harvested as food and oil is pressed from the fruit as well. The wood of the olive tree is very hard with a fine grain.
In mythology, Zeus had promised to give Attica to the god or goddess who made the most useful invention. The Goddess Athena brought the olive to Greece as a gift and won out over the Poseidon's horse, a powerful war instrument. The olive was used for more peaceful and useful means: light, heat, food, medicine, thus, the olive branch is a symbol of peace to this day.

INGREDIENTS USED

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