Should Olive Oil Soap Be Green? The Answer Will Surprise You.

Skincare Secrets: Episode 6

Is olive oil soap naturally green in color? 

Answer: No, olive oil soap is not naturally green. Olive oil soap (also called castile soap) is naturally yellow, light yellow, or off-white in color. Olive oil soap may have a very slight greenish tinge, but it's not green, UNLESS green dyes have been added.  

To confirm this, just go to YouTube and type in "how to make olive oil soap" or something similar. You'll see tons of videos of professional and amateur soapmakers making olive oil soap and the soap is never green, it's always yellow or off-white.

 

This may come as a surprise to many because there are countless companies selling green olive oil soap and usually, the labels don't list dyes or colorants as added ingredients. So what's going on? Sadly, the answer is: They're most likely adding green dye but NOT listing it on the label. This is obviously unethical, and not allowed by federal labeling regulation, but it is happening. 

☝️Again, NOT green.

Why are some companies doing this? Because consumers THINK that olive oil soap is supposed to be green, and so they're more likely to buy GREEN olive oil soap. I used to be one of those people! Green soap just "looked" good to me, and the darker green the better! It was only after I started making olive oil soap myself that I realized two things:

1. I'd been lied to!

2. I'd been using soap with green dyes! Dyes not disclosed on the label! And if they weren't disclosing added dyes, what else were they not disclosing?!

Why don't these companies simply disclose on the label that green dye has been added? Good question! I think it's because consumers increasingly want soap that's pure, natural, and free of artificial dyes. (That being said, there are natural green dyes but they are significantly more expensive, so most companies use cheap artificial dyes.)

Why are consumers so confused about what olive oil soap should look like? Part of the reason is the internet. If you ask Google if olive oil soap should be green, the answer it gives is that "soap made from pomace olive oil (the lowest quality olive oil) produces a green-colored soap."

I've made over 100 batches of olive oil soap using many different oil brands and all different grades of olive oil—pomace, light, extra virgin, organic extra virgin. The resulting soap is always yellow, light yellow, or off-white. In my experience, it doesn't matter what kind of olive oil you use, you're not going to get green soap. 

But let's assume for a second that Google is correct and that soap made from pomace olive oil—the lowest quality and cheapest olive oil—is naturally green. Pomace olive oil is processed with hexane (a toxic chemical) which is why it's the only grade of olive oil that's NOT food-grade. Do you want to use soap made with the cheapest, lowest quality olive oil?!

Now here's the part that confuses people: You'll also find videos on YouTube of soap factories in the Middle East making olive oil soap and sometimes that soap is dark green in color. So what's going on?

Answer: Some of those soap factories most likely added dyes or colorants to the soap, but they just don't show you that part of the process.

Thanks for reading!

- Kal Garcia, founder of S.M.O.C. Skincare (more about Kal and S.M.O.C.)

Want to learn more about the four different types of olive oil? Check out this blog.