# What's your favourite oil in soap making? Why?



## lukelee (May 11, 2013)

I have used a lot different oils in soap making, but now I make more and more castile soap (100% EV olive oil). First reason is convenient, I don't have to combine 3,4 oils, and calculate the lye. Second reason is olive oil soap gives the best skin feel. 
  I use some coconut oil when I make strong cleansing soap. Besides coconut oil and EV Olive Oil, I no longer use any other oils.
  What are your favourite oils? and why?
  Why does some soap makers love to use 4+ different oils?


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## dagmar88 (May 11, 2013)

lukelee said:


> Why does some soap makers love to use 4+ different oils?




No single oil gives me what I'm looking for. 

So I don't have one favourite, but I use coconut, palm, olive and castor in my basic recipe.


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## Lotus (May 11, 2013)

Grape Seed Oil. Because I cook with it religiously. It's a soft oil, and generally a good use for any sort of superfatting, or the like. It's a great little oil. I like it. It has to be used in a smaller percentage, but I love that it's always available to me. But it helps to make a softness that I like in my soaps.


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## lemontongue (May 11, 2013)

Hemp Oil, it gives a nice moisturizing quality in my soap.  I use a bit of shea and cocoa butter as well, which makes for a very luxurious soap.


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## Birdie Wife (May 11, 2013)

Olive oil for me too because I can infuse botanicals in it and it's cheap and readily available, but lard is a close second hecause of the lather and it makes the bar last much longer.


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## Brandica2013 (May 11, 2013)

I use to love,love un-refined coconut oil but im new and have been hearing it's drying to skin/hair  which is funny cause I was putting in my hair and letting it set for an hour and washing out..it seemed like it helped......I love shea butter so much if that counts


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## DeeAnna (May 11, 2013)

Hey, Brandica -- Don't confuse the soap made from the oil with the oil itself!! I get the feeling you might be doing that. Coconut oil SOAP is a strong cleanser, so, yes, it can be drying to the skin. Coconut OIL is a wonderful moisturizer for skin and hair care. Two different critters.

Edit: Here's a link to info about the goodness in coconut oil:
http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-quick-note-on-coconut-oil-and-warm.html


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## christinak (May 11, 2013)

I use sweet almond oil in all my soap.  It's cheap and has great label appeal   I also love shea butter.


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## Candybee (May 11, 2013)

Olive oil. Hands down.


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## ruby61 (May 11, 2013)

Love sweet almond oil too.  It is one of the few oils that actually can be absorbed in the skin which is why massage therapists love it.


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## cursivearts (May 11, 2013)

Olive oil.  For luxury oils/butters: shea butter.  I am going to try mango butter and sweet almond oil soon so we'll see how those go.


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## lizflowers42 (May 11, 2013)

People seem to hate to think of using it because it causes DOS, but I really like using soybean oil because it's so easy to buy anywhere, has similar properties to olive oil (which is more expensive). However, you do need to use other oils with it so you get a harder bar.  I like a mix of soybean, pomace, palm, and castor, but I am trying to move away from palm oil-I'm going to finish the bucket that I have (probably 2.5 pounds left of it) and stick to other butters to help harden the bars.


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## Kansas Farm Girl (May 11, 2013)

#1 beef tallow followed as a very close 2nd lard, and then I use olive or soy, for reasons already listed. When I can get it I also like a bit of sunflower. I have used grape seed oil but for me I cannot get it easily or cheaply, so tend to save it for lotions and such. The tallow and lards give me a hard bar and I love the feel of them much more than a soap without either.


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## OliveOil2 (May 11, 2013)

My two favorite oils are rice bran oil and avocado oil, I also like using shea butter and cocoa butter.


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## Mockingbird Ramble (May 11, 2013)

lard!


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## Marilyna (May 11, 2013)

I like soybean oil, too. 
I'd say my favorite if I have to pick just one would be coconut oil. Have to have lather, right?


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## kazmi (May 11, 2013)

OliveOil2 said:


> My two favorite oils are rice bran oil and avocado oil, I also like using shea butter and cocoa butter.


 
OO2, I use avocado too but have been thinking about trying rice bran.  What do you notice the differences to be between them in your soap? TIA


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## OliveOil2 (May 11, 2013)

The rice bran gives the bar a smooth glossy finish that I don't get with other oils, and I love the way the soap feels on my skin. To me they are very different, the avocado adds the richness for a luxury bar, the rice bran is more of a staple oil. I am not sure about the actual properties, but to me the avocado & hemp are similar. I am sure others here will have more knowledge on the oil properties. I first tried rice bran because I got 35 lbs for $37 I couldn't pass up the price and I was curious.


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## Ruthie (May 12, 2013)

Here is another vote for beef tallow and lard.  Love the lard the most, I guess.  It yields a nice hard bar with a wonderful feel on the skin.


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## kharmon320 (May 12, 2013)

I too love my lard!  I do like tallow as well.  I'm going to agree with lizflowers about the soybean.  I made a test bar with soybean (only 5 or 10%) about a year ago.  When I went back and did a lather test on a few different recipes, I loved the silkiness from the bar with soybean.  I don't use a lot, but feel it brings something nice to the lather.


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## kazmi (May 12, 2013)

OliveOil2 said:


> The rice bran gives the bar a smooth glossy finish that I don't get with other oils, and I love the way the soap feels on my skin. To me they are very different, the avocado adds the richness for a luxury bar, the rice bran is more of a staple oil. I am not sure about the actual properties, but to me the avocado & hemp are similar. I am sure others here will have more knowledge on the oil properties. I first tried rice bran because I got 35 lbs for $37 I couldn't pass up the price and I was curious.


 
Thanks :smile:


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## lsg (May 12, 2013)

I don't have one single favorite; but my favorite combination is coconut, palm, rice bran and Castor.


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## Bicycle808 (May 12, 2013)

dagmar88 said:


> No single oil gives me what I'm looking for.
> 
> So I don't have one favourite, but I use coconut, palm, olive and castor in my basic recipe.



I gotta agree with Dagmar88; I don't think I'll get what I'm after with any one oil (although I feel like I've got to make true castille at least once, just for the experience.)  I used to use OO with coconut as my basic recipe, but since moving to the OO/coconut/palm/castor combo (just like Dag), I find that my bars have the qualities I'm looking for, without breaking the bank.

I gotta confess, though, that i've been really itching to use beef tallow instead of palm; a lot of ppl are all about my soap b/c it's veg-only, which is really the only thing stopping me, but still.  BT is so cheap, and it seems like it'd give me what I'm after for less, and have a more old-timey vibe to it.

Maybe one day...
-rob


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## krunt (May 13, 2013)

macadamia oil is my favourite soapmaking oil.  i compare it to olive in terms of skinfeel, but it doesn't have the unpleasant smell i have found olive does in unscented soap.  i have found it to be a robust oil, not prone to rancidity, and just like olive can be used up to 100% of the recipe.  the only downside is the price.  but i buy it in bulk and use it for cooking as well, so while it is more expensive, it is not prohibitively so.

i also like avocado a lot but it is just too expensive to use on any kind of regular basis.


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## hoegarden (May 13, 2013)

I agree with Dagmar88 too. So far, I have yet to like soaping with a single oil. Personally I like avocado and macadamia nut oil in my soap recipe currently but majority of the oil will still be Olive oil (upto 30%)


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## Marieke (May 13, 2013)

I only made single oil coconut bars and olive bars but I prefer a mixture of oils. I usually combine olive, coconut, sesame, sunflower, castor and wheat germ.


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## daisy8 (May 13, 2013)

I don't know how relevant this is, but I use soapcalc and try to get some of each - lauric, myristic, palmitic, stearic, ricinoleic, oleic, linoleic and linolenic into the soap.  I'm not even sure what each of them do for your skin, but thought that since they are part of the recipe sheet, they must have some importance.  It means using different oils.


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## Trinity (May 13, 2013)

So happy to see some post about soy bean oil...... I haven't used it because I wasn't sure why but I knew some people didn't like it. I saw it at BJs a few days ago for..... now I can't find it on their web site but it was I think 18 dollars for 35 pounds So do I just have to be careful about how much I use or are there other cons about soy that I should know about before I purchase such a large container? Sorry a little off topic but my favorite oil so far is Olive for infusing and I love coconut. I am sure that may change as I experience some of the new oils that just arrived finally from WSP which I can't wait to try


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## judymoody (May 13, 2013)

That's a lot of soybean oil!  I bought a large container when I first started soaping from our local Cash and Carry.  I ended up discarding most of it because it started to oxidize.

I wouldn't use soybean at more than 10-15% of my recipe.  And I'd use up my supply within a year.  Do the math and see if you'd go through 35 lbs in a year.

To the other poster who asked about fatty acids, a good rule of thumb is to keep your total rinoleic/rinolenic % at 15 or less to decrease the risk of rancidity in your soap.  They are very conditioning but also more prone to spoilage.


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## Rachelmf (May 13, 2013)

Trinity said:


> I saw it at BJs a few days ago for..... now I can't find it on their web site but it was I think 18 dollars for 35 pounds


$18 isn't a huge investment, but soybean oil is cheap and easy to get at the grocery store.  I'd try getting a regular-sized container from there first so you can see how you like it.  Like Judymoody pointed out, soybean oil is usually used at a smallish percentage and it would take a lot of soap to use 35 pounds.

I suppose that my favorite soaping oil would probably be olive, but it's hard to say.  Like several others, what I really like is a mixture.


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## Kansas Farm Girl (May 14, 2013)

I did buy one of those 35 lb boxes of soybean early in my soaping addiction. I am lucky in that I have extra refrigerators so I saved every container that would hold oil and filled them, then filled the extra fridges. I keep my % low but I think I use some in every batch. So far keeping it in the fridge seems to keep it from going bad. But I do not plan to buy another of that size of an oil that I use so little of.  I find it does seem to add a bit of conditioning and a good feel to the soap when mixed with other oils.


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## soapguy (May 14, 2013)

My favorite has got to be Castor oil. I use it in all my soaps.


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## MaitriBB (May 14, 2013)

Trinity said:


> So happy to see some post about soy bean oil...... I haven't used it because I wasn't sure why but I knew some people didn't like it. I saw it at BJs a few days ago for..... now I can't find it on their web site but it was I think 18 dollars for 35 pounds


 
I bought the 35-lb tub of soybean oil at Sam's, couldn't pass up the price and wanted to try it out.  Recently I did a small batch with 8 oz coconut, 9 oz soybean, 1 oz grapeseed (used it to mix the micas), and 2 oz shea butter.  Came out very nicely.

My standard recipes are either lard/coconut/grapeseed/castor/shea or vegetable shortening/coconut/soybean/grapeseed/shea.


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## Brandica2013 (May 20, 2013)

DeeAnna said:


> Hey, Brandica -- Don't confuse the soap made from the oil with the oil itself!! I get the feeling you might be doing that. Coconut oil SOAP is a strong cleanser, so, yes, it can be drying to the skin. Coconut OIL is a wonderful moisturizer for skin and hair care. Two different critters.
> 
> Edit: Here's a link to info about the goodness in coconut oil:
> http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-quick-note-on-coconut-oil-and-warm.html



DeeAnna~maybe I am,I may not be so good @ this soap thing I l just started a month ago or so but I have been making the best Whipped body butter in town for a long time now  and it has coconut oil in it & everyone loves it.So i guess I was a little confused about how can't this wonderful oil not be good in soap(not that its not just not a lot)?? I know its cleansing I have a chart but its just such a great all around product so i guess I just was confused of how cleaning it actually is(in soap) and how moisturizing it is on the body(in lotion or straight up ..thanks for clearing that up  still learning :wink:


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## meeplesoap (May 21, 2013)

For base oils I love avocado. Of course being in California our blood is at least 10% avocados at all times anyway. If only it weren't such a dark green, I'd use it much more often! 

For additives, jojoba oil hands down. I use it on my hair, skin, and in my soap (at 5%). Too expensive to do for sale of course, but I do get it in bulk in Riverside so that brings the cost down.


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## DeeAnna (May 21, 2013)

"... i guess I was a little confused about how can't this wonderful oil not  be good in soap(not that its not just not a lot)?? I know its cleansing I  have a chart but its just such a great all around product so i guess I  just was confused of how cleaning it actually is(in soap) and how  moisturizing it is on the body(in lotion or straight up..."

When you make soap out of a particular oil, the oil molecules get broken apart by the lye and turned into soap molecules. A soap made out of a particular fat can have quite different properties than the base fat from which the soap is made. That is very true with your coconut oil. The oil is a very good moisturizer for hair and skin, but the soap is so effective as a cleanser, it can be harsh on the skin.


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## paillo (May 30, 2013)

In order of preference and the oils I use most frequently:
Olive
Coconut
Avocado
Palm (organic, sustainable)
Palm kernel
Castor
Shea
Babassu
Sweet almond
Rice bran (REO added)
High-oleic sunflower (REO added)
Flax seed (REO added)
Hempseed (REO added)
Cocoa butter
Jojoba
Argan
Broccoli seed
Emu


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## Kay (May 30, 2013)

I've not been soaping for very long, so I'm not sure what my favorite is yet. I know I LOVE Shea Butter and Cocoa Butter, but in lotions they leave such a greasy feeling. I just found out the other day that these, used in small doses in soap, don't leave a greasy feeling. I now have, on order, some Shea Butter to try in my next batch. Can't wait!

Why do I like these? I guess because they make my skin feel so soft and moisturized very quickly after use.


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## elizmar2006 (May 30, 2013)

Lard! It is so thick and creamy. I've been testing a recent bar I made with it and it reminds me of a cream bath soap I use to get as far as feel goes. I feel like I'm bathing in lotion.


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## vance71975 (May 30, 2013)

Well, I know i personally normally use a blend of oils just to get what i am aiming for. I love pure Olive Oil soap dont get me wrong, but the bars just never last long enough for my tastes.

I love using tallow and Lard as well, BUT only if i am using a strong Scent with the soap, since i use only essential oils for scent, that can get expensive VERY fast. I do not like them for an unscented bar however as they seem to have, for lack of a better way to put it, an "Animal Smell" to the soap, which is fine if your covering it with a strong scent, but alone it does not smell great to me.

I do however LOVE making Single Oil Soap with Cocoa Butter. No off or offensive smell, Great for the skin, lathers pretty well and makes a VERY long lasting Hard Bar of soap.

My fav Blend of Oils would be Cocoa Butter, Olive Oil,Grape seed Oil, Coconut Oil 76 degree melt,and Castor Oil.

As far as soy Oil goes, i have only ever used it ONCE and that will be the LAST time i ever use it, Only batch of soap i have EVER had end up with DOS.


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## danahuff (May 30, 2013)

My favorites are olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, castor oil, sweet almond oil, and avocado oil. I also sometimes use sunflower oil, apricot kernel oil, mango butter, and rice bran oil. I think the different oils impart different qualities to the soap. You basically just need to experiment and create a recipe that makes soap you like.


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## vance71975 (May 30, 2013)

Oh ya and Great Value Shortening by it self makes a great soap. I think it is palm and beef tallow if i remember correctly.


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## debsoap (May 30, 2013)

I use Olive, Coconut and Palm the mixture gives a hard bar and a rich lather and is so conditioning!


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## cmzaha (May 30, 2013)

Trinity said:


> So happy to see some post about soy bean oil...... I haven't used it because I wasn't sure why but I knew some people didn't like it. I saw it at BJs a few days ago for..... now I can't find it on their web site but it was I think 18 dollars for 35 pounds So do I just have to be careful about how much I use or are there other cons about soy that I should know about before I purchase such a large container? Sorry a little off topic but my favorite oil so far is Olive for infusing and I love coconut. I am sure that may change as I experience some of the new oils that just arrived finally from WSP which I can't wait to try


Please keep in mind a lot of people are severly allergic to Soy. I seem to run into so many I quit using it. Ironically more than people allergic to nut oils


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## cmzaha (May 30, 2013)

meeplesoap said:


> For base oils I love avocado. Of course being in California our blood is at least 10% avocados at all times anyway. If only it weren't such a dark green, I'd use it much more often!
> 
> For additives, jojoba oil hands down. I use it on my hair, skin, and in my soap (at 5%). Too expensive to do for sale of course, but I do get it in bulk in Riverside so that brings the cost down.


 
I assume your oil comes from Cibaria. I do not find their avocado oil to be dark green and that is where I buy most of my oils. I love Lard, (first)  Sunflower Palm & Avocado


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## bodhi (May 30, 2013)

Olive.  Its gentle, moisturizing, feels great on your skin, lasts forever...


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## bodhi (May 30, 2013)

cmzaha said:


> Please keep in mind a lot of people are severly allergic to Soy. I seem to run into so many I quit using it. Ironically more than people allergic to nut oils



Another strike from the vaccine industry.


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## Ann Marie (May 30, 2013)

Olive oil hands down. Just love real castile soap perhaps becuase it the one that doesn't dry my skin (living in the desert it is always dry).  It is worth the cure wait, and I always end up  going back to it after using soap with a combination of oils.


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## aprilhwth (May 31, 2013)

Most of my recipes have coconut oil, olive, and palm. I also use castor. In my shampoo bars I use almond oil and cherry kernel oil (a more experienced friend told me it is a cheaper alternative to jajoba oil).


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## ALINAHALPERN (May 31, 2013)

I always use a blend, not necessarily the same, but always love olive oil for the kindness to skin. I use palm oil to harden the soap, because my family don't like a soft soap. I like coconut oil in soapmaking for bubbling and for a smooth lather but also for superfatting (and grapeseeds oil too). I also use rice bran oil and, rarely, soy bean oil.


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## MooreThanBags (May 31, 2013)

I use olive, coconut, castor, and lard. The combination gives me a lovely hard yet moisturizing bar with rich lather. My customers love it as much as I do.


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## oilyfella (May 31, 2013)

I'm new to this infact I hav'nt made any soap yet ,but I want to make olive oil soap as I have got lots of olive oil from my own trees . I'm starting from basics ; at the moment I have got a barrel full of olive wood ash and rainwater slowly dripping through to make the lye in two or three days I should have enough lye to start a test batch  with 32 oz of oil and 20oz of lye and water . I've read a bit about this and it seems that the lye that you get from wood ash (k0h) will not make a hard bar of soap, but you can make it hard by adding salt to the mix anyone tried this?   Grateful for any tips .....


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## shella (May 31, 2013)

loving this am subscribed to this post


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## vance71975 (Jun 1, 2013)

oilyfella said:


> I'm new to this infact I hav'nt made any soap yet ,but I want to make olive oil soap as I have got lots of olive oil from my own trees . I'm starting from basics ; at the moment I have got a barrel full of olive wood ash and rainwater slowly dripping through to make the lye in two or three days I should have enough lye to start a test batch  with 32 oz of oil and 20oz of lye and water . I've read a bit about this and it seems that the lye that you get from wood ash (k0h) will not make a hard bar of soap, but you can make it hard by adding salt to the mix anyone tried this?   Grateful for any tips .....



No it wont make sodium Hydroxide, it will as you said make KoH or Potassium Hydroxide, but never fear, you can still use it, just Google home made liquid soap, that is what you use KoH for so you can make an Olive Oil "body wash" instead of bar soap.


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## hlee (Jun 1, 2013)

I love Olive, Coconut, Lard, Palm, Avocado, Castor, Sweet Almond, Cocoa butter, Shea butter.


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## Jerry S (Jun 1, 2013)

This is a really good topic...As far as I'm concerned I really don't have a favorite oil because when I make soap I generally make soap for either the ladies or the guys. I've found that men like soap that made from the harder oils and lasts a long time and I have made soap for men in up to 8 ounce bars. So far as the ladies, I use softer oils such as mentioned in the thread, olive oil, palm oil and oils which are extremely skin friendly.  I guess as a favorite soaping oil I guess lard probably tops my list because I use it in just about all of the soaps I make unless I'm doing a castile or bastle. Lard is cheap and is a great oil in making soap and is one of the original oils used in making soap for over a thousand years. My mother, a Minnesota farm gal made soap just from lard and it was hard to beat for getting hands clean after a day of doing chores and wasn't drying to the skin as well.


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## gabriellapax (Jun 4, 2013)

no doubt...I like extra-virgin olive oil, coconut oil and castor oil.


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## Bicycle808 (Jun 4, 2013)

I find it fascinating that ppl attribute gender characteristics to soap, and even the oils from which the soap is derived.  To me, soap is a basic human necessity.  I have certainly noticed some preference trends that occur along gender lines, but I don't see these as an absolute.

Some folks think that all of my soaps are on the "macho" side.  That, combined with the fact that I'm a fat dude with a beard and whatnot, might lead some ppl to jump to conclusions about my soap, I suppose.  I'm just trying to make an affordable, natural, basic product that ppl can use knowing exactly what's in it.  Does that make for "manly" soap?


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## mel z (Jun 4, 2013)

Bicycle808 said:


> I find it fascinating that ppl attribute gender characteristics to soap, and even the oils from which the soap is derived.  To me, soap is a basic human necessity.  I have certainly noticed some preference trends that occur along gender lines, but I don't see these as an absolute.
> 
> Some folks think that all of my soaps are on the "macho" side.  That, combined with the fact that I'm a fat dude with a beard and whatnot, might lead some ppl to jump to conclusions about my soap, I suppose.  I'm just trying to make an affordable, natural, basic product that ppl can use knowing exactly what's in it.  Does that make for "manly" soap?



I don't know Bicycle. It could be many things that seem gender attributing.

Women may tend to look at labels of soap more so then men. Women may like to see things like "sweet almond oil" or "shea butter" in soaps. Also, women tend to notice things like skin changes sooner than men. Wrinkles, thinning, sensitivity. Or maybe men notice, but don't talk about it as much and don't think soap is going to help it any.

Age groups may make a difference in a selling area. Young people versus older. Also, area makes a difference. In some areas the simple mention of tallow or lard can make people go bonkers, but others don't think a thing of it.

So, if you are selling, make what you like. See if it sells well. If it does, you are good to go. If you get LOTS of questions about adding more expensive oils or butters, give some a try and add it to your products, see how it sells. First and foremost, do what you like or you can't stand behind it and you can't sell well if you don't like it.

Those are just some thoughts on it. I don't sell any products so take it all with a grain. I just watch a lot of soap videos, read a lot of internet boards, and articles, and watch what is going on locally. Insert big salt shaker emoticon here.


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## AnitaB (Jun 4, 2013)

*Haven't experienced all the oils yet*

Being a newbie I haven't really had a chance to experience all of the different types. I'll come back in 6 months and give my final answer.


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## sakura1024 (Jun 4, 2013)

I don't make CP soap, but I use a lot of jojoba and coconut oils because they so closely match the body's natural sebum. I HATE soybean oil, only because I'm a super huge Anti-Monsanto/GMO freak and soybeans are the biggest GMO crop. Companies are using soybeans and rice to alter the DNA of humans (no joke!), so I try to avoid those like the plague (though my family LOVES to eat rice and edemame, so this causes fights in my house :/).

I really like infusing oils with botanicals, especially calendula, lavender and cranberry, which jojoba is great for because of its shelf life. I tried grapeseed once and it went rancid on me in no time. I would like to use fractionated coconut, but I've never tried that one. Does anyone have suggestions regarding infusing coconut oil?


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## vance71975 (Jun 5, 2013)

Coconut Oil is one that can be hard to infuse, Unless your house runs above 76 degrees all the time, because coconut oil is a solid below 76 degrees. So if its like 80 in your house all the time, with no ac then just do it as you would any other oil.


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## sakura1024 (Jun 6, 2013)

How about fractionated coconut oil? It's liquid all the time, but I don't know how fractionating affects the composition of it.


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## Ktaggard (Jun 7, 2013)

I've become a huge fan of tallow (beef) in the last few months. Always use coconut, olive and castor, too.


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## vance71975 (Jun 7, 2013)

sakura1024 said:


> How about fractionated coconut oil? It's liquid all the time, but I don't know how fractionating affects the composition of it.




That would work. As far as what id does, i am unsure there..


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## meeplesoap (Jun 8, 2013)

cmzaha said:


> I assume your oil comes from Cibaria. I do not find their avocado oil to be dark green and that is where I buy most of my oils. I love Lard, (first)  Sunflower Palm & Avocado




I actually am buying from Cibaria for the first time next week! Before I was just making soap for myself and my family, and Cibaria only sells to those with a resale certificate (or permit... can't remember which) so that option was out. Now that I have all that, I'll be buying oils like crazy from them!

It helps that they are around an hour away, and directly in the path of my business manager, so I order it and he'll pick it up, so no shipping either! Cibaria rocks!


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## CaliChan (Jun 8, 2013)

My favorite oils are a combination of: Lard, Olive oil, Coconut oil, and Castor oil. i usually stick to those and add butters and other oils accordingly but my favorite recipes have all those oils in there. Makes THE BEST bars ive ever tried or made.


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## CaliChan (Jun 8, 2013)

sakura1024 said:


> I don't make CP soap, but I use a lot of jojoba and coconut oils because they so closely match the body's natural sebum. I HATE soybean oil, only because I'm a super huge Anti-Monsanto/GMO freak and soybeans are the biggest GMO crop. Companies are using soybeans and rice to alter the DNA of humans (no joke!), so I try to avoid those like the plague (though my family LOVES to eat rice and edemame, so this causes fights in my house :/).
> 
> I really like infusing oils with botanicals, especially calendula, lavender and cranberry, which jojoba is great for because of its shelf life. I tried grapeseed once and it went rancid on me in no time. I would like to use fractionated coconut, but I've never tried that one. Does anyone have suggestions regarding infusing coconut oil?



the more i learn about GMOs the more i dont like them. Im about to give all my GMO oils to my mom because i dont even want to soap with them anymore.
I would melt the coconut oil your wanting to infuse and mix it with 1/2 Olive oil or another soft oil so it stays soft.
or if its crazy hot out were you are like it is out here just put it in a jar and keep it outside.


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## Amybell (Jun 9, 2013)

Olive oil and Shea butter are two of my favorites.  My base recipe includes olive oil, coconut oil, Shea butter, and a little bit of castor.  I really like it!


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## becca757 (Jun 11, 2013)

Kansas Farm Girl said:


> #1 beef tallow followed as a very close 2nd lard, and then I use olive or soy, for reasons already listed. When I can get it I also like a bit of sunflower. I have used grape seed oil but for me I cannot get it easily or cheaply, so tend to save it for lotions and such. The tallow and lards give me a hard bar and I love the feel of them much more than a soap without either.



Hi Kansas girl:  If you have a food lion near you, they sell grapeseed oil for 6.99.  For now, that's where I've been getting mind.


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## Rachelmf (Jun 11, 2013)

I've never bought any, but I have seen grape seed oil at WalMart and Kroger, too.  I don't remember how much it was, but I don't think that it was very expensive.


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## dcornett (Jun 12, 2013)

Like others I couldn't get the results I want with just one oil, so choosing a fav would be impossible...but olive, coconut, castor and lard are my "must haves"...but norally use palm also, and I really like sweet almond and avocado.


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## Kansas Farm Girl (Jun 12, 2013)

becca757 said:


> Hi Kansas girl:  If you have a food lion near you, they sell grapeseed oil for 6.99.  For now, that's where I've been getting mind.



Nope, no food lion around here. I picked some up in Denver at a Sprouts Farmers Market on a trip out there. My walmart doesn't carry it and I'm not sure about the Dillons, a Kroger family member.  Since it's hard to get I save it for some lotion and cream I make.


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## sakura1024 (Jun 12, 2013)

Random geek moment... all these people talking about castor oil has me thinking about how crazy it is that something so harmless (castor oil) and something so incredibly deadly (Ricin) can come from the same plant. Or like how a thimble full of botulinum toxin can either kill the entire population of New York, or smooth out the wrinkles in the forehead of some Real Housewife . 

Yes... I'm a science nerd. Sorry for the random interruption !


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## vance71975 (Jun 14, 2013)

Kansas Farm Girl said:


> Nope, no food lion around here. I picked some up in Denver at a Sprouts Farmers Market on a trip out there. My walmart doesn't carry it and I'm not sure about the Dillons, a Kroger family member.  Since it's hard to get I save it for some lotion and cream I make.



No oil is "hard to get" anymore between Soapers Choice and Amazon you can find anything you want, Cost wise i would go with Soapers choice 7lbs of grape seed oil, 20 bucks and change.

http://www.soaperschoice.com/cgi-so...eb_store.cgi?query_price_low_range=0&cart_id=


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## vance71975 (Jun 14, 2013)

sakura1024 said:


> Random geek moment... all these people talking about castor oil has me thinking about how crazy it is that something so harmless (castor oil) and something so incredibly deadly (Ricin) can come from the same plant. Or like how a thimble full of botulinum toxin can either kill the entire population of New York, or smooth out the wrinkles in the forehead of some Real Housewife .
> 
> Yes... I'm a science nerd. Sorry for the random interruption !



Thats awesome!


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## Kansas Farm Girl (Jun 15, 2013)

vance71975 said:


> No oil is "hard to get" anymore between Soapers Choice and Amazon you .......
> http://www.soaperschoice.com/cgi-so...eb_store.cgi?query_price_low_range=0&cart_id=



Very true. If possible I try to buy local, but UPS makes regular stops here because there are so many things I can only get on line. I love living in a very sparsely populated area (county 900 sq mile, 27,841 people), but sometimes getting more than the basics locally just doesn't happen, then I turn to my good friend, the internet, and the world it at my fingertips.


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