# Coconut Oil vs Virgin Coconut Oil



## XsTatiC (Jan 9, 2010)

Newbie here.  Thought I'd post this as a help for any others that are curious.  

I haven't even made my first batch yet.  I've just been scoping out materials.

Was cruising around my neighbourhood today and realized that there are 5 places that sell coconut oil within 4 blocks of where I live.  All prices vary a lot and I was standing in front of the shelf, scratching my head wondering what the difference between regular coconut oil and virgin coconut oil is.  Since i didn't know, and hadn't done any research on this, I bought both.  One is a plain ol' 76 degree and the other is an extra virgin.

Once I got home I decided to do some research.  Turns out the difference is that extra virgin comes from the coconut milk, whereas the non-virgin comes from the coconut meat.  This makes virgin coconut oil retain its coconut smell.  It's also much more expensive.  

However, reading the specifics of theses two types in conjunction with soap making it seems to not make a difference.  The natural aroma in the virgin oil is lost during the soap making process.  A shame.  

So, there ya go.  Stick to the cheaper stuff I suppose.  I'll use the extra virgin oil for cooking .

[ps: two recommended stickies for this forum: 1) soap making lingo and abbreviations, 2) different types of fats and oils and their properties.  Jumping into this forum as a newb is like learning another language. ]


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## Kat Soap (Jan 9, 2010)

OH thank you thank you thank you!
I'm a newbie too, and was just looking here to see what the difference between "refined" and "unrefined" coconut oil is.  The refined says "for medium high heat" while the unrefined "for low heat."  The former was least expensive, by far, so I purchased that.  On the back of the bottle it defines medium high heat as up to 365 degrees F.
In soap-calc, I was unsure which type of coconut oil to enter into the program.  It asks for 76 or 92.  
Can any experience soapers help us out with this one?
Thanks!


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## honor435 (Jan 9, 2010)

the cheaper coc oil is 76, ive only used refined in a pinch(too spendy)but heard the one that smells good has many health benies, so i may get some for cooking also! good luck, ive made over 100 batches now, cp and hp you can pm me anytime if you have questions.


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## XsTatiC (Jan 9, 2010)

Kat Soap said:
			
		

> difference between "refined" and "unrefined" coconut oil!



I found this web page: http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/unrefined-coconut-oil.html
 which has a good description of the difference.  Basically that refined is filtered, bleached, deodorized... etc. (not necessarily all depending on manufacturer/refiner) whereas unrefined is not.

No idea how refined vs. unrefined impacts soap though.  I'm guessing very little/not noticably.

Funny enough, although refined goes through processing/filtering, the article mentions that unrefined is most likely more expensive because most coconut oil that is shipped is refined.  So, less product in circulation for unrefined = higher prices.  I also have no idea if that's true!  So much to learn and pay attention to on my next shopping trip .


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## ChrissyB (Jan 9, 2010)

You are very lucky to have so many places so close to you to be able to buy supplies from!
My dh buys me "organic extra virgin coconut oil (butter) from the health food store. He pays $13 for a 350gm jar. I think that's around 11 oz.
Very expensive, and I don't use that for soaping, I use it for lip balms. It smells so nice. I did use a little bit of it to sub when I was short of the total amount of normal coconut that I needed for my recipe, and it was very very nice soap. But expensive!!


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## tamarajane (Jan 10, 2010)

Check this out for abbreviations:
http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4437

And here for some oil properties to get you started:
http://www.millersoap.com/PDF/OilProperties.pdf


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## XsTatiC (Jan 10, 2010)

tamarajane said:
			
		

> Check this out for abbreviations:
> http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4437
> 
> And here for some oil properties to get you started:
> http://www.millersoap.com/PDF/OilProperties.pdf



Awesome.  Thank you.


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## beautyandkarma (Feb 9, 2021)

XsTatiC said:


> Newbie here.  Thought I'd post this as a help for any others that are curious.
> 
> I haven't even made my first batch yet.  I've just been scoping out materials.
> 
> ...


Just wanted to share, I am new to soap making as well, and trying to find out if using organic virgin coconut vs coconut oil really makes a difference.  Still haven't found a right answer.  I noticed you mentioned "extra virgin coconut oil"  it is just called virgin coconut or organic virgin coconut, coconut doesn't have extra in it, when brands do that, they are just using in correct vocabulary.  Extra is used for olive oils.

For many out there, there is no such thing is "Extra Virgin Coconut oil",  it is just organic virgin or virgin coconut oil.


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## Relle (Feb 10, 2021)

beautyandkarma said:


> Just wanted to share, I am new to soap making as well, and trying to find out if using organic virgin coconut vs coconut oil really makes a difference.  Still haven't found a right answer.  I noticed you mentioned "extra virgin coconut oil"  it is just called virgin coconut or organic virgin coconut, coconut doesn't have extra in it, when brands do that, they are just using in correct vocabulary.  Extra is used for olive oils.
> 
> For many out there, there is no such thing is "Extra Virgin Coconut oil",  it is just organic virgin or virgin coconut oil.


This thread is 10 yrs old and the person you are quoting hasn't been here since then. Please Introduce yourself in the Introduction forum and tell us a bit about yourself.


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