# New to Soapmaking



## cuty7211 (Jun 18, 2014)

Hi all... I am so new to soapmaking. I am so keen in starting this soapmaking. I have already gotten some of my oil supplies. The oils that I have are virgin coconut, avocado,sunflower,canolla,palm, grapeseed,citronella,lavender, geranium and chamomile. Can anyone share with me recipes with any of this oils? I would love for it to be creamy, hard, lather, moisturizing...
Thanks...


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## navigator9 (Jun 18, 2014)

Hi cuty, and welcome to the wonderful world of soapmaking. As a beginner, the best thing you can do for yourself is to start simple and not get overwhelmed. You didn't mention olive oil, but I'm guessing you have it in your pantry. As a starter, I would go with the holy trinity. It's called that for a reason.....olive oil, palm oil and coconut oil are the basis of most soaps, olive for it's conditioning, coconut for it's lather, and palm for hardness. You can start with equal parts of each, or 50% olive, 25% each of palm and coconut. Soapcalc is an invaluable tool. Learn to use it. Enter in the oils you want to use and look at the results. Want more bubbles? Adjust it accordingly. Tweak it until you're happy with the outcome.  The numbers don't tell the whole story, but it's a good place to begin.

Again, as a beginner, go slowly. Get used to making basic soap first. Believe me, a simple bar of handmade soap, made well, is an amazing thing. Once you're comfortable with the basics, then start adding things like fragrance and color if you want. By adding one variable at a time, it's easy to troubleshoot if anything should go wrong. Good luck to you!


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## seven (Jun 18, 2014)

30% olive
30% coconut
40% palm

7-8% superfat

you don't need virgin coconut for soaping. the regular (read: cheap) one is sufficient. same with olive, no need for an extra virgin one. just use regular olive or pomace. 

navigator's recipe suggestion is also a good one, but with a high amount of olive you will need quite a long cure. if you are patient and won't mind a long cure, then fine. if not, lower the olive and up the palm = shorter cure time and a hard, long lasting bar.

i suggest trying simple with 3 oils first if this is your first time. good luck!


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## Susie (Jun 18, 2014)

Lard- 40%
Coconut Oil, 76 degree- 20%
Olive Oil, pomace- 35%
Castor Oil- 5%

Superfat- 5-8%

Makes a lovely hard, conditioning bar with good lather.  

Welcome to the addiction!


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## cuty7211 (Jun 18, 2014)

Thank you for all your suggestions and advises. Susie, I can't use Lard as it's difficult to get it here. Thx... I am excited now... Will start with the basic oils first...


Sent from my iPhone using Soap Making


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## Bex1982 (Jun 18, 2014)

Save on the coconut and don't use virgin.  The 3 oil beginners soap is the best. Save the fancy stuff for small % like 5% or so. And don't try lye discounts hehe.


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## jules92207 (Jun 19, 2014)

Susie said:


> Lard- 40%
> Coconut Oil, 76 degree- 20%
> Olive Oil, pomace- 35%
> Castor Oil- 5%
> ...



I seriously just made almost this EXACT recipe tonight. Soaped so easy! If you can get ahold of lard I would reccomend it. I love it in my soaps. I just buy the big tub at the grocery store.


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## lsg (Jun 19, 2014)

30% coconut
 30% palm
 35% olive
 5% Castor


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## Susie (Jun 19, 2014)

jules92207 said:


> I seriously just made almost this EXACT recipe tonight. Soaped so easy! If you can get ahold of lard I would reccomend it. I love it in my soaps. I just buy the big tub at the grocery store.



This what I call my perfect soap.  I love it.  I never have to worry about anything.  

I am forcing myself to branch out to do other stuff,  but I always come back to this when making soap for someone specific.


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## thegreatestever (Oct 12, 2014)

I am new and made an account to respond to this thread. I see numerous recommendations and have some questions about recipes for hypoallergenic skin types, particularly sensitive to coconut and palm. I guess lard, castor, and definitely olive would work. This app and forum are a great idea, I've always wanted to learn how to make soap. Also, could I use bacon grease? Just curious, thank you in advance for your help.


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## snappyllama (Oct 12, 2014)

If you use up your bacon grease, how will you make chicken fried steak or cream gravy or Cajun food or crazy-tasty fried eggs?  Think of the roux!

You can use it though:

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=33001


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## cmzaha (Oct 12, 2014)

thegreatestever said:


> I am new and made an account to respond to this thread. I see numerous recommendations and have some questions about recipes for hypoallergenic skin types, particularly sensitive to coconut and palm. I guess lard, castor, and definitely olive would work. This app and forum are a great idea, I've always wanted to learn how to make soap. Also, could I use bacon grease? Just curious, thank you in advance for your help.


In my opinion there is not a substance on this earth that is hypoallergenic and I wish the day would come when they decide to drop the term. If it is on this planet someone will be allergic to it. Back to the question are you speaking of sensitive to coconut as being to cleansing or harsh for the skin or actually allergic to it? You do not have to use coconut or palm, use tallow or lard. If it is sensitivity to the cleansing factor of coconut oil you can cut it down in percentage. Palm Kernel oil with comes from the kernel of the palm is a good substitute for coconut oil if you want bubbles. If truly allergic to palm and coconut make a castille soap (100%) olive or an olive, lard or tallow blend with 5% castor oil. A teaspoon or two of sugar per pound of oil will also add bubbles. Be sure to dissolve the sugar before adding to the oil. There are many choices, choose the oils you can use  work with them in a calculator like soapcalc.net. 100% lard makes great soap


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## godschild (Oct 13, 2014)

Susie, with this recipe, can I use 10% co and 10% pko flakes because I have to order more coconut oil.  I'm getting a SAMS membership Thurs and I can't wait to go over there and hopefully find a good deal on coconut oil and olive oil.  I have enough oop to make this recipe thank goodness.  If I don't soap and make a batch that turns out, I'm going to cry or freak out.  When I first started soaping and was told it becomes an addiction, it wasn't a lie lol.  It is the best addiction I could ever hope for I dearly love it.  I do get sad when I can't soap.  That's embarrassing lololol.


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## ethanbrysoneli (Oct 13, 2014)

I am very much interest to know about the process of soap making. Actually, I am facing a problem pimples on my face. With the help of herbal soap we can get rid of them. Is is true or not?



 ((Mod Deleted Link))


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Oct 13, 2014)

ethanbrysoneli said:


> I am very much interest to know about the process of soap making. Actually, I am facing a problem pimples on my face. With the help of herbal soap we can get rid of them. Is is true or not?
> 
> 
> 
> ((Mod Deleted Link))


 

It is possible that it is possible!  There are thoughts on both sides.

But please start a new thread on the subject after having a look through the forum for information - there are many threads covering the topic with a lot of great points.


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## Susie (Oct 13, 2014)

ethanbrysoneli said:


> I am very much interest to know about the process of soap making. Actually, I am facing a problem pimples on my face. With the help of herbal soap we can get rid of them. Is is true or not?
> 
> 
> 
> ((Mod Deleted Link))



If I recall correctly, someone had a pine tar soap that worked marvelously on a family member.  You might want to search pine tar.

Here's the link, a new person would never find it:

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=44679


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