Palm Oil ???

I'm sure this topic was discussed but I can't seem to locate anything on it in the archives. I have been soaping a little over 2 years for family and friends (I do not sell my products as of this time). So I always soap in very small batches...1 or 2 lbs. I have been experimenting with all kinds of recipes trying to perfect my base recipe. My question is....when I use palm oil in my recipe I haven't been melting my entire jug every time and apparently I should have been right? I remember reading recently about how palm oil separates and you won't get the same outcome for your recipe if you don't remelt and stir it every time. One batch might be softer than the next? I have recently bought a bigger amount of palm oil and am wondering how all of you that soap in big quantities and use palm oil melt it and make sure its fully stirred up every time. The jug will not fit in my microwave so I am at a loss as to how to deal with my palm oil! Now I'm second guessing all my recipes over the years and wondering if I'm getting a true outcome. Help!!! :?

I have a 50# bucket, I melted it on the porch over the summer and just melted it when I needed some, and also put it into smaller containers. Now that its winter I had to melt it in my tub. I have one of those large "party" buckets, its round and like 2 feet deep? That people sometimes put drinks in with ice or kegs into..haha. I put it in the tub, put my palm bucket in and fill with hot water, and just change the water every few hours, it takes a bit, but just change the water and stir until you can mix it well.

That being said, I took it out, stirred it every once in a while till it hardened up and just used it. I personally haven't had any issues, but I'm sure others will chime in with their experiences as well! Maybe its best to melt it down and mix it then separate into smaller containers?

I have the 50lb tub too, from soapers choice. I have never melted it; it's always been a kind of solid, grainy consistency, and I live in southern california so temps can get a bit up there. I have never noticed any kind of separating or whatnot, I just treat it like my tub of coconut oil. I scoop (or gloop, rather) it out as needed and then melt it in the microwave.

What does it look like when it separates??

Some people suggest melting a large quantity and repackaging it into smaller jugs.

My philosophy - if it ain't broke, don't fix it: if your soaps turn out fine, don't worry about your palm.

Also, my logic tells me that if it never melts, you never have to melt it on purpose and mix it.

Seperation isn't very obvious - you might notice some harder chunks in the softer mass.

I just opened a seven pound container of palm and I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't separated, just a little oil slick on the bottom. It's above 80degrees 9 months of the year, usually I get a chunk of rock hard palm on top and syrupy oil on bottom.. it arrived during a cold spell, that must be why it arrived so nice. When I first started soaping, I went thru 14 pounds of palm before I learned about the need to remelt and stir. Some of the batches were *insanely* spotty, but other than that, I never noticed a difference... Maybe the superfat, stearic, palmitic etc values were off a little bit, but the esthetic differences are the main reason I remelt it...

I've had separation of palm oil where it's like a butter-like consistency at the bottom of the bucket with a syrupy oil on top. I just stirred it really well until it mixed together. However, it wasn't a problem since it was only an 8 pound bucket.

Once I decided I wanted to continue soaping, I purchased a 50 lb bucket and over a period of time it did separate. I didn't stir it at first because I thought it wouldn't make a difference. I ended up with a couple of batches with the spotty look which I found out were little pieces of the palm. I could still use the soap but it taught me a lesson. If I want consistent results when I make batches, I should stir to make sure the palm is well incorporated. Admittedly, it can be a pain in the butt. I wish I had thought of separating it into smaller containers. I could have saved a lot of time and made it a lot easier if I had only gone to the Dollar Store and bought storage containers with snap-on lids.

Anyway, I have problems with the aesthetic outcome of my batches without contributing to it by not stirring the palm. Some people may say “if your soaps turn out fine, don't worry about your palm”. If? I don’t want to take a chance on if my batch will turn out fine. I have a small budget for buying supplies and I want my soap to turn out the best it can especially since I’m very capable of making bone-headed mistakes. (But I blame these on gremlins. :wink: ) I don’t want to worry about inconsistencies created by separated palm. I appreciate the helpful tips from the experienced and knowledgeable soapers on this forum. I only wish I had learned about separating palm into smaller containers along time ago. My point is if you want consistent results then check your palm and stir it if it has separated. However, if you don't need to make sure your recipes turn out the same every time then don't worry about it. As Healinya mentioned, the superfat, stearic, palmitic and other values might be off a little but probably not enough to create a serious problem with a batch.

Now after saying all of this, you can buy homogenized palm so you don’t have to stir. You just have to remember that it can melt in hot weather during shipping and then you would have to stir it. I’ve tried homogenized palm and it’s really easy to use. You might prefer this option if you buy in bulk and don’t want to worry about stirring the palm oil.

Well thanks so much for all your responses! I am off to the dollar store tomorrow for some lock containers! I'm just going to melt it and put it in smaller containers so I can be sure its well mixed. Better to be safe than sorry. Even though I only soap in very small batches my oils are like gold to me. I don't want to waste a thing!

FOhoarder said:

Well thanks so much for all your responses! I am off to the dollar store tomorrow for some lock containers! I'm just going to melt it and put it in smaller containers so I can be sure its well mixed. Better to be safe than sorry. Even though I only soap in very small batches my oils are like gold to me. I don't want to waste a thing!

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I agree with you.

I'm mostly a hobbyist but I sell to family and friends and I donate to charitable functions. (Yes, I have liability insurance) My typical batch size is 800 grams of oils - what fits into an 8 inch silicone loaf mold.

I melt down my palm and store it in small plastic low profile containers (lbs each). When I use it, I scoop through to the bottom just to make sure I'm getting an even mix.

The stearic tends to sink to the bottom and looks kind of grainy.

Fragola said:

Some people suggest melting a large quantity and repackaging it into smaller jugs.

My philosophy - if it ain't broke, don't fix it: if your soaps turn out fine, don't worry about your palm.

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Some people get lucky. Others don't need to count on luck. My philosophy is to spend a little time doing things right rather than to waste materials or worse to produce a soap that you cannot replicate.

I've a friend who is a researcher specialising in palm oil - am from Malaysia and we produce palm oil so you get the idea. When I shared with her about using palm oil in soap, she cautioned me to check what type (olein, stearic, etc) as it affects the finished bar. In short, it pays to do a bit of legwork and homework.