SoapCalc: Which Coconut Oil do I use?

SoapMakerDeluxe · Mar 18, 2016

I have the Brambleberry Coconut Oil.

On Soap Calc, there are different options:

Coconut Oil, 76 deg
Coconut Oil, 92 deg
Coconut oil, fractionated

Which do I choose to correspond with my coconut oil?

topofmurrayhill · Mar 18, 2016

SoapMakerDeluxe said:
I have the Brambleberry Coconut Oil.

On Soap Calc, there are different options:

Coconut Oil, 76 deg

Coconut Oil, 92 deg

Coconut oil, fractionated

Which do I choose to correspond with my coconut oil?

Theirs is 76 degree.

76 deg is the most common by far so you will usually use that one. 92 deg is also fine to buy. It's slightly hydrogenated to be a little harder. Fractionated is not good for soap.

lisajudy2009 · Mar 18, 2016

Why isn't fractionated good for soap? I have used it before.

topofmurrayhill · Mar 18, 2016

lisajudy2009 said:
Why isn't fractionated good for soap? I have used it before.

Fractionated CO consists only of the most drying and irritating (shortest) fatty acids from coconut oil. The more you use, the worse your soap will be and the stranger it will smell. It's not for soaping.

The shortest chain fatty acid we think about for soaping is lauric acid, which can be a little drying if there is too much, but it makes great bubbles. FCO contains only fatty acids shorter than lauric, which are normally found in CO in only a very small amount.

When coconut oil is fractionated, it would be the OTHER part you want to use. Coconut oil with all the short fatty acids removed is known as "topped" CO. I never see it for sale, but if you could get some that would actually be an improved CO for soaping.