Any real uses for grapeseed and corn oil?

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

goji_fries

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2014
Messages
719
Reaction score
354
Location
7th dimension
So these oils are cool for cooking but don't really last in CP most of the time without antioxidants and preservatives/waxes. If you have some recipes for these oils that have worked for you please share. Also, are there any other products that you guys make that use these oils? :think:
 
Grape seed oil would be good in a lotion, salt or sugar scrub, or for makeup removal. Make a small batch at a time and add Vit. E.
 
Actually, they aren't very good for cooking either... heat distorts the polyunsaturated bonds and turns them into transfats: http://gratefultable.com/heat-bad-for-pufas-how-to-cook-healthy-oils/

If you must use PUFAs, buy small bottles, use them unheated in salad dressings, etc, refrigerate after opening, and use them quickly. Same with soaping. ;)
 
So these oils are cool for cooking but don't really last in CP most of the time without antioxidants and preservatives/waxes. If you have some recipes for these oils that have worked for you please share. Also, are there any other products that you guys make that use these oils? :think:

Have you soaped with these? I ask because I do soap with grape seed often. Yes I add in vitamin E in small amounts. Grape seed oil is great in soap, well at least in my soap. I also use it in lotion, and I have used it in body butter as well.

Sometimes I think all the old "rules" should be thrown out. There really is no reason not to soap with a certain oil unless you personally get bad results from using it. Remember most of our really cool techniques, like soap frosting, came about when someone broke the rules.

That said gloves and goggles are one rule that should be set in stone - or until someone comes out with lye proof eyeballs and skin.
 
Have you soaped with these? I ask because I do soap with grape seed often. Yes I add in vitamin E in small amounts. Grape seed oil is great in soap, well at least in my soap. I also use it in lotion, and I have used it in body butter as well.

Sometimes I think all the old "rules" should be thrown out. There really is no reason not to soap with a certain oil unless you personally get bad results from using it. Remember most of our really cool techniques, like soap frosting, came about when someone broke the rules.

That said gloves and goggles are one rule that should be set in stone - or until someone comes out with lye proof eyeballs and skin.

And chemical maks, I got a whiff the other day :sick:
 
Have you soaped with these? I ask because I do soap with grape seed often. Yes I add in vitamin E in small amounts. Grape seed oil is great in soap, well at least in my soap. I also use it in lotion, and I have used it in body butter as well.

Sometimes I think all the old "rules" should be thrown out. There really is no reason not to soap with a certain oil unless you personally get bad results from using it. Remember most of our really cool techniques, like soap frosting, came about when someone broke the rules.

That said gloves and goggles are one rule that should be set in stone - or until someone comes out with lye proof eyeballs and skin.

Used a little of each. Am cautious of these because of DOS. but I have seen some people here have success with them so I have to ask. I ave a bunch of corn oil and am afraid to use it.
 
So far I haven't had any issues with grapeseed oil. Have multiple batches that are 2-3yrs old and haven't experienced DOS. I didn't do anything special as far as adding vitE or ROE to extend the shelf life either . . . maybe I'm just lucky?
 
Actually, they aren't very good for cooking either... heat distorts the polyunsaturated bonds and turns them into transfats: http://gratefultable.com/heat-bad-for-pufas-how-to-cook-healthy-oils/

If you must use PUFAs, buy small bottles, use them unheated in salad dressings, etc, refrigerate after opening, and use them quickly. Same with soaping. ;)

There are some problems with this article because it, like much information based on research before the last 10-15 years, doesn't relay the whole story. "PUFA"s do not behave the same just because they are PUFAs - they vary tremendously in properties (in soap or in your body), by fatty acid length, the number of unsaturations, and which organism is consuming them. Grapeseed oil is often chosen for cooking because it has a high smoke point. Using in cooking or not, it has a positive effect on good cholesterol (HDL). And while some trans- isomerization might occur (and occurs in all PUFAs when heated), the studies still show that this is a very small amount, and the benefit of the oil outweights the small negatives. Unsaturated FAs are, of course, susceptible to oxygen, and thus rancidity, in soap.
 
Actually, they aren't very good for cooking either... heat distorts the polyunsaturated bonds and turns them into transfats: http://gratefultable.com/heat-bad-for-pufas-how-to-cook-healthy-oils/

If you must use PUFAs, buy small bottles, use them unheated in salad dressings, etc, refrigerate after opening, and use them quickly. Same with soaping. ;)

I was actually going to suggest the grapeseed oil for salad dressing. :-D It would be a perfect choice as doesn't add much to the taste (if any at all). I'm not sure about the corn oil, though. :( I haven't used it for food in years and my recent bottle is rarely used.
 
...Grapeseed oil is often chosen for cooking because it has a high smoke point. Using in cooking or not, it has a positive effect on good cholesterol (HDL). And while some trans- isomerization might occur (and occurs in all PUFAs when heated), the studies still show that this is a very small amount, and the benefit of the oil outweights the small negatives. Unsaturated FAs are, of course, susceptible to oxygen, and thus rancidity, in soap.

Sorry, I stand by my statement that grapeseed and other high n-6 omega fats (PUFAs) should not be used for cooking. Choosing a liquid oil for cooking because it has a high smoke point is not safe. See these articles:

http://www.exrx.net/Nutrition/Oils.html
http://authoritynutrition.com/grape-seed-oil/
http://www.eatnakednow.com/smokin-hot-or-unsafe-is-cooking-with-grape-seed-oil-a-good-idea/

Also, the cholesterol theory on heart disease has been proven misguided, at best, by recent studies that show cholesterol levels are far more affected by carbohydrate intake than either saturated or unsaturated oils: low carb diets drop "bad" cholesterol levels and raise "good" cholesterol levels. You may find these articles interesting:

http://www.westonaprice.org/blogs/c...dy-that-should-make-us-long-for-the-old-days/
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jnme/2012/539426/

However, this discussion is rather off-topic from the initial question and probably should be taken to the General Chat forum, if you wish to continue.
 
Actually, I ran across a liter bottle of grape seed oil on mega sale at Kroger and tried it in my fairly standard recipe (coconut, palm, olive, GV shortening, grape seed and castor). As I recall, grape seed represents about 10% or so of total oils. The recipe scores great on soapcalc.net. No problems soaping i.e. no ricing or color morphing (except with 5x Orange), it doesn't usually trace too quickly. I've had several of these bars for well over a year. They've held fragrance well and make great suds. I've been using grape seed in my standard recipe ever since...although I've substituted peanut oil and recalculated the lye a couple of times. That worked fine too. So, long way of saying....I don't hate grape seed for soaping. Come to think of it, I've used this same oil mix for goats milk soap very successfully as well.
 
Last edited:
Maybe certain grocery store oils, being sealed in smaller batches at the plant, are fresher than bulk oils purchased through soaping sites that are rebottled before shipping out. Specialty oils aren't available locally, forcing me to buy them online. Who knows how they handle their bulk oils.... could be luck of the draw: one time we get fresh oils; next time, bottom of the barrel... one reason I've pretty much stopped using them.

Here's an interesting pictorial link about a single-oil swap, showing how 24 one-oil soaps turn out, both initially and over time. Again, we have no way of knowing how those oils were handled before being made into soap... still it's illuminating:

http://www.zensoaps.com/singleoil.htm
 
I've used grape seed oil in several of my soaping recipes without any issues. I don't make really large batches so they don't last long.
 
Sorry, I stand by my statement that grapeseed and other high n-6 omega fats (PUFAs) should not be used for cooking.

I'd suggest you take a look at this website, particularly the chart on page 3: http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/fattyacids2.html

The recent hubbub on the various fitness BBs and magazines recommending ingestion of coconut oil and other MCTs is rather entertaining but IMO also dangerous. The primary constituents of coconut oil *will increase your bad cholesterol.* My mother inadvertently confirmed this when she decided to start using coconut oil (good for the skin and the hair ... but not the guts).

It's interesting to note the relative contributions of each FFA to blood cholesterol ... and to soap characteristics!!

I'm skeptical that using grapeseed or olive oil for frying my egg in the morning is "dangerous" due to transfats. I'm not pressure cooking using a catalyst bed.

But to each their own.

Cheers-
Dave
 
sagehill - All unsaturated oils isomerize to a minor extent - heatin just hurries this. If you read the original papers, you'll find that just eating meat provided more trans-fats than anything that will occur in oil. It's not really an issue in the big picture - you'll consume more trans fats in one 8 oz steak then you'll get in a year's worth of using grapeseed oil to cook. My comments are based on the actual papers in the literature, rather then an interpretation article (which often includes errors).

Yes, the 1970s-1990s version of the cholesterol story is indeed rubbish. Most people today, including many physicians get it very wrong.

And no, I'm not terribly interested in continuing. I'm (unfortunately) teaching nutrition this semester, and that's way more that I have any interest in doing. I do see a lot of grapeseed used in soaping on various sites with soap for sale, but I think it's too expensive for the FAs it provides for a soap product. There are better, cheaper, more longer lived ways to go.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top