Can i substitute oils in a recipe

[SheerBliss]

i want to make a coconut soap w/coconut milk olive oil which calls for red kernel oil can i use grapeseed or shea butter? thanks in advance i am a newbie this will be my 1st batch.

 

[Dixie]

Any time you change a recipe you should run it through soapcalc or some other lye calculator.. Are you familiar with it? Here is the websitehttp://www.soapcalc.net/calc/soapcalcwp.asp

 

[SheerBliss]

no dixie not familiar ,thanks but the link isn't working.

 

[Dixie]

www.soapcalc.net try typing it into your browser. It's a calculator that lets you enter all your oils and then it gives you the amts of water and lye you need. It also tells you how your bar will turn out...although that part is not always accurate. It's a must in soaping though to use a lye calculator. It's not hard to learn.

 

[artisan soaps]

..

 

[ChrissyB]

You absolutely must run the new recipe with the new amounts of oils in a lye/soap calculator. This is because different oils have different properties, and therefore have different saponification rates.
This is important, don't just throw any old oil in there and think it'll be alright.
You really must know the exact percentages/amounts of which oils you have in your recipe, otherwise you could end with a lye heavy soap (worst case scenario) or a soap with too much free oil that will go rancid (not good either).

 

[zeoplum]

SheerBliss,

Please take your time and do lots of reading before you try your first batch. Making soap may seem like cooking but it's really more like chemistry.....or at least a balance between the two. Making soap is easy once you understand the necessary precautions and the basic steps of how to do it. I would say if you're unfamiliar with lye calculators, you may want to wait just a little bit. I'm sure you're really excited but I wouldn't want you to have a bad experience your first time around and then get frustrated. Ask lots of questions here if needed. We're here to help.

zeo

 

[SheerBliss]

Thank you all for you advice. I am a newbie but i have taken a soapmaking class and am aware of the precautions i need to take for safety. I was just curious as to whether you could just swap one oil for another , i will definitely run it through the soap calc. thanks again.

 

[Woodi]

If you can't get Soapcalc, I would be happy to run your recipe through Soapmaker for you, and let you know how much lye you need for any new recipe. You can PM me the recipe if you don't want it public.

 

[rupertspal42]

wow, so I was playing around a bit with the soapcalc and i'm a bit confuzzled.. where it says hardness and cleanliness in such on the left... what do those numbers mean exactly and how are the being represented? like if hardness is 53? is the not hard or is it? This thing is kind of making my brain fry lol

 

[honor435]

whats red kernal oil? i used written recipes for many batches, before i started making my own. The oil properties are different, so i wouldnt swap, unless your sure.

 

[Val]

wow, so I was playing around a bit with the soapcalc and i'm a bit confuzzled.. where it says hardness and cleanliness in such on the left... what do those numbers mean exactly and how are the being represented? like if hardness is 53? is the not hard or is it? This thing is kind of making my brain fry lol

There is information on the site that explains those numbers ... can find it under the tab at top called "Helpful Info" then select "Soap Qualities" as long as they are within the high and low it should be ok.

Val

 

[rupertspal42]

Thanks Val, my brain was hurting.. :cry: